The tragedy of the loss of Erasmus

As a geographer, it's clear that I would only ever see leaving the EU as a terrible decision. 

No country prospers without connections with others in the modern day. Great Britain may have prospered in the past by stealing the resources of other countries and colonising them, but that's no longer an option that sits well with the international community. Interdependence trumps independence.

One of the real tragedies of the proposed deal (which has not been accepted yet by the UK Parliament) is the loss of the ERASMUS scheme. The school where I teach has had significant involvement in ERASMUS, with seven projects, including three I have been personally involved in co-ordinating on behalf of the school. These have involved hundreds of students in visiting a range of countries including Spain, Sweden and Reunion Island (France), and connections being made with academics and colleagues in other schools and universities in a range of European countries.

Prior to that, I also took part in a great many ERASMUS funded projects which took me all over Europe and connected me with hundreds of inspirational colleagues: students, teachers and academic geographers. I was able to work numerous times at Salzburg University, learn from Finnish colleagues about their work in the outdoors, discuss curriculum development with Turkish colleagues in the heat of the Alentejo and walk on an ice-bound lake on the Slovenian border. 

My colleague Esmeralda Salgado (MFL colleagues should follow her on Twitter here) has shared her own ideas of why ERASMUS needs to be retained. A petition has also been set up and is waiting for approval before being available for signing - hopefully before the end of the year.

Read Esmeralda's blog post on the loss of ERASMUS here.

Here's Julian Baggini on his own experiences of ERASMUS.

Thanks to Covid, the neighbours haven’t been round for Christmas this year, and thanks to Brexit, in future we’ll be spending less quality time with our European neighbours too. The walls are going up again and no amount of trade windows can compensate for that.

From what I've seen, the proposed Turing Scheme replacement will not be a replacement. It doesn't include the same features as the original in any way, or focus on all the Key Actions that ERASMUS does, or require reciprocal travel, or target the same people...

I will enjoy the remaining years which are left on the ERASMUS projects we are currently completing - albeit virtually - and fingers crossed for our final application on a project which developed from the Covid-19 pandemic and responses to it. I also hope to continue to be involved, as an external consultant, on future projects, and perhaps there will be some opportunities to be involved on behalf of other European countries.

There will be other unintended negative consequences doubtless. (When you read (and I checked) that the partly cut and pasted Brexit UK-EU deal references Netscape Communicator 4.0 as a suitable web application. It was discontinued in 2006.

 Here's another:

Thanks to #Brexit, the Falklands now faces a 6-18% tariff on EU-bound exports:
—‘The situation for the Falkland Islands is crucial since fisheries contribute some 90% of exports sent to the EU, 40% of GDP and some 60% of the treasury's revenue.’ https://t.co/3CJv8WneL2 https://t.co/uhxG3umLQZ

— Alasdair Pinkerton (@AlPinkerton) December 28, 2020

Here's Professor Alison Phipps from the University of Glasgow:

"Erasmus: the life-mind-heart expanding glorious adventure into freedom, responsibility and myriad ways of knowing and speaking the world. Wanton theft of this peacemongering freedom isn’t so much a deal as a cultural mugging of young people. Cruelty is the point again.” 

Flood warnings on the Ouse Washes

 

View more gauges on Gaugemap.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading...

Taking the traditional Christmas blogging break.

I shall be back early in 2021. This will involve me in developing some remote learning options for a short while at least, because of the requirement to introduce testing into schools - I shall refrain from commenting on that...

Wishing everyone who has read this blog during 2020 a peaceful break, and a slightly improved 2021 over the ups and downs of the one that is ending...

Image: Ronald Lampitt

Sea defence update

Another update - this time for Y7

We've completed the installation of sea defences in Withernsea on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, helping to protect the town from the threat of coastal erosion. Look at the difference between the before and after photos!

Read more: https://t.co/Eq3f0Vy4o0 pic.twitter.com/P9NLdywk4G

— BAM Nuttall (@BAMNuttall) December 17, 2020

Ella and air pollution

For those Year 9s who have been following this story as we suggested. The sad story of Ella and her parents' fight to have air pollution added as the cause of her death.

