See what the second year Geography trip to SW USA is up to!

The second year geography field trip to SW USA departed early on Wednesday 13th May 2015. They will be maintaining a blog of their trip - you can find out what they are up to here.

First year Geographers visit London

Tweeting

On Friday 17^th October first year Geography students visited London.  Working in groups, they explored key sites in central London, taking photographs and making observations in relation to a particular theme.  The exercise was designed to help students develop skills of thinking creatively and critically about a particular topic, select appropriate information to support an argument, work effectively as part of a group, and observe and record data in the field.  Findings were reported in real time, as each group ‘tweeted’ their photographs and observations.  The themes explored included ‘control’, ‘change’ and ‘sustainability’.  The exercise also provided a good opportunity for students to get to know each other.

Landscapes south of Northampton

On Saturday 18th October two coach-loads of first year students spent the day travelling around various landscapes south of Northampton.  This trip is part of module ENV1107 Principles of Physical Geography.  

Four sites were visited: Dunstable Downs, Heath and Reach, Stony Stratford and Courteenhall. At each site the students were encouraged to work in small groups to describe the landscape. Students needed to consider topography, scale and how the landscapes compared to each other. Using inclinometers they took slope angle measurements which will help with their descriptions and allow comparisons between the four landscapes. 

Valley at Heath and Reach

At Heath and Reach each group used the inclinometers and a tape measure to measure the cross profile and long profile of a valley. Following the field trip the groups will use these data to produce to-scale diagrams of the valley. These will be presented to the tutors as part of the assessment for this module - a group interview.  

The group at Stony Stratford

Wells for India Director visits Northampton University

Kevin Cook

On Thursday October 9th Om Prakash Sharma, the Director of the Wells for India Office in Udaipur, Rajasthan, took time out from a busy schedule of meetings to visit the University of Northampton to talk to first and second year geographers and international development students. 

The first year geographers had been set the task of raising the funds to enable the charity to provide 22 biosand filters for families living in a village in the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Each filter costs £30 and by carrying out tasks such as selling Wells for India Christmas cards, making cakes or simply asking for donations, they hope to raise the £660 for the project to proceed. Working in teams, they will be contributing to the university’s social responsibility agenda.

Om chose to concentrate on two main ideas in his illustrated talk to second year students. Firstly he contrasted the top-down, large scale approaches to providing water with small scale, community focused projects. Using the massive Indira Gandhi canal as an example, he showed that, whilst it has irrigated many thousands of hectares, it has also bypassed the poorest desert villages providing drinking water mainly for urban areas.

Referring to the work of Wells for India, Om emphasised the urgent need to return to the traditional water harvesting techniques used throughout Rajasthan for many thousands of years. He blamed large scale approaches such as the Indira Gandhi canal for downgrading schemes such as taankas leading to the ancient technologies almost being lost.

A single family taanka in the Thar Desert

These two themes are an important part of Wells for India’s philosophy. The charity works with the poorest of the poor at the village level and is providing the funding to construct hundreds of water harvesting projects in three contrasting areas of Rajasthan. In the Aravali Hills region it is using gully plugs and anicuts to increase water recharge and raise water tables. In the Thar desert it is constructing taankas and beris to store monsoon rainfall and thus reduce the distance women have to walk to get their water. In the Sambhar salt lake region it is installing roof water harvesting systems.

Fields of wheat in the Aravali Hills made possible 

following the construction of check dams across the valley

The university is most grateful to Om for joining us for an afternoon. For more information about the charity and about Om’s work in Rajasthan visit the Wells for India website.

Om and Kevin

Geography and Environmental Science students get to know Northampton

After a week of activities at the University campuses, our new students headed into Northampton town centre to start to get to know their new home town.

Given a map to help them navigate, the students walked from Avenue campus to the town centre.  They visited a number of key sites within the town, and collected some information on the large-scale investment currently taking place in the town.  Students visited the new North GateBus Station, considered the strengths and weaknesses of de-pedestrianisation in Abington Street, and identified issues that would be of interest to geographers and environmental scientists.

It was then back to the Newton building at Avenue campus to end the week with a BBQ.  Classes start today…

New Geography students volunteer with Planet Too

On their second day at University, our new first year Geographers got stuck in and planted the Food For Thought allotment that has been developed as part of the Planet Too scheme. Planet Too (http://www.northamptonunion.com/planettoo/) is a student-led programme that is designed to change thinking and behaviours around sustainable development at the University.

The students took turns preparing the soil and planting trees and vegetables. After a couple of hours hard work we had changed a patch of bare ground into an allotment growing apples, plums, raspberries, runner beans, broccoli, leeks and lettuces! The allotment will be maintained by Planet Too volunteers over the course of the year.

Planting the Food for Thought allotment

Planet Too stall at Union Day

As well as doing the hard work outside, some members of the class took their places behind the Planet Too stall at the Union Day event. On Union Day representatives from sports teams and student societies provide information to students about the wide range of opportunities and activities they can get involved in alongside their studies. Our intrepid first years persuaded people to sign up for the Student Switch Off campaign, which encourages students to conserve energy in their homes, whether they reside in halls or in off-campus education.

Graduation 2014

On 17th July we celebrated the success of our final year students at Graduation. The ceremony was held at the Derngate theatre in Northampton town centre. Certificates were presented to students by the Vice Chancellor. The day offered an opportunity for students’ families to meet tutors and visit the University campuses. The sun shone throughout the day.

