Food Security

Featured as part of our Food for Thought unit with Year 7.

The Food Foundation has released a new research report exploring the resilience of the UK to keep providing our ‘five a day’ given the heatwaves we have had this summer - not just in the UK but across Europe - and severe weather in other parts of the world. 

The UK's plan seems to be that we just buy food from other countries rather than grow it ourself. Assuming that: a) the price doesn't go up massively and b) they are happy to keep sending us food rather than using it to feed their own populations.

Long term, that doesn't seem like a good idea... and not overly resilient.

Food security is national security.

Five of the UK’s nine most-purchased fruits can be grown domestically – including apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pears – but the UK grows less than 40% of domestic consumption for four of those.

For vegetables, only carrots reach a high level of self-sufficiency (94%), while the UK could grow more of the vegetables most popular with British consumers, including tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, onions, broccoli and green beans, where only about half are produced domestically.

We currently import 80% of our fruit and 47% of our veg and the worsening climate and nature crisis globally means this reliance on imports poses a growing threat to our food and nutrition security.

Reported in The Guardian.

UK flood risk increasing

This story came into my feed earlier.

Up to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a “reasonable worst-case scenario” suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast.

The story is illustrated by a picture of what I know as the former Golden Sands Holiday Park. This has been explored by Anthony Bennett over on his Internet Geography site.

Year 7 students will recognise this well.

The story references a flood risk model called Fathom.

The original Open Access research report is here (PDF download).

This map in the story is very useful. The Fens and the area around the Wash are particularly at risk.

GA EDI Report - newly published

When I was serving on the GA's Governing Body, work started on a report exploring the diversity and inclusion of all aspects of the GA's activity. This was going to be produced by a Working Group called the DIWG.

It has taken a while to carry out the research that underpins the report. Thanks to all those who were involved in producing this.

Thanks to Steve Brace for sending me a copy of the report.

You can download your own copy from here.

Thanks also to the report's co-authors:

Elaine Anderson, Nona Anderson, Peter Jackson, Alastair Owens, Hina Robinson, Iram Sammar and Christine Winter.

The report is published today. It can be downloaded from the GA website.

GA press release says:

Despite growing diversity of the geography GCSE cohort, at A level and at university geography is one of the least diverse of all subjects.

The subject, and its institutions, are not serving all geography teachers nor all young people who could benefit from studying geography. Change is needed.

The Geographical Association (GA) recognises the need for change and invited feedback from a wide range of participants on its work and governance.

The Geography for Everyone? report, and the research on which it is based, was commissioned by the GA’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, established in response to the GA’s 'listening exercise'. This spoke of the need to ‘drive forward initiatives for greater diversity in the Association and support for anti-racist teaching in geography’.

While the research sets out to explore diversity and inclusion from a range of perspectives, the themes of ‘race’ and ethnicity were strongly emphasised in interviews with participants and are central to the report, perhaps reflecting wider societal concerns and movements like ‘Black Lives Matter’. The report’s co-authors Elaine Anderson, Nona Anderson, Peter Jackson, Alastair Owens, Hina Robinson, Iram Sammar and Christine Winter commented:

'Working together on this report has opened our eyes to some of the challenges that the Geographical Association faces in becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

But we are also optimistic that the GA can use the insights and recommendations in our report to drive change so that it supports the needs of all geography educators and helps to build a discipline that values the experiences and perspectives of everyone.'

The GA welcomes this report and its recommendations. These will help bring positive change to the Association and the subject.

The GA is currently preparing its new 2025 -30 strategic plan and ‘Geography for Everyone’ will be one of its guiding principles.

Sense of Place in the Fens

I came across this project via a potato farmer account - as you do.

Place, Community and Connection in the Fens.

It's an Open University research project which has been interviewing people living in the Fens.

Dr. Dan Taylor is leading the research.

To get a deeper understanding of place, infrastructure and community here, we’d like to talk with as many people living in Wisbech, Boston and Peterborough as we can. We want to hear from you the experts about what the strengths and challenges are of where you live. We believe that the rest of the UK can come and learn about the good things happening here as well as the policy solutions we might need to adapt to a changing world.

