Iceland Trip with Rayburn Tours

 

As I mentioned in a recent post, I spent five days of the first week of my half term in Iceland. 

This introduced me to a couple of new locations which I hadn't visited before - including the car parks and tracks leading to the recent Fagradasfjall lava flows - and also reminded me of a great many that I'd been to previously before the pandemic and I enjoyed experiencing the power of Gullfoss (and the taste of the ice cream at Efstidalur).

There had been some changes in tourst infrastructure in familiar locations with others being constructed e.g. a nice new toilet block at Thingvellir for visitors, and new paths etc.

I will be working with Rayburn Tours to lead future tours through 2023 and beyond.

I've got a special Iceland blog which will host all the reading and planning I'm doing around these tours, which already hosts the year long 365 blog project which I completed in 2020 (when I was originally going to be visiting four times).

On future visits I hope to head up to the Westfjords to see some additional new locations which are being added to the itineraries, and which I will also visit on a planned visit with my own school during 2024.

Rayburn Tours have also updated their RAYBURN ICELAND SERIES set of resources.

There are two sections of resources:

Unit 1: Natural HazardsSlick looking PowerPoint presentation + Activity Sheet
Classroom Poster
Fagradalsfjall Case Study + Activity Sheet

Unit 2: Energy ResourcesSlick looking PowerPoint presentation
Classroom Poster
Iceland’s Energy Resources Issue Evaluation (Both digital form-fillable and printable versions)

There are many more to come as well:

Ron Bartle: a life well lived

If you don't know who Ron Bartle is, this film will tell you everything you need to know... and his philosophy on life....

An inspiration for Mark Beaumont, who we followed on some of his earlier expeditions including cycling around the world in less than 80 days, which is still astonishing to think about.

Fens Biosphere Project

 

I am currently putting together an updated unit on the Fenland landscape.

Elements of this will be used in 2021.

This image here is of the 'famous' leaning tree in Ely which I've photographed many times over the years.

The Fens Biosphere project has received funding to support its work and has a new website. It aims to have the Fens declared as a biosphere.

A Biosphere is a special status awarded by UNESCO to a unique and valuable landscape. Biospheres connect people, economies and nature to create a secure future we can all look forward to. They are about developing new ways of living, exploring new ideas and working together.

The key characteristics of the area are suggested below:

The geographical boundaries of the Fens Biosphere have been built around the following key aspects of this landscape:

The peat soils, the ‘black gold’ of the Fens. Within the proposed boundary the dominant soil type is peat, intermixed with silt soils. Peat has become a scarce resource due to ongoing peat loss through shrinkage and fen blows caused largely by intense drainage and farming regimes; there is an urgent need to preserve remaining peat soils.

An important food-producing area dominated by Grade 1 and grade 2 soils; farming and food production are at the beating heart of the Fens. There is a need to ensure farming and the food sector remains vital to the local economy.

Extensive ditch and waterways network: Ditches, the ‘upside-down hedgerows’ of the Fens are renowned for their high biodiversity value, the area being a stronghold for many rare species such as spined loach and water voles.

Internationally important lowland wetland habitats (core areas on map), including Nene Washes, Ouse Washes, Wicken Fen and Holme Fen.

Multiple wetland vision projects, such as the Wildlife Trust’s Great Fen Vision, the National Trust’s Wicken Fen Vision and the expanding RSPB Ouse Fen reedbeds.

Several partnership-led initiatives for landscape-scale conservation in the arable landscape, including the Ely Nature-Friendly Farming Zone and Thorney Nature-Friendly Farming Zone.

Big urban populations acting as ‘gateways’ to the more rural Fens landscape: Cambridge; Peterborough; Wisbech

Historic market towns / small cities in the heart of the area: Ely; March; Chatteris; Whittlesey and Fen Edge towns that will feature in the transition zone such as St Ives, Soham, Ramsey and Downham Market. 

Cutting-edge R&D, digital industries and innovative high-tech and agri-tech businesses – some of which also operate in the Fens – in Cambridge, the internationally recognised centre of academic research, and the Cambridge – Peterborough enterprise zone. 

The number of academic and businesses dealing with sustainability, climate change and agri-tech developments is vast and still growing.

Coasts Virtual Tour - preparing for the new academic year

New on InternetGeography is a virtual tour of Flamborough Head.

I will be making use of this to explore the coast and go along with the DME that I also use from Internet Geography.

Coastal Erosion and Happisburgh

Which areas of coastline are most at risk from erosion?

The Environment Agency has created these maps which allow you to zoom into areas of coastline and see to what extent they have been defended.

The insurance company Confused.com has been busy producing assessments of which communities around the coast are most at risk of erosion. Click on one to see a simple map, some data about the settlement, along with an animation of the rate of erosion over the next few decades.



