Yellowing of the Landscape

Around this time of year, a growing percentage of arable land in the UK starts to turn yellow as the rapeseed comes into flower.

Living where I do, in central Norfolk, there is a lot of it about, in the fields around Dereham, Swaffham, Fakenham and towards Downham Market.

On the way to work each day I pass through Fincham near Downham Market, and the farm and processing plant for Mr Hugh's: a rapeseed oil brand which is sold in local supermarkets.

This has now gone national in its availability. It's the one I choose for cooking out of preference.

Read the story here.

Some years ago now, I added an activity to my KS3 Toolkit book: 'Look at it this Way: what are your views on landscapes?'

This is still available from the GA Shop.

The activity was inspired by a newspaper clipping / story on Japanese tourists who were visiting the rape fields on coach trips.

Comments

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...

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...

Ideal scenery

Check out this Robert MacFarlane tweet, and the replies that follow for a whole host of ideas on different people's ideal landscapes... Some wonderful images and brief descriptions ideal for sharing... "Tramlines and slagheaps, pieces of machinery, That was, and still is, my ideal scenery." WH Auden Question: what is your "ideal scenery"? pic.twitter.com/8QLS0HRZt9 — Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) July 6, 2017

"Look at it this way"

Search This Blog