Roses are read....

I've been reading through the Year 8 projects on roses, which are mostly of a very good standard. There are some really nice individual contributions that have been made - I liked some of the presentation choices, and those which had some additional original research which went beyond what I suggested. Remember that as with all the work we do, the lessons are just the beginning of your geographical exploration... the world is bigger than any particular case study or example.

Next stop, the exams. You'll receive your revision notes next week...

Climate Change threatens our food supply

I'm currently marking the Year 7 menus that are good for the world, and there are some really creative ideas there...
This story connects directly with that, and makes for worrying reading.
It's a report by Asda which looks at the potential impact of climate change on our food security. Time to get an allotment perhaps...

Perfect for Year 9 Risky Places assessment

A few useful places for those who are doing the Year 9 Risky Places assessment this week. It also connects with the Michaelmas term unit on Cities.

The first is an article in The Guardian which is part of a series on cities which face risks. A really interesting story about the red circles which are being placed on buildings in Bucharest. Which buildings have the red circles added ?

This was accompanied by another article, which was a report by insurance firm Swiss Re.
The resources that are created by Swiss Re have been really useful to me over the years, as they are closely linked with geographical processes.

The report lists the 10 top cities which are the riskiest.

10. Tehran
9. Los Angeles
8. Shanghai
7. Kolkata
6. Nagoya
5. Jakarta
4. Osaka-Kobe
3. Pearl River Delta
2. Manila
1. Tokyo-Yokahama

And finally in this trio of great articles from the Guardian comes an article on environmental health risks, which puts AIR POLLUTION right at the top.

Image: Alan Parkinson - Athens

Year 8 Assessment Sheet

Remember to keep to these criteria. The work will be marked on one of four levels to provide your mark.

Guidance Sheet Year 8 Roses Assessment

An additional Flower video...

Oserian Farm kenya, place of peace from Oserian Farm on Vimeo.

Thanks to Sam for sending through the link to this useful video for the Year 8 assessment.

Look at the food miles on that...

Angela Morelli's Virtual Water

Angela Morelli's Virtual Water site has undergone a change since last time I visited and has turned into an interactive experience which animates and tells a story as you scroll down the page.
Take a look if you are doing research for the Year 7 menu task.
Also available as an app.

Year 9 Note taking proforma

Useful addition to the Research Diary which everyone has been provided with for the Year 9 Risky Places assessment.
Remember to include a full bibliography with your work.

Note Taking Proforma

Naivasha and flowers...

We have started the research for the Year 8 assessment piece on Valentine's Roses. This is taken from a book by Louise Ellis.

Roses are produced in a number of countries.
The main countries that supply roses for the UK market are:
UK, Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya and Israel.

One of the areas that we have been focussing on is Kenya's Lake Naivasha.

This is an area that has been significantly changed by the flower industry.

Try to find out more about the lake, with stories like this, this one from 2007 (the lake is still around 7 years after the story, but in what state ?), or this video from 2012.

Finally, you could read this article to see how the industry is changing the lives of people who work in it.

You need to provide a balanced story with some points for and against the development of this industry in what is a relatively poor country.


Image of Naivasha above shared on Flickr under Creative Commons license by user MarcProudfoot
Many thanks for sharing...

Image of flowers by Alan Parkinson - you'll be pleased to know that they're still alive as of Sunday the 16th....

5-4-3-2-1 for 8G1