British Society for Geomorphology Annual Conference 2014, University of Manchester

Mattie Biddulph

As Geomorphologists, Jenny Evans and I are members of the British Society for Geomorphology. Every year there is a three-day conference, based around the general theme of geomorphology. There is a big emphasis on encouraging postgraduates to get involved, and helping them with their careers once they graduate. This year it was at the University of Manchester.

I arrived on the Sunday evening at the halls I would be staying in, after quite a lot of walking round in circles trying to find it… Manchester is a LOT bigger than Northampton! On Monday morning there was a special workshop for postgrads, where a panel was set up made up of a mixture of academics and industry workers in varying stages of their careers. This panel then gave advice and answered questions on career choices, worries surrounding an academic life, and tip on getting a job. It was very useful, but a lot of us spent the coffee break worrying about the potential prospect of moving location year after year for the next decade.

In the afternoon the conference officially began, with a River Restoration workshop, which was very apt for Jenny and me. It was really interesting to see different approaches to restoration, especially seeing examples of when it has gone badly wrong. Dr Malcolm Newson gave a particularly interesting talk, where he described the difficulties in trying to talk to the general public, particularly after flood events when tensions are running high. That evening we were given a buffet and drinks in the Manchester Museum, surrounded by fossils and dinosaur skeletons!

 

View of the Manchester Museum

The next day was made up of talks ranging from: the importance of long-term water quality records, to marine-influenced ice sheet decay, to channel migration in the Mekong River. Geomorphology is a huge and extremely varied subject. Today was also the day for a talk from Northampton’s Ian Foster, who gave a very interesting presentation, titled “Are lake/reservoir sediments really sensitive to environmental change? A question and (sort of) an answer from a case study in S. Africa.” That evening we had a conference dinner, set in the Christie’s library, which was a beautiful setting. 

 

Wednesday was the final day for the conference, again with a huge variety of talks, including an award lecture from Professor Jonathan Phillips from Kentucky, where he described geomorphology as ‘badass’, and gave us advice on how to become badass ourselves- that got our attention! We had a brilliant three days; the good thing about this society is that you can always count on seeing familiar faces each year, all with similar interests regardless of their specific research. We were all very tired by the end, despite being sat in a lecture theatre for the majority of the time - I think most people can relate to the mysteries of sleepiness whilst sat in those rooms…

The International Association for Sediment Water Science Conference, South Africa 2014

Mattie Biddulph

In July this year I travelled to Grahamstown, on the Eastern Cape of South Africa for an international conference indulging purely in sediment water science. I had never been to such a specific conference before, so was looking forward to perhaps understanding most of what was going on for a change! Myself, Simon Pulley and Ian Foster took the long journey down south (two planes and many, many hours of waiting in airports) to arrive in a freezing cold but bright and sunny South African winter, which suited Simon and I just fine, as that’s when the spiders decide to stay hidden… Rhodes University had a beautiful campus, and the town itself was a quirky mix of South African and British settlers.

The conference itself was slightly daunting as we both had to chair a session, as well as presenting. Themes covered: sediment fingerprinting, vegetation-sediment relationships, biogeochemistry, connectivity and catchment scale processes, finishing with “framework and tools for management”, which is where my talk slotted in. I presented my PhD research on finding the best methods for testing the effectiveness of mitigation measures, which have been put in place to reduce agricultural sediment pollution and their associated pollutants in England and Wales. River systems in South Africa and the UK are very different, particularly due to climate and geology; despite this, there were some useful ideas to be shared, as there is a strong argument for landowner control, using cheap, sustainable materials and low maintenance methods.

For one day of the conference, it was “fieldtrip day”. Simon and I chose to go on the trip to Addo Elephant Park, where we drove around the game reserve and were lucky enough to see dozens of animals that we definitely would not see at home, including: meerkats, warthog, zebra, kudu, springbok, giraffe and of course, elephants. It was a lovely day out, and apparently Ian’s boat trip along the Mansfield River was equally enjoyable.