At number one is Happisburgh.
An interesting article in the i paper today, on the Norfolk village of Happisburgh.

The Cuillins

As seen on Google Earth...

Queues on Everest

We have been exploring this with Year 8 this half term.

Is it ethical for trekking companies to accept payment from clients to then place them in high risk traffic jams at over 8000m?... pic.twitter.com/MmzVFy6Na5

— Ash Routen (@AshRouten) May 23, 2019

This image has been shared many times over the last few days, showing a queue of climbers attempting to reach the summit of Everest on a sunny summit opportunity. I shall talk about the image later.

There were several climbers who died as a result of this queue, and over a dozen have died in the last week or so. This has been a deadly climbing season.

Yesterday, it was announced that a UK climber has also sadly died.

The weather during this climbing season has been quite bad, partly as a result of a cyclone which hit India. This means that the 'good' days see hundreds of climbers trying to achieve their ambition of standing on the highest point on the planet. I've read many books over the years about the mountain, and seen many films and other media. I've followed the tweets and Facebook updates of fellow OS GetOutside Champion Kenton Cool, and Ben Fogle as they climbed Everest last year.

The Guardian has further reporting on the story.

A story from 2017 in similar vein shows that this is not a new story of course. Since the resurgence of climbs on Everest in the 1970s and 1980s there have been tragedies, often well below the Death Zone. I have used a range of resources to teach this topic.
A lot of my work has been framed by the work of Matt Podbury, who has produced an excellent set of materials on the mountain in his 8850 Unit on GeographyPods.

The image has been shared widely, often without credit. It was taken by Nirmal Purja Magar or 'Nims'
He is profiled here in National Geographic.

He has been part of Project Possible, which has been breaking records for climbing some of the most challenging peaks in the world in record time and hoping to continue during the current climbing season.


I also used a Tweet by Ben Fogle, and some of the responses to that tweet

Yesterday on Everest. Nepal and Tibet/China need to limit the number of climbers on the mountain with a London Marathon style lottery for climbing permits. pic.twitter.com/RERjSgnvXh

— Ben Fogle (@Benfogle) May 23, 2019

Today in the Observer, there is an excellent piece on some further thoughts on this 

And a few Dark Tourism Twitter accounts have made a link to this area of study which I am going to explore next year with my Year 8 groups. I've got some excellent resources to use as a basis, and am going to

And to finish, another reminder of the excellence of Public Service Broadcasting.



Update....

Listen to this interview on the Death Zone and queues as well...

New Danny MacAskill film

We've used them for the last few years with Year 7 to explore adventure landscapes.

Here is the latest of Danny's films... let's watch the millions of views roll in over the next few months.

A definition of landscape...

And a very good one at that...

“The landscape is a polyrhythmic composition of processes whose pulse varies from the erratic flutter of leaves to the measured drift and clash of tectonic plates.”

David Reason 1987 pic.twitter.com/MaUcTL4W26

— The Ice Age (@Jamie_Woodward_) November 13, 2018

Adventure Landscapes

Wild Scotland from John Duncan on Vimeo.

Shown this morning - what landscapes can you see?
How has the filming portrayed the Scottish landscape? Is it always like this?

Lake District National Park

Coming soon to a Year 7 lesson near you. Tony Walsh on the Lake District...

Poetry by Tony Walsh 

We have collaborated with northern poet Tony Walsh to create this unique short film, ‘Reflecting On The Lakes’. The unique film and poem celebrates what it’s like to live, work and love the National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and will inspire viewers to help us protect and care for this truly special place. The film sets out to shine a light on the real Lake District; celebrating all there is to love about the National Park, and declares: ‘it’s where farming shaped the landscape and where landscape shaped our lives, it’s now honoured by UNESCO with a badge we’ll wear with pride'. ‘Reflecting On The Lakes’, features scenes from across the Lake District which form the backdrop to a passionate piece of poetry written and performed by leading spoken word poet, Tony Walsh.

Hornsea Drone Footage

From the Internet Geography channel, comes the latest in a series of very useful videos for exploring coastal processes.

Geology of the UK

Using this today with Year 7

Mend the Mountains

 
A new campaign by the BMC targets our mountains, and is trying to raise one million to improve the nation's mountains. There's a useful video here showing the background to the campaign.

Mark Beaumont Podcast - Around the World in 78 Days

One for Year 7 to listen to. Hear about the journey in Mark's own words

Prepare to follow Leo Houlding

“It’s 21st-century exploration, at the edge of impossible.”
An excellent article in The Financial Times on the latest expedition of Leo Houlding.
He is planning to conquer a peak called the Spectre.
A few years ago, I heard Leo speak at the GA Conference on a previous expedition to Antarctica, and the logistics of getting there and completing the climb.
My notes and some links from that 2015 lecture are here. 