Imagine you were taking the Prime Minister on a walk around where you live. What makes this place a good place to live? What challenges do you encounter day to day? What can we do about them, together? What can government, local and national, do to help? What power would you like to have in your life, and in your communities, to make things better?

We’re planning to produce a report and short film at the end of 2024 and we’d love your input.

I look forward to seeing the outcome.

Nanoplastics

I referred to this research paper in my teaching, published last month, in January 2024.

It talks about the persistence of nano-plastics in the environment.

Fawcett Fellowship Research Questionnaire - your help requested

I'm proud to have been a UCL-IOE Fawcett Fellow for this academic year, working with others to explore curriculum thinking and epistemic quality in the curriculum.

In 1987 Edith Fawcett endowed annual Fellowships in the Department of Geography at UCL in memory of her father, Professor C B Fawcett, who was head of the department between 1928 and 1949. The Fellowships were originally designed to enable UK-based teachers and other professional geographers in mid-career to spend a sabbatical term studying at UCL. The teaching Fellows continued to be paid their full salary and the scheme funded replacement geography teaching. This has now been opened up to a second model, where regular meetings are held across a year. 

This year's group of fellows has had regular meetings at UCL, and discussions about curriculum, curriculum making and the influences which shape our professional practice. We have been discussing our decisions over what to teach, how to sequence it, and how to assess it. We have been using a number of books for inspiration, which have included the excellent David Gardner book published by the GA and others, including Alex Standish. We are drawn from different stages of our careers and different school contexts. It's been fascinating to learn from the other fellows, and I have a bulging notebook of notes and documents. We also have an input from Dr. Alex Standish during each session, and are also encouraged to follow up the Fellowship by applying for Masters level study.

We are now reaching the final stage of the year, and writing up our research and thinking. I've now got ethics clearance to launch the questionnaire which will inform the final part of my work and writing. The questionnaire is linked to and also embedded below.

This questionnaire is aimed at teachers who teach GEOGRAPHY, and refers to these lessons specifically. You don't have to be a full time Geography teacher to get involved. All responses are anonymous and may be referenced in a chapter for a forthcoming publication on curriculum thinking in geography. 

The aim of my Fawcett Fellowship is to research the impact of "everyday geographies" and how these are unpicked and taught by individual schools. My GA Presidential theme for 2021-22 was Everyday Geographies, and an exploration of the quotidian. 

As significant local / national / global news stories and related content (such as images and videos on social media accounts) appear, I'm keen to discover  how  you, as geography  teachers, react  to them and make time for them. 

This is particularly aimed at KS3 Geography teachers, but KS2 teachers would also be welcome to respond.

At  what point might these news stories prove weighty enough to displace other content in your curriculum and earn a place in your curriculum for the next few years, and what thought is given to the longevity of these stories placed against topics which form a stronger foundation for GCSE courses as they appear in the specification?  How are these stories combined with existing curriculum content, or used to displace previous case studies? Is thought given to how this might create an imbalance in the parts of the world covered, or the extent to which this reinforces partial views of the world?

Is there a tendency for these topics to skew curriculum offerings away from ‘physical geography’ or what might be considered important disciplinary knowledge because of their nature? Are more news stories likely to be what might be termed 'human' or 'environmental geography'?

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the questions below. 

Please provide as much detail as you are happy to provide.

You can fill in the survey on the embedded form below, or by clicking this link.

I am very grateful for any and all contributions.

If you want to let me know more thoughts, feel free to add a comment on the blogpost below, or DM me on Twitter: @GeoBlogs.

Thanks to SLT at King's Ely for supporting my application and enabling my involvement.

The application process for next year's Fawcett Fellowship will be open shortly, and I shall let you know all the details as soon as they are available.

Eggs - Nuffield Scholar report

I was recently completing a resource and doing some additional reading around the production of eggs: bringing an earlier PPT up to date.

I discovered the Nuffield Scholarship scheme for those involved in farming, which funds travel and investigation to aid foor production.

Nuffield funds a number of scholars each year who do research and share it back in some way for wider dissemination. They write reports. This report is by Hannah Easthaugh.

(PDF download)

There were some interesting facts in the synopsis of the full report.

Average retail prices decreased from £3.14/dozen in 2007 to £1.30/dozen in 2018 and have now crept up again.

