Farming Landscapes

Down on the farm.

Over to Hall Farm, Wickmere (between Aylsham and Holt) today for a 6th Form Student Day organised by Holt and District Farmers Club.
Took minibus full of students - weather was fine - in fact I've got a sunburnt neck... - and had a farm tour which included 7 stops where we had talks from Bernard Matthews representatives, cattle managers, farmers, potato marketers, agronomists and people from British Sugar. Thanks to Bill, a potato farmer himself, who took us round.
There was a very nice glossy booklet full of very useful information on management and economics of the farm to take away with us, and at the end of the trip there was a free HOG ROAST, which was much appreciated by all (I had a cheese and cucumber sandwich...)
Below is a sample of pictures for a taster of the day...
If you teach in a school in Norfolk it is much to be recommended, especially as it is "my favourite price"...
Good to meet up with several colleagues from other schools, and thanks to Miss Muncaster for her excellent navigation on those windy country roads with the grass growing down the middle... Here is a sample of some of the pictures I took, with some more in my new FLICKR set. Feel free to use appropriately (Creative Commons licensed)

Thanks to all involved in the organisation of the event...

Comments

Making Space for Sand

Making Space for Sand is a project I was made aware of recently. The ‘Building Community Resilience on a Dynamic Coastline by Making Space for Sand’ project (also known as Making Space for Sand or MS4S) is one of 25 national projects funded by DEFRA as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme (FCRIP). The programme will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate. The project website has an excellent section outlining the formation of Sand Dunes, particularly within the located context of Cornwall. Sand Dunes are an important part of the coastal defences in the locations where they are found. I am particularly familiar with the dunes on the North Norfolk Coast at places like Holkham. I've previously carried out fieldwork on those dunes with both GCSE and 'A' level students, and also Atkins has provided GIS support and created some visualisations of future landscapes.

Explore the world with the Go Jetters

Really useful post and resource for those teaching Primary Geography . A new set of characters called the Go Jetters who teach young people about key geographical ideas. Geography helps children to make sense of their world. Very young children are naturally curious, and they love to actively explore the world around them, noticing all kinds of detail. That’s why they need to develop geographical vocabulary like the names of places, people and things, and the words needed to describe and locate them. It helps to think of children as little geographers – they each have their own world of private geographies - the places they name for themselves with meanings that only they understand: the dens where they hide out with their friends, special meeting places in the school playground. Whether they’re playing in the back garden, or splashing through a muddy puddle on the way to school, children are intrepid explorers making new (to them) discoveries about the world every sing...

Landscape in a Box - more student examples

Thanks to Jack Marsh for sending me some examples of 'landscapes in a box '. Landscapes in a box is one of the ideas that seems to have gone down the best of the things that I've shared over the years. The basic idea is to create a landscape within a box, perhaps a burger box (but could also be a shoe box) This was featured in 'Teaching Geography' in 2009. Jack used the activity with his groups, and has sent me three excellent images of contrasting images from the students: an Antarctic scene, New York's Central Park, and Paris... Outstanding work !! If you've used Landscape in a Box, why not share your students' work too...

"Look at it this way"

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