He will be using Union Glacier as a base: a location which we know a lot about in Year 8, having explored what it is like to live and work there.
It's coming back to life after the winter, and we've followed the Twitter feed of the organisation ALE.

The FT article includes some useful information on this aspect of the expeditions, and the difference between those and the experiences that wealthy people pay for...

The expedition website is here.
Good luck to Leo when he heads off next month...

Time for Geography

Time for a new school year. Time for Geography.
There are plenty of high quality resources available here at the very nicely designed Time for Geography site.


There are videos on Coasts, Rivers and Glaciation as well as Geog Topics, and some additional resources for those who register too.
Well worth a look - Year 7s you could learn something here...

Iceman Movie

A new movie reimagining the last days of Ötzi is opening next week with its premiere.

Mr. Parkinson wrote a book about him a few years ago, called 'The Ice Man', which is still available to buy.

There is plenty of note in the story, and Year 6 and other students have already been introduced to the story of the Ice Man in Geography lessons....

The film is described as follows: 

On August 8th at 9:30 pm the movie “Iceman” directed by Felix Randau will be presented to the world at the Locarno Festival. On the “Piazza Grande” the audience will follow closely the fictitious story about Ötzi’s last days and hours.

With Jürgen Vogel in the title role, the film speculates on what might have happened on the Tisenjoch some 5,300 years ago – when Ötzi the Iceman was murdered by an arrow striking him in the back. And above all, why? Director Felix Randau focuses in particular on bringing to life Ötzi’s last few days and the circumstances which could have led to his mysterious death.

Synopsis: 5,300 years ago in the Neolithic Age. An extended family is living peacefully beside a stream in the Öztal Alps. Their leader Kelab (Jürgen Vogel) has been charged with guarding the holy shrine.
Whilst Kelab is out hunting, his settlement is attacked and the entire tribe is murdered, including Kelab’s wife and son. The sacred shrine of the community is also taken away. Consumed by pain and anger, Kelab now has only one goal: revenge!
Kelab is now set on tracking down the perpetrators. During the course of his Odyssey through the mountains he is subjected to all the dangers of nature. A tragic error now makes him into the one that’s hunted. Finally Kelab has to confront not just those who murdered his family, but his own demons. Will he give way to his urge for revenge and thereby turn from victim to offender? Or will he succeed in breaking the eternal cycle of violence?

I hope that this makes it to the UK.
Here's the trailer:

Name this place

2 merits for King's students who recognise this geologically important location...

Ely Southern Bypass - construction about to start...

We were going to be teaching about this a few years ago, but it was delayed. Finally it seems that the new Ely Southern Bypass is about to start in the New Year, and take just over a year to be constructed. We will be keeping an eye on it as it's a major change in the local landscape.



As the Ely Standard has reported....

Preparatory works are set to start on January 9 to establish the working area to build the 1.7km of road which will include two significant bridges to cross the River Ouse and its flood plain as well as railway lines. These initial preparatory and clearing works will mean that construction should start in earnest in March.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Ian Bates, Chairman of Economy and Environment Committee, said: “It is clear from the public consultations that this bypass is much needed in the area. I welcome the news that we can now get diggers on the ground in the New Year and make a start on this vital link which will help boost the local economy. I would also like to thank all the partners that have helped fund this scheme and make it a reality. Not only will it benefit East Cambridgeshire but also further afield helping local businesses and residents.”

East Cambridgeshire District Council Leader, Councillor James Palmer said: “This is something the people of the area desperately need and I and East Cambridgeshire District Council have been campaigning for. Anyone who lives or drives here knows the congestion and pollution caused by the queues of lorries and that is only going to get worse as the level crossing is closed more often. It is harming the local economy and putting off business and I welcome the day that this new road is opened which will not only solve the current issues but bring even more opportunities to the area.”

Neil Darwin, Chief Executive of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP, said: “The Ely Southern Bypass is a key priority for the LEP. We have committed £22m of our Growth Deal, our biggest funding commitment from this deal to date, so we are pleased to hear that the Department for Transport has approved the scheme and that work can now get underway in earnest. The new bypass will deliver significant growth for the local area and ease the day to day traffic problems that local businesses and people currently face.”

The Department for Transport has confirmed that £16 million of the Growth Fund provided to Greater Cambridge, Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership can be used for the scheme. The project is being funded by Cambridgeshire County Council (£8m), East Cambridgeshire District Council (£1 million), Greater Cambridge, Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership grant (£6m + £16 million Growth Fund) and Network Rail (£5 million)

So this is a major change to Ely's local landscape... Lots of connections to infrastructure...