It shows how we have got used to food being cheap, and that the recent increases, which are the result of a great many different factors are going to cause an issue for many consumers who are being hit by other price rises and inflation, along with wages failing to keep pace with the changing costs.

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

Primary Geography research report published

A rather comprehensive research document focussing on Primary Geography has been published and is being hosted on the GA website.

What are the indicators for high quality #primaryGeography?
After nearly three years of work, our team from @EYPPC_GA are delighted that this ‘free to access’ piece of #research is now published on @The_GA site. https://t.co/RYeN0mrL8D

— Dr Paula Owens FRGS (@Primageographer) July 27, 2022

The research was based on the GA's Primary Geography Quality Mark, and looked at outcomes from this. I'm delighted to have been part of the moderation team for the Quality Mark for quite a few years now - at least eight I think. I've also been part of the Secondary Quality Mark moderation team since the beginning - going back to before the Action Plan for Geography.

Click the link to download the report as a PDF.

There's an excellent authoring team for the report:

Professor Simon Catling – Professor Emeritus of Primary Education, Oxford Brookes University, GA President 1992–93 

Kate Glanville – Senior lecturer in geography education, Birmingham City University 

Jeremy Krause – Education Consultant, GA President 2001–02 

Jen Lomas – Primary school teacher and geography subject leader, London 

Dr Paula Owens – Geography Education Consultant, previously GA primary lead 

Steve Rawlinson – Geography Education Consultant, GA Former President 2015–16, Primary Geography journal Board Chair 

Dr Sharon Witt – Geography Education Consultant

This will be of particular value to those schools which are applying for the PGQM in the future, as it provides a wealth of information about the feedback given by moderators and what we are looking for in top quality Primary Geography. Congratulations to all the author team.

The GA's National Research Report - now available

Download a copy of the report here.

The Geographical Association (GA) published a national research report today, focused on the professional needs and views of teachers of geography. 

The report presents the findings from a two-stage ‘listening exercise’, comprised of an online survey and a series of focus group discussions with geography educators from the primary, secondary and post-16/HE phases and from Initial Teacher Education (ITE).

The most consistent finding of the research is that subject-specialist issues are a key concern for all those involved in geography education, primary geography subject leaders, secondary practitioners early in their career, experienced secondary school heads of geography and geography ITE tutors. It concludes that more action is needed to meet the demands of geography educators for support with subject-specialist knowledge, skills, confidence and connections. The research also:

• points to the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on geography education, highlighting that these impacts vary greatly from school to school and between individuals

• identifies what geography teachers value about their professional subject association, particularly their desire to network with one another

• emphasises the relevance of global environmental and social issues to geography and the need for the geography education community to respond to these issues.

GA Chief Executive Alan Kinder said:

‘This GA National Research Report has been a year in the making and I’d like to thank all those GA members and others who gave their time towards such an insightful exercise. With a growing membership, the GA needs to work ever-harder to listen to and represent the views of its members. This report distils a huge range of ideas and makes recommendations for the GA, for policy-makers, for school leaders and teachers of geography. Our next challenge will be to pursue these findings and recommendations, so that children and young people in schools everywhere benefit from the improved support we are able to provide to teachers of geography, nationally and internationally.’

I was pleased to have played a part by facilitating one of the focus groups. Thanks to all those members and non-members alike who contributed to the fnal report, and particular thanks to Dr. Emma Rawlings-Smith and Alan Kinder who co-authored the report and to all those involved at various stages in its production.

The TES has picked up on the fieldwork issue for newly qualified teachers, which has been missing from many ITE courses:

New geography teachers lack the confidence to teach fieldwork after having limited experience of it during the pandemic, @The_GA warnshttps://t.co/DzJgTBx14c

— Tes (@tes) January 27, 2022

Thwaites Glacier - Year 8 work

The Thwaites glacier in Antarctica was in the news just before Christmas. There are worrying signs regarding its stability. The glacier is about the size of Germany, and if it was to melt it might lead to the collapse of parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)

The news last week were reporting on the start of the two month expedition to survey the stability of the glacier using a remote vessel called Boaty McBoatface.

