Summer - Royal Scottish Geographical Society

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Education Worldwise Geography Challenge The James Young High School won the British heat of the Worldwise Geography Challenge. Although falling at the start of the Easter break with the weather forecast rather cold, wet and windy, eight teams of three students from around the UK had a fantastic time competing in the first of two Worldwise Challenge weekends, held at Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre in the Yorkshire Dales. Scotland was represented by The James Young High School and Larbert High School. On the Friday evening once everyone had arrived the teams got to know each other and were introduced to their challenge for the weekend – prepare an oral and visual presentation titled ‘What makes Malham a special place?’ The GA President, Margaret Roberts announced The James Young High School, Livingston, as the overall winners of the 2009 Malham Worldwise Challenge trophy and an invitation to take part in the World Finals in Taiwan. It was a fantastic weekend. The students and teachers all worked very hard and really enjoyed themselves, even though they were all under ‘observation’ most of the time. The CPD sessions were useful and many new contacts were made between the teachers and the GA representatives. Elaine Batty Principal Geography Teacher at James Young High School Out in the Real World SAGT Report May 2009 In a month in which a study stated the outdoors had become ‘out of bounds’ to a generation of ‘cotton wool kids’ (with fewer than 10% playing outdoors, despite 81% wishing they could), four schools from around Scotland helped the Real World Learning Partnership to promote the value of learning outdoors at the Scottish Parliament. Over three days, MSPs stopped to chat to the pupils, teachers and Real World Learning partners. Pupils and staff from Beeslack Community High School and Caerlaverock Primary School also had the opportunity to do presentations at an informal lunchtime reception. It was a very successful event for Real World Learning, which has sixteen partners including the RSGS. Forty-five cross-party MSPs signed up to the Real World Learning mission statement which is for ‘every young person in Scotland, regardless of their background to have regular access to inspirational and challenging outdoor learning. Signatories included the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the Minister for Schools and Skills and most of the Education Committee. Outdoor learning is proven to help improve a child’s social skills, motivation and academic achievement, as well as offering ‘real life’ experiences. For more information www.realworldlearning-scotland.org.uk Each year SAGT has produced its Journal which has included a wide range of academic articles. These provide cutting edge research relevant to topics taught in secondary schools. Last year, for the first time, the Journal was produced in CD format. This has afforded the editors the opportunity to request articles not only from these traditional, academic sources in the first part of the publication but also to have a series of shorter pieces related to pedagogy and resources of direct use to school geography in the second. This year SAGT decided to have a single large pupil Conference in March in Dalkeith High School, aimed at pupils studying Higher Geography. . This was a resounding success as it helped to kick-start revision for the coming diet of SQA examinations. The British Geological Survey. had 40 free seismometers on offer to secondary schools willing to take part in a countrywide project. Bids had to be submitted for a cross-curricular project to qualify for consideration. Since geology, in most secondary schools, is taught by members of Geography Departments, this has caused a flurry of excitement and competition. And finally, in my role as Education Convener for RSGS, it is my privilege to try to foster even closer links between our two organisations. There is a very positive atmosphere in our organisations, both for their own work and for links with other groups. I hope, therefore, that the mutual benefits of my ‘twin-hattedness’ will go some way to help achieve that potential! I would like to record my own appreciation for the work done by the Education Committee of RSGS under the chairmanship of the inimitable Jim Carson and hope that we can emulate the underpinning work so thoroughly undertaken by Jim. Erica M Caldwell Honorary President SAGT, Education Convener RSGS All change in the Education Committee Long serving stalwart Jim Carson has handed the reins of our education committee to Erica Caldwell. Jim won our inaugural Tivy Education Medal last year and has given much of his energy to the promotion of Geography in schools and we are very pleased that he will remain part of the committee. Erica brings vast expertise, enthusiasm and youth to the role, and as Chair of the SAGT, we are hopeful that our mutual links will continue to flourish.