Some of the proud geography students following their graduation ceremony

Each year the Department awards a prize for the best Geography dissertation. This year the prize was awarded to Sam Gardner. His thesis, ‘Mobility deprivation: a comparison of the connected and disconnected areas of Northamptonshire’, was work of a very high standard.

John Sinclair (Dean) awards the prize to Sam Gardner

Congratulations!

Many congratulations to all of you who graduate today!

We hope you have had a fantastic time at Northampton and wish you all the best for the future!

Southwest USA Geography Field Trip 2014 #2

Dr Greg Spellman

The annual Second Year Geography field trip to the USA ran in the first two weeks of April. 32 students and 3 tutors flew into a hot Las Vegas airport only immediately to drive a mile high onto the Colorado plateau where the snow not only capped the mountains but still lay amongst the pine trees at our first hotel. This popular field trip is based on a 1000-mile loop around the high desert states of Arizona, Utah and Nevada. The route takes us across the Hoover Dam, along Route 66 and to a number of friendly, but small, American towns. We take in five National Parks (Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion), a National Monument (Sunset Crater Volcano) and a Navajo Tribal Park (Monument Valley). In the course of the trip we study three interconnected themes of landscape development, tourism and resource management.

Arches National Park

Visits to National Parks usually involve walking some form of trail which can range from ‘pleasant stroll’ to ‘strenuous’ (coming back up the trail at Grand Canyon, for instance, can be breathtaking in more ways than one). Each park is very different but the most popular this year was probably the immense sandstone structures at Arches National Park. The trip ends up with four nights in sunny Las Vegas where there is no shortage of all forms of Geography! This is the eleventh year we have run this hugely successful and enjoyable trip and students and staff alike never fail to be impressed by the ‘truly awesome’ environments.

South-west USA Geography Field Trip 2014 #1

 Dr Faith Tucker

At the start of the Easter break 32 intrepid Geography students travelled to SW USA for a two-week field trip. The trip (available to both Single Honours and Joint Honours Geography students) looks at three themes: tourism, geology and landscape development, and resource management.

After a long flight to Las Vegas, we managed a few hours sleep before heading off across the desert to Flagstaff, Arizona. On the way we drove down Route 66 and stopped off at a couple of small towns to learn about how tourism is key to the economy. We visited Sunset Crater National Monument to find out about the geological history of the area.

The Grand Canyon

Day two was a highlight for many – the Grand Canyon. We walked part-way along the South Kaibab Trail and also learned about resource management at the Canyon. The following day was spent travelling across the Navajo Nation, with stops at Monument Valley and Moenave Dinosaur Tracks. These sites provided opportunities to compare the types of resource management seen at Grand Canyon National Park to those on the Navajo Reservation.

A number of days were spent in Moab, Utah. We visited the spectacular Arches National Park and also spent a day interviewing locals about the impacts of adventure tourism on the local economy and environment.

Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park were visited during the second week of the trip. These very contrasting environments provided great opportunities to learn about landscape development, and to put into practice our developing fieldwork and research skills.

Las Vegas was our base for the final part of the trip. Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, but its location in a desert means it faces tremendous challenges in relation to water management. It is also an interesting location to study tourism and the particular ‘brand’ of Las Vegas.

A great – if extremely tiring! – time was had by all.

The group in Las Vegas

Careers Day for Second Year Geography Students

On 24th April 2014 second year geography students attended a Career Planning Day at the University. This event, supported by staff from the University’s Centre for Employability and Engagement, was designed to help students to think about possible careers and identify actions that they can take over the summer period to boost their employability. The day included presentations by careers advisors on enhancing your CV and getting relevant work experiences. Group activities helped students to find out about the sort of jobs Geographers do and to identify skills gaps. Students also had the opportunity to talk to current third years to find out more about what they can expect in the final year of their degree.

The Career Planning Day is just one of the ways in which students’ employability is supported. In their final year of study Geography students undertake a career planning module. This provides training in writing effective CVs, applications and covering letters, and includes a mock interview exercise. Recent graduates and employers give guest lectures, and one-to-one support is also available from careers advisors.

The students provided very positive feedback about the Career Planning Day. We are now looking to develop a similar event next year for first year Geography students too.

Mojave Desert Field Trip

Nick, Felicity and Kate

In November 2013 the University of Northampton provided the opportunity for us to travel to California to study arid environments in the Mojave Desert and Death Valley.  We departed from Gatwick airport on the 2^nd, travelling with us were 14 students from the University of Leicester who we would be working with throughout the trip. The majority of our time was spent at the Desert Studies centre in Zzyzx, located in the Mojave National Preserve; however we also spent 2 days studying in Death Valley National Park.

After a hearty American breakfast at the grand hour of 6am, we would depart each day to different locations around the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley. There we would study the climate and the formation of desert landforms. Within the two weeks we completed 2 assignments in the field, which comprised of a topographic map and a group presentation. These methods of assessment were useful as they enabled us to enhance our time management, presentation and communication skills. Although these 10 days in the field proved to be challenging work, it was worth the effort in the end, as after the two weeks away we had finished the module. This allowed for more time to concentrate on our remaining modules knowing one was already completed. 

Overall the trip was a fantastic experience; we had the chance to learn about a completely different environment whilst seeing these fantastic landscapes at first hand. At the same time, being under the instruction of enthusiastic lecturers, who made the trip informative and exciting.

There was also the chance after the 10 days were over to spend 3 days on in America independently; we chose to spend 2 days in San Francisco and the last in Las Vegas before returning to the UK.

We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who made the trip possible, but a special thank you to Professor Ian Livingstone for organising and making the experience so enjoyable.