We are following the expedition with Year 8 groups.

There has beens some coverage in the BBC News as well.

Routes Journal

This is the 2nd issue of the 2nd volume of the ROUTES journal.

Routes is a peer-reviewed digital journal for sixth form and undergraduate geographers looking to read and publish geographical knowledge.

They publish work from all areas of geographical scholarship, including both human and physical geography.

Routes is a free, open-access journal with no pay-walls or subscriptions.

It is free to submit and review work for Routes and there are no deadlines for submission.

Well worth seeking out, particularly as I am pleased to have an article in the journal of my own research into the people who have previously held the position of GA President.

The editorial for the issue is here.

Well done to the other contributors to this issue as well:

Examining the impact of the East Coast Low Storm, June 2016 on Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach, Sydney, Australia

Anna Pennington (Teacher of Geography at Pangbourne College)

Landscape assessment: A useful tool for A Level enquiry

By Edward Jones (Geography Teacher at Buxton Community School)

Walking in Paris: locating hidden sights in the city

By Emily Chandler (Geography Teacher at St George’s The British International School – Düsseldorf Rhein-Ruhr)

I particularly like this article as it connects with some of the influences of my GA Presidential theme of 'Everyday Geographies'.

Exploring the interactions between children’s sense of self and their sense of place through sport

By Zoë Sayliss (Geography Teacher at Berkhamsted School)

The importance and relevance of geographies of wellness to A Level independent research

By Charlotte Fulham (Geography Teacher at Bedford Free School)

Why not suggest to your students that they write and submit an article for a future issue - all the information on how to do that is on the Routes website.

Thanks to editors Cyrus Nayeri and Lizzie Rushton, and the peer reviewers and to all those who have supported the journal in various ways, including submitting articles.

Cite my article as shown below:

Parkinson, A. (2022) Researching the changing professional profile of the Geographical Association’s Presidents 1893-2021. Routes 2(2): 67-79

COMNAP Map of Antarctic Site Facilities

An excellent new map showing Antarctic facilities.

Click on any research station to find out more - a range of tools can be accessed from the toolbar at the bottom of the map too.

National Food Strategy report

The National Food Strategy report is new out and has been getting a lot of coverage in the media today for its headline recommendations to tax sugar and salt. It explores the impact of our food system on aspects of our daily lives and our health.

The report can be downloaded from here.

There are loads of very nice infographics and images and details, including a separate report on a youth consultation which will all feed into my unit called 'You are what you eat', which I have just finished refreshing ready for the new academic year...

National Park City challenge

Thanks to Kate Stockings who kindly got involved in a challenge that we set our Y7 students earlier in the term by recording a short video for us.
I noticed a section in a piece she wrote about wanting to become a London National Park City Ranger.

“I’ve learnt that the city is vast and yet intricate; it is open and yet increasingly private and it is friendly and yet intimidating. To navigate our city, you thus need knowledge. You need knowledge of where you can go freely, of where you can go safely and of where you can go to explore, to ramble, to learn and to be inspired. It is through giving people this knowledge, which I’m hoping to do as a London National Park City Ranger, that we will achieve the goal of making the city greener, wilder and more beautiful.” 



Kate has now shared the work on her blog so that others might be able to use the idea.

Here are the further questions that I challenged students with.

London Questions from GeoBlogs

Meaningful Maps - more research involvement for King's Ely

After the publication of the paper on VR in Education that I blogged about recently, there's a further project that we're involved with. In the last few weeks, students from several year groups have been involved with the Meaningful Maps project by drawing a map of a place that is important to them. These have been completed by some of my colleagues at Kings Ely Junior, and also King's Ely Acremont (thanks to Sarah Stevens for a big pile of maps)

The project is being organised by Stephen Scoffham, Peter Vujakovic and Paula Owens.
The website is now up and running, and it will develop as more maps come in during the pilot phase of the project which we are involved with.

Google Expeditions Press Release featuring King's Ely Geographers

We've been working with Google Expeditions research group from the Open University for a few weeks. They've come into King's twice, to lead sessions on VR (virtual reality)
There's now a good write-up of their visit with a good image that I took at the start, and an image of us at work later on.

Details in the document on how to get involved in the project if you're interested.