Elephants at Addo Elephant Park

We were lucky enough to join some postgrads (Kat and Jordan) and Bennie, a PhD student, for a trip to Compassberg and Nieu Bethesda, a beautiful part of the country where you can be the only souls for at least 10 km around you. It was very interesting to work on some unfamiliar river systems and geomorphological features. We also did some sample collection for Ian’s research, followed by a night in a farmhouse without electricity but a very warm fire and a bottle of brandy! 

Ian testing the nitrate and phosphate of this incredible clean river near Nieu-Bethesda

Bennie, Jordan and Kat from Rhodes University, after some disturbance experiments

It was a fantastic experience, so much so that Simon is still out there, about to begin his post-doc. So far he’s learnt how to use a washing machine but has been without water for 4 days!

John Dururu wins CIWM Roger Perry Award for Best Research Paper 2014

A former MSc student in Environmental Management, John Dururu has been awarded the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)’s Roger Perry Award for Best Research Paper 2014. The award is made annually, to recognise the research being carried out by members of the Institution at Masters and PhD level and is presented to the best written paper based on a research project. For 2014, the Assessors recommended that the award be given for John’s dissertation "Voluntary and Community Sector organisations (furniture re-use) and the sustainable consumption and production agenda in the UK".

The Award will be presented during the Institution’s Awards Ceremony, held at the Grosvenor Square Marriott Hotel, London, during the afternoon of Thursday 6th November 2014.

Bird ringing trip to Skokholm - Lynne Barnett

Lynne with a Manx Shearwater

At the beginning of May 2014, I was fortunate enough to be included as a trainee with a party of experienced bird ringers from the Northamptonshire Ringers Group on a ringing expedition to the Pembrokeshire island of Skokholm. Our quarry was in particular Manx shearwater but anything with wings was fair game (except, as it turned out, storm petrels and auks, whose habitat or breeding season were too fragile to disturb at the time we were there).

To read more about Lynne's time on Skokholm click here

Children, Young People and Families in Changing Urban Spaces Conference - September 2014

A conference on Children, Young People and Changing Urban Spaces will be held at the University of Northampton on 3rd and 4th September 2014. The conference, organised by members of the Human Geography team, will bring together new, multidisciplinary research exploring the lives, issues and experiences of children, young people and families in diverse, international urban contexts. The conference will involve speakers from a range of universities. As well as welcoming academics from the UK, there will be speakers from Singapore, New Zealand, Finland, Canada, Ireland and India.

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

University of Northampton partners with South Essex College to offer specialised Wastes Management courses

The University of Northampton is pleased to announce a new partnership with South Essex College to provide specialised further and higher education courses in Wastes Management, designed to prepare local people for high technology jobs at an enterprise park in Thurrock.

A formal Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Wednesday 2 July which will enable South Essex College to use the resources of the University of Northampton's Centre for Sustainable Waste Management to teach new modules from September 2014. Those modules will be taught at the college's new campus in Grays.

The partnership will create a seamless pathway for students from applied science and environmental sustainability programmes at level three, equivalent to A-level, to specialised honours degrees in Wastes Management.

The new courses will be aimed at a broad range of people in Thurrock and the south Essex area, from school leavers to career changers and people already in the waste management industry who are looking to make a step change in their skills.

Nigel Freestone, Head of Environmental Science at the University of Northampton, commented: "The University of Northampton provides wastes management education in different formats including distance learning by utilising state of the art technology. Our key agenda is social enterprise and giving something back to the community."

Wendy Barnes, Vice Principal at South Essex College, said: "This partnership is an important step for the college to address a significant need for new skills at the Thames Enterprise Park. Thurrock Council, Thames Enterprise Park and the college are absolutely determined that local people should have the first and best opportunity to access the fantastic jobs that will be available at this wonderful new facility."