The stoves were one of the winners of the Earthshot Prize in 2022.
I have been using these stoves as an example of hopeful geographies. One woman has changed the lives of millions already through the sales of her stoves as well as the jobs created in manufacturing and selling the stoves and their fuel, which is made from agricultural waste in one of the designs.
Check out the website and the story.
Here's a worksheet that I used with Year 8 to help them interrogate the story.
The 34th book that has been published that I have been involved in creating.
My author copy has just arrived.
It's an anthology book, pulled together by Jennifer Monk and Catherine Owen. It features a whole range of people writing about different aspects of the subject.
Introduction – why this, why now?
1. What is geography? - this is the bit that I wrote.
2. Where has geographical enquiry taken me? 3. Writing a key stage 3 geography curriculum from scratch 4. Lesson planning in geography 5. Assessment at key stage 3 6. Purposeful feedback 7. Questioning in geography 8. Where does fieldwork fit in the 11–14 geography curriculum? 9. Using homework to add breadth and depth to the curriculum 10. Incorporating geographical skills within a curriculum 11. Making GIS ‘part of the furniture’ for the teaching of geography 12. Using models in the geography classroom 13. Oracy strategies to improve geographical writing 14. Literacy in geography 15. Writing like a geographer 16. Choosing and using case studies 17. Supporting students with SEND in geography 18. Teaching ‘disadvantaged’ students 19. Retrieval practice in geography 20. Using Instagram and an iPad to engage students 21. Leading a geography department 22. Supporting geography early career teachers 23. Supporting non-specialists to teach geography 24. One approach to key stage 2 geography - Moat Farm Junior School 25. Thinking synoptically in the A-level geography classroom 26. Teaching careers in geography 27. The wonder of physical geography 28. The diagram, the visualiser and the vignette: How to teach about the multiplier effect 29. Exploring gender in the secondary geography classroom 30. Geography … is it queer? 31. Why voices matter now 32. The power of storytelling in geography: a decolonial perspective 33. What is geography teaching today as a Black British geography teacher? 34. How can we make our UK geography content less England-centric? 35. Lantinx visibility 36. Environmental Education: An integrated approach 37. Climate change, super wicked problems and antifragility 38. At and beyond the chalkface: the role of the geography teacher in the age of climate crisis 39. Who owns the Earth? Property rights and environmental conflict 40. Hopeful geography
In Chapter 1, I try to answer an important question for geographers:
My copy was published by Hachette (John Catt) in 2025
This deals with the pedagogy around teaching about climate change and natural hazards.
This will have a bearing on an ERASMUS+ project I am about to start called EMOGI.
More on this in a recent post.
Here's a description of the project:
Dive into an immersive video game dedicated to flood risk prevention. You are a resident of a high-risk flood zone. It's up to you to anticipate and protect yourself from the rising waters. There's no room for error or your home will end up underwater...CRISEPAC project offers an intuitive and attractive online tool called MOOC which has free access for teachers and education professionals. This MOOC is developed around 9 modules and videos that explore the theme of natural risk in Europe:
The module topics are:
Why is it needed and important to teach about risks and disasters in class
Definitions: Risks, Hazards, Disasters - Disasters related to Climate Change
Risk memory
Risk typology
Natural Risk, Natural Hazards and Natural Disasters
Man-made risk, Man-made hazards and Man-made Disasters
Choose Geography is an annual supplement which is included with 'Geographical Magazine' each year.
This year, the Education team at the RGS have been more closely connected with the production of the supplement: the new Gatsby Benchmarks are a real focus for their work.
CoastCraft places the player in the role of managing the coast and making decisions for the needs of the community and the environment. The player can explore and visualise the future impacts of the decisions made and evaluate varying approaches to managing the coast.
CoastCraft is an educational game designed for students aged 9-14 (in England - Upper Primary Key stage 2 and lower secondary key stage 3.).
This game transports players to the coastal town of Bude in North Cornwall, modelled in Minecraft Education™ by BlockBuilders. Playing CoastCraft introduces students to the dynamic processes shaping coastal areas and challenges them to make decisions that balance the needs of various stakeholders while protecting the environment.
It was great to work with Tom Collins and colleagues from the Environment Agency. I learned a great deal from the coastal experts that were also involved in the project.
Learning objectives General
Learn about the features of coastal landscapes along with coastal processes.
Understand the characteristics of sand dune ecosystems, sand dune succession and how sand dunes are used as a nature-based solution for flooding and coastal erosion.
Explore a range of coastal management strategies to respond to predicted changes resulting from climate change and sea level rise.
Explore and visualise a range of potential futures influenced by the interactions with communities and stakeholders and the choices made by coastal managers.
Stage 1: Mini-games Mini-game 1: Storm Tower Erosion: 1. Learn about the processes of weathering and erosion acting on the coast. 2. Understand the impacts of coastal erosion on people and the environment. Mini-game 2: Dune Rollback and Succession: 1. Learn about the processes of sand dune formation. 2. Understand the characteristics of sand dune ecosystems, the process of sand dune succession and how healthy dune ecosystems develop. 3. Learn how sand dunes are used as a nature-based solution for flooding and erosion at the coast.
Stage 2: Main Game 1. Understand the concept of sustainability in relation to sustainable decision making in coastal locations. 2. Learn about the strategies and complexities of coastal management and how experts make informed decisions to manage coastal challenges. 3. Model how climate change, physical processes, and human decision-making interact to shape and transform coastal landscapes over time. 4. Explore and visualise a range of potential futures influenced by the interactions with communities, stakeholders and the choices made by coastal managers.
Please refer to the CoastCraft Teachers Pack in Supporting Files for more information.
I worked on this and I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. Here's the front cover. This can be downloaded from the link above and acts as a guide to coastal erosion as well as providing guidance on how the game works.
Finally, here's an excellent video guide made by Block Builders.
Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, said:
Coastal erosion is a natural and ongoing process and England’s coastline has never been static, but we know climate change is increasing the risks.
CoastCraft inspires young people to use their creativity to experiment with solutions to real world problems within the virtual Minecraft world, ensuring the next generation has the knowledge they need to face challenges now and in the future.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said:
As a former teacher, I’m thrilled that CoastCraft will help young people understand the impacts of our changing climate, empowering a new generation of scientists.
This virtual Minecraft world brings coastal change in communities like Cornwall to life, to show how the risk of flooding and coastal erosion is increasing due to climate change.
We’re investing a record £7.9 billion in capital funding over 10 years to better protect these coastal communities and are committed to making sure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.
Loic Rich, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for environment and climate change, said:
We’re really proud that our coastal community of Bude serves as the backdrop to this innovative game that teaches young people about coastal and flood resilience.
We want to say a big thank you to students at Sir James Smith School in Camelford and Windmill Hill Academy in Launceston, both of whom worked with our climate adaptation team to help develop and test CoastCraft which can now be played by young people across the globe.