This Guardian article outlines the outcome.

Remember that your teachers will have given you a date by which we would like you to submit your final reports. Data and graphs have been provided based on the 300 data points that Y9 cumulatively collected.

No-kill lab-grown meat

Available for the first time.

Cultured in bioreactors... 

 

A68a on collision course with South Georgia

As mentioned previously, Mr. Parkinson wrote these resources for the South Georgia Heritage Trust which were published earlier in the year.

The island is in the news at the moment, as the huge iceberg which broke off the Larsen C ice shelf in 2017.

It is now only about 50km from the island.

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.

Air Quality Fieldwork

Data collected on the 4th of December.

Air Quality

Year 9 are on to the Air Quality fieldwork investigation task.

This involves them in collecting data using a hand held device similar to the ones here. They were purchased on eBay, and seem to be reasonably accurate.

There are also several sources of secondary data as well as the primary data we are collecting, using Survey123 and ArcGIS Online.

Winterton Beach Cafe

Sharing the story of this cafe today with students. 

Sadly, it will be demolished tomorrow, but you can see in this dune footage just how much sand was removed by recent surges.

Gapminder - time to upgrade your knowledge

I've been answering a few emails for a while now as part of a group of Beta testers for new Gapminder output, and you can now test your knowledge with the new Upgrader for the original Gapminder ignorance test. 

Here's Ola Rosling announcing it.

Introducing the WORLDVIEW UPGRADER! Gapminder's new FREE service for helping replace misconceptions with facts.https://t.co/GGCrfOGPiG#gapminder #worldviewupgrader pic.twitter.com/eZ6whaRsnj

— Gapminder (@Gapminder) November 30, 2020

I will be using this with my Year 8 group later in the week.

Here's my certificate - proof that my knowledge has been upgraded.

Give it a go, or set it as a homework.

High St Shops

Ely Standard content

Special edition on 21st of October looked at how shops were coping with the pandemic.

It focussed on the Independent Shops which make Ely classed as a Border Town according to the survey that we carried out.

Gibbs of Ely

Video

Louise Smith, manageress, said: “It was challenging but we were fortunate to still have the back to school trade which has kept us going and will see us through the winter”.

The Fudge Company

Video

Ely also featured on ITV News Anglia this week, looking at some of the businesses that had opened up, including the new Bagel Cafe in what used to be 'Tea for Two'.

Keep an eye on further changes on the High Street.

America - how did it become a superpower?

A new series starting this Saturday on Channel 5 will provide the answer.

Geography of Stuff - e-Waste

Say miaow to Hypnocat...

A piece in the BBC News caught my eye today - always working even over half term of course. Geography never stops after all.

It talked about giving electronic items a repairability rating.

The article also talked about the WEEE directive which we cover when we do our unit on the Geography of Stuff in Year 8 in the Lent Term.

Here's a graphic from the piece looking at what electrical items we throw away the most.

Source: Southampton University - copyright BBC News.

The article uses this graphic from Southampton University.

Last year, the EU adopted Right to Repair standards, which mean that from 2021 firms will have to make appliances longer-lasting and supply spare parts for machines for up to 10 years.

The UK government has pledged to "match and even exceed EU eco-product regulations" in the post-Brexit era. 

That makes me laugh frankly, when you read the UN report on WEEE and who produces the most.

The article introduced me to Material Focus.

In the UK, the WEEE sector body, Material Focus – formerly the WEEE Fund with funds via the compliance fee part of the UK’s WEEE system, has also carried out recent research. It claimed that the UK economy could save £370 million if all the old small electricals that are “either thrown away or hoarded” were recycled.

They are behind a campaign to Recycle your Electricals, which uses Hypnocat...

This makes the point that there are hundreds of millions of pounds worth of unused electrical items sitting in sheds, garages, attics and under sink cupboards in the kitchens of the UK. The manufacture of these involves the use of raw materials which are in limited supply.