Study Geography...

I've posted about the RGS's Study Geography website several times before but I understand that Yr12 started thinking about all things UCAS yesterday, and several of you are thinking about Geography at uni, it was worth another mention.

Plant Invaders Week!

More on invasive species:

NT - Plant Invaders Week from National Trust on Vimeo.

Himalayan balsam again....

Looking for some bits and pieces on the Peak District website for Year 10, and I came across this.... So if you're bored of revision over half-term, go and help get rid of one of those invasive species you've been learning about!!

And another one...

Ecosystems/biodiversity article, that is. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/may/23/top-10-new-species-2010

Yr13 - Biodiversity

Two very interesting and useful reports from the Guardian about the importance of biodiversity:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/21/biodiversity-un-report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/21/un-biodiversity-economic-report

and an editorial here.

Make sure you investigate the links within the articles as well as the articles themselves.

Yr13 - a couple of Ecosystems bits and pieces...

News article from the BBC about urban trees helping migrating birds (link to the wildlife corridor concept) here.

And after my comment on Twitter about hoping that you lot were watching the One Show last night, I am now being followed by an environmental consultancy who seem to like eating Japanese Knotweed. Make of that what you will. Their website is here.

Good luck!!

First of the summer's Geography exams tomorrow....

The very best of luck to you - not that you will need it!!

Remember, read the questions carefully, understand and follow the command words, use the resources, plan your time carefully - a mark a minute, don't feel that you have to answer the questions in order (and DON'T answer questions about coasts or energy...) and check your work!!

See you in the morning... :)

Shell seeks to drill in Arctic seas...

Interesting article here about Shell's proposals to drill for oil in the Arctic, despite the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico... A nice extra little "golden nugget" for those of you doing GEOG1 on Friday! :)

Yr12 - Bangladesh flooding

Apologies that I forgot to post the link to the Bangladesh flooding documentary that I told you about on Thursday. It's here. For some reason, it stops very abruptly near the end, but there is still plenty of detail before that point.

Yr12 Flooding and Flood Management

The Environment Agency's Flooding pages have lots of useful information about flood risk, how to prepare for a flood, and about what they are doing to manage flooding. You can also access summaries of their Catchment Flood Management Plans - the one that covers Boscastle is the East Cornwall CFMP.

You might like to have a look at the Met Office's "Past weather events" pages too - useful stuff here about the meteorological conditions behind various interesting weather events as far back as 1990, but including Boscastle, the 2005 Carlisle and North Yorkshire floods, the 2007 floods that affected much of the country, and the Cumbria floods of 2009.

Savanna Grasslands

Tomorrow we will be having a look at the savanna grasslands of Tanzania, and considering the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The Serengeti National Park website has lots of information about the conservation and management of the area and the conflict between the different interest groups involved.

Amazon Conservation/Sustainable Development

Another useful link here, focusing on the Mamiraua reserve - will add a bit more specific detail to the info you have already from the textbook.

An oakless Britain?

Interesting article from the BBC about our disappearing oak trees...

Does it matter?

More rainforests...

The article we talked about this morning about condoms "saving the world's forests" is here.

The essay question that you'll be answering either on Friday or next week is "Development, biodiversity and sustainability in the tropical rainforest biome are incompatible goals. Discuss." You don't need to write anything before I see you next, but be having a think about it...

Yr13 - Rainforest Action Network

Thanks to Ellie for this link http://ran.org/

Yr13 - Amazon tribes using technology to protect rainorest

Just come across this article about Amazon tribes using technology to protect the rainforest through "cultural mapping"...

(I found this via The Prince's Rainforests Project page on Facebook - worth a look as there seems to be lots of other potentially useful stuff on there too http://www.facebook.com/#!/rainforestSOS.)

Year 13 - Deforestation

The main website that I want you to have a look at before Tuesday is the RGS's 21st Century Challenges. There is lots on the site that is of interest, but your particular focus at the moment should be on the Razing the Rainforests section. There are three talks/video clips that I'd like you to watch, and links to lots of news articles. From the information there, the booklets I gave you this morning, the textbooks and any other sites you come across (there are hundreds... one I've found to be fairly good is Mongabay...) I'd like you to come to Tuesday's lesson prepared to talk about causes and impacts of deforestation, and with your views about the sustainability of tropical rainforest development.

