Dynamic Dunescapes - help with some research needed please

Over on Facebook you can get involved in some research into the use of sand dunes, and how they can be protected.

Details below from the website survey form.

Please spare 10 minutes to fill it in....
Here's some dunes I photographed earlier...

Image: Alan Parkinson

Sandboarding, picnics in a sheltered hollow, hide and seek... sand dunes are a familiar and natural playground. Complex and naturally mobile, the sand dunes of England and Wales are under threat as they are becoming fixed and sterile,  smothered by invasive scrub.
Plantlife, Natural England, National Trust, The Wildlife Trusts and Natural Resources Wales have been awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop ‘Dynamic Dunescapes’, a project that addresses this conservation challenge.

Dynamic Dunescapes also offers opportunities for schools and groups to engage in a Citizen Science programme. From one off surveys to regular activities, your future scientists can monitor these important habitats and contribute to real scientific research.  And we will give you all the support and materials you will need.

We would love it if you could take 10 minutes to complete this survey to tell us about your outdoor learning experiences and what you would like from this project.
Thank you again, and do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any further thoughts
Mel Worman
Outreach Development Manger – Dynamic Dunescapes, Plantlife
Melanie.worman@plantlife.org.uk

Concept Cartoons: a new resource for Sand dunes

Thanks to Emily from Millgate House Education for getting in touch about a new resource they have produced.
It makes use of Concept Cartoons, which have previously been used for teaching a range of subjects, but this is the first time they have been used to teach Geography. 

Concept Cartoons have been used successfully in classrooms internationally to teach maths, English and science.  We have recently started producing bespoke sets of Concept Cartoons focusing on smaller subject areas. Concept Cartoons encourage students to discuss their ideas in a real life context and often lead into individual or group investigations. They are particularly valuable for highlighting common misconceptions in learning.

This new resource was developed to support students undertaking fieldwork on Talacre dunes in North Wales, but is now being made more widely available...

You can download a sample of the resource from the website to see whether it looks like it might be useful for the pupils that you teach.

Geography and Golf

I've posted a few times about the relationship between Geography and Golf...

Image: Alan Parkinson

The Open Championship is played on a links course - this year it is the Royal St. George's course on the Kent coast. I originally started this on Thursday when the Championship had just started, but turns out I'm finishing it off just as Darren Clarke is on the 12th hole on the final round...

The links land is land which links the coastal fringe with the better quality agricultural land further inland...
A good book in this regard is Lorne Rubenstein's 'A Season in Dornoch', which is excellent.
The links land tended to be too sandy for some land uses, and too salty for most agriculture apart from some grazing. (There are some sheep next to St. George's I've just seen...)
Also recently blogged about the controversy over Donald Trump's plans for development of a new golf resort.
Also good links to Geography of Sport type units, perhaps towards the end of the summer term, when there's also the Tour de France.

Angus Willson also pointed out that although there is an iPhone app for the Open Golf, you can't actually take your mobile in if you're spectating...

New free GeoPacks resource

I have blogged regularly about the free resources that Rick Cope is generously making available via GeoPacks.
If you register for these updates you'll get a regular free resource.


The latest is on the theme of Sand Dunes.

While you're there, check out the shop too...