University of Dundee Geography at Dundee is delighted with the rating it received in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. This shows that virtually all staff are contributing research judged to be of international excellence with much work considered to be world class. Geography and Environmental Studies was ranked first equal in Scotland with St Andrews in the 2008 RAE. Geographers are also set to play a central role in a new universitywide research initiative called the Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR) which will explore how science, social science, legal and health perspectives can be brought together to tackle issues of global significance such as climate change, vulnerability and sustainability. The Scottish Crop Research Institute in Invergowrie have engaged with this centre in a strategic partnership and three new interdisciplinary PhD studentships, such as ‘drought and food security resilience in Malawi’ have been funded and will commence in September 2009. The staff will welcome Dr Lorraine van Blerk to a Senior Lectureship in Human Geography in November 2009 from the University of Reading. Lorraine’s research expertise focuses on the geographies of children and youth. University of Aberdeen A team from Aberdeen University have embarked on a project with Western Isles Council (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) and funded by the Scottish Government to address the issue of coastal flooding along the Atlantic coast of South Uist and Benbecula. During the 11th January 2005 to 12th January 2005 a very severe storm hit the west coast of the Western Isles, damaging houses, roads and buildings. The devastating storm led to the tragic loss of life of a family of five trying to escape the floodwaters. In the aftermath of this tragedy, local attention focused on the South Ford causeway that joins South Uist and Benbecula and which replaced the earlier bridge structure in 1984. A particular concern is Gualan Island, a 3 km long barrier island to the west of South Ford, which suffered significant erosion during the storm. There is concern from residents that, should it be allowed to erode, wave and tidal flows in South Ford would become more severe and people living on the shores could be at increasing risk of harm from the effects of future storms during extreme high tides. The Scottish Government has provided £200,000 to undertake a hydrodynamic study of the South Ford area, to model and simulate the effects of floodwater and sediment transport for the South Ford area linked to scenarios of extreme weather conditions. The team is led by Professors Alastair Dawson and Bill Ritchie of the Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management. New £12m research hub to tackle digital challenges in rural areas The University of Aberdeen has been awarded £12.4 million of funding over five years to investigate how advances in digital technologies can transform rural communities, society and business. The funding is the largest single externally funded grant to be received by the University, and will create 60 new jobs and studentships. The Rural Digital Economy Research Hub will conduct research and development into digital technologies to enhance how crucial services such as healthcare and transport are delivered in rural areas across the UK. It will also investigate how new technologies can benefit rural economies and communities by promoting new forms of enterprise in areas such as tourism and nature conservation. The Aberdeen Rural Digital Economy Research Hub is one of three such centres in the UK focusing on the development of digital technologies for the future. It is the only centre to be based in Scotland. Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen said: “This is an extremely important research award for the University and for northern Scotland, and will create 60 new posts and studentships. “It brings together experts from different disciplines to exploit rapidly-advancing digital technology and bring economic, health, and quality of life benefits to rural communities. This will not only harness economic potential but also change in very practical ways the lives of millions of people across the UK and beyond.” University of Strathclyde Creating sustainable communities is not easy. Across the UK, and indeed much of world, governments have been taking a radical reappraisal of how communities can be supported to improve their quality of life. Most agree there is a need both to reinvigorate older neighbourhoods and to create new places where people want to live – carbon-efficient, socially cohesive and well-connected. Over the past year, a research team coordinated from the University of Strathclyde by Dr Robert Rogerson, Head of the Department of Geography & Sociology, has been investigating how skills and knowledge required to create sustainable communities can be supported and developed. Funded jointly by the ESRC and the Homes & Community Academy, this major £800,000 initiative has involved 11 research teams across the UK. The initial results were launched in London in early June to an invited audience of key policymakers. There, Dr Rogerson and his colleagues from Warwick and Manchester Universities, emphasised the challenges which continue to exist in helping make places where people want to live and experience a high quality of life. They outlined the need for a new policy approach which emphasised the skills and competencies already available in communities rather than focussing only on the skills gap, and suggested that clearer definitions of what could make a ‘sustainable community’ were necessary. Further details and project summaries are published on the Initiative website – www.gs.strath.ac.uk/suscoms University of Edinburgh The initial focus of our research has been to carry out a socio-economic appraisal of two communities situated on opposing borders of the Zomba Plateau Forest Reserve and to establish the threats which have contributed to the degradation of the forest areas upon which they depend. With these findings we hope to make recommendations as to how any future REDD policy implemented in the forest reserve could beoptimally designed so as to deliver community co-benefits, reduce the leakage of emissions from degrading activities into neighbouring forest areas and ultimately ensure the permanence of any emission reductions initially achieved. The 14-15 GeographerSummer 2009 University News These reports are part of a rolling programme that will capture other areas of research in forthcoming issues.
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Summer - Royal Scottish Geographical Society

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