"Look at it this way"

An update from the Telegraph which will add an extra 'layer' to those lessons on Wind Turbines...

This blog was launched to support my KS3 Toolkit book  when it was published. There are now 301 posts here, which include further resources to flesh out the lessons in the book, as well as other more general landscape-related posts. Thanks for reading. The book is still available from the GA shop - if you see me, I'm happy to sign your copy ;)

The GTAV (Geography Teachers' Association of Victoria) has created ScoopIt pages for the new Australian Geography Curriculum. Landscapes are covered in Year 8, and there are some useful links on the page. Search GTAV on the ScoopIt homepage to find others... A nice idea for the changing UK curriculum.... 

Earlier today posted the ten thousandth picture up on my Flickr page. Check the sets for plenty of themed sets of images. There are certainly plenty of LANDSCAPE images from various EU countries, and all over the UK. Images available under Creative Commons non-commercial / attribution license.

Thanks to Matt Podbury for the tipoff to this little simulation game. Create the landscape feature by choosing the agent of change and the timescale How many can you get to match ? A nice bit of fun.... Students could research the veracity of the answers, or suggest other agents of landscape change and the impacts that they have...

Some nice ideas for exploring the rural landscape from FACE. Some from my GA colleague Paula Owens here. Go HERE to download your own copy.

For my new teaching job I had to teach a lesson on the theme of Wind Farm Development. Fortunately, the department has been using my GA KS3 toolkit 'Look at it this Way' This book is still available to buy from the GA Shop. I decided in the time that I had to prepare for my interview lesson, which was very short and ended up being in the early hours of the morning of the day itself, that I would adapt a lesson from the book. Some of the students had apparently been doing some of the activities already, so had a flavour of what to expect. Here's an image of a wind farm that I took while on my way between home and Sheffield. I discovered that in terms of the definition of a wind farm, then as few as two wind turbines could be classed as a wind farm for planning purposes, although some local authorities classed it as three. There was no overall definition in terms of numbers. Wind Farm, Lincolnshire Fens, as seen from the A17 Image by Alan Parkinson As I had a ...

Countryside in crisis?   Thursday 27 June 2013 7.00 - 8.30pm  (registration opens from  6.00pm ) Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR Environmental risks and hazards like bovine TB, ash dieback and neonicotinoid pesticides are affecting our biodiversity and agriculture. With scientific uncertainty about the impact and scale of these risks, policy-makers face difficult decisions. Badger culls have been implemented, neonicotinoid pesticides have been banned for their effect on the bee population, and the public are helping spot the early warning signs of Ash Dieback. How can all groups of society input into this decision-making process and is Government getting its policies right and striking a balance between maximising innovation and minimising harm? The event will be chaired by  Tom Heap   from   BBC Countryfile Tickets – All welcome £10 / Free for RGS-IBG Members, school members and Fellows /  Book online ...

Over at Living Geography....

Just listening to this, and an interesting mention for wind turbines.... Nice track too...

Via Jason Sawle. Map is HERE. Hold down shift and drag out a box to zoom in...

"For as far as our records go back, we have held these two things dear, landscape & memory. Each infuses us with a different kind of life." Barry Lopez

Watch the full video with related content here: http://www.richannel.org/north One of many useful videos over at the Royal Institution's Environment video channel.