I'm not posting the video I showed you here (for hopefully obvious reasons!) but it, and lots of other useful and interesting videos, is on www.green.tv.

Eyjafjallajokull - Yr13

As well as keeping an eye on the news, and having a look at the websites, etc. that I've posted on Geogtastic, the BGS page about Eyjafjallajokull has been updated, and this blog post is very good. Both of these look at the eruption in a bit more depth than the news is doing...

Also have a look at The Volcanism Blog - loads of good stuff on there about various volcanoes, including Chaiten and Soufriere Hills.

Year 12 - Work for Miss Taylor

Hopefully you are all doing plenty of research about oil in the Arctic, ready to debate the issue in the lesson on the first Monday back. You also need to be emailing Miss Taylor a response to the question "Can the production of oil in Alaska be sustainable?" - at least 300 words - by Friday next week.

A reminder of the links that Miss Taylor gave you. However, this is not an exhaustive list - if you find others, use them (and let us know!). Also check back to older posts on here from when I've taught this in previous years.

http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/Default.asp

http://www.anwr.org/

http://www.govspot.com/issues/anwr.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12316773.400-alaska-has-its-fill-of-oil.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18401-alaska-faces-exxon-valdez-cleanup-conundrum.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/oil-spill-devastates-alaska

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/9274.aspx

Revision Ning

There is now a Geogtastic revision Ning... Check your emails for the link and more info.

When Elliot, Joel and Scott met Michael Palin...

I was too busy looking at the fantastic globes in the Council Room, so I missed out :(

Year 12 RGS Visit

As promised, a few photos from our visit to the RGS... Sadly I haven't got one of Michael Palin - it can be added if someone sends me it.

Breakfast...

Elliot's 5 minutes of fame...

Planning the next trip...

Not entirely sure what Scott and Elliot are doing here...

Yr13...

Hopefully you managed to get the Northridge earthquake intensity maps sorted this morning. You need to make sure that you have described the pattern(s) that your map shows, and compared it to other people's maps, and then made some comment (written) about the usefulness of the Mercalli Scale. Make sure you have your map and description/comments with you on Tuesday.

A reminder also that your essay ("The extent to which volcanic processes represent hazards depends on where and when they occur. Discuss.") is due in to Mrs Chambers on Monday.

Yr12 - Fluvioglaciation Homework...

Before Monday I would like you to visit this website which has some excellent descriptions, explanations and examples of landforms of fluvioglacial deposition, as exhibited in the Cairngorms and surrounding lowlands. Spend some time browsing through the various landforms you were introduced to in today's lesson (eskers, kames, varve deposits [mentioned in the "glacial stratigraphy" section] glacial lakes, kame terraces, outwash plains, kettle holes) - I would like you to note down some key information regarding each landform to aid discussion on Mon. Click on "glacial landscapes" then "glacial deposition" to find the fluvioglacial bits.

You may also be interested to look through some of the info on till and moraines - I'm still not 100% convinced you have all these key depositional features and landforms sussed.....

Miss Taylor

Year 13 - Montserrat

A reminder that this morning we talked about Montserrat and the eruption of Soufriere Hills which began in 1995. The first of these videos is the National Geographic one that wouldn't work, and then there are two others - the one we watched part of towards the end of the lesson, and the Pan-American Health Organisation one.

The Montserrat Volcanic Observatory website has lots and lots of useful information, and it's worth a look at their Flickr photostream and the thermal videos.







Your A3 case study sheet needs to be handed in to Mrs Chambers on Thursday next week (4th).

Year 12 - Cold Environments

Your work for Miss Taylor is: have a look at this website - visit the "Birth, Growth and Decay" and "Living Ice" sections. Choose two photos that you feel demonstrate well the processes of glacial formation and flow we have begun to explore (I've said two to lessen the chance of you all choosing the same one!)

Email them to me (type "taylore" and cc "vel" in your school email address bar) by 7pm on Sunday evening.

Choose carefully, as I will be asking you to present your photos to explain what they show. The captions with the photos will help you.


Have a nice weekend.

A Menagerie of Monikers...

Do you know your Tigers from your PIGs? Or your BRICs from your NICs? Interesting article from The Economist here which is useful background reading (something you all need to be doing more of!!).