Third year Geography students visit London

Third year Geography students visited London last week as part of their 'Children's Geographies' module.

At the V&A Museum of Childhood

Our first stop was the V&A Museum of Childhood. We looked at how clothing and toys have changed over time.  There were plenty of toys to play with (Henry was a little too big for the rocking horse!), and it was interesting to see how toys from our own childhoods brought back memories and emotions.

After a lunch break in Trafalgar Square, we visited the National Portrait Gallery

After a lunch break we went to the National Portrait Gallery.  We explored how children were represented in portraits, and how this had changed over time.  You can take a look at these portraits here.

Geographers learn about water issues from India Director of WaterHarvest charity

On Thursday 6th October second year Geography and Development students were joined by Om Prakash Sharma, Indian Director of the charity WaterHarvest.

Om Prakash Sharma, Indian Director of WaterHarvest charity, with students. (Photo: Chris Fidler)

Om gave an illustrated lecture and answered questions on the topic of water harvesting in semi-arid areas of Rajasthan, India. He drew attention to the conflicts between large scale government projects such as the transfer of water from river to river across India and the traditional village scale water harvesting methods such as the taanka and the chauka.

Om is currently visiting the UK and we were honoured to have him join us for the session.

Tina Fairless hangs up her lab coat!

This week Tina Fairless, will hang up her lab coat for the final time, after clocking up 40 years with the institution!

Find out more here.

Local sixth-form student works with lecturer on research project

A sixth form student from a local school has been working with Dr Jo Wright this summer on a mapping project, through a Nuffield Research Placement.

Read more about it here.

Dr Terry Tudor visits the University of Brescia

Dr Terry Tudor reports on his recent visit to the University of Brescia...

I’ve just spent an enjoyable week at the annual summer school by the CeTAmb LAB at the University of Brescia, in Italy. This year, the summer school looked at issues related to water, sanitation and waste management, primarily focused on developing countries. So very much about an integrated approach to the manner in which we address some of our key environmental and health issues, as outlined by Silvio, Daniele and Andrea.

The University of Brescia

On the final day, there were a number of really interesting projects outlined by the participants, that they are currently working on. These included sustainable waste management in Bolivia by Navarro Ferronato, as well as Domenico Vitiello’s agricultural project, for which by the way, he is seeking funding and partners. Certainly, two very worthwhile initiatives.

Also, this week at the University of Brescia, there was a workshop on Industria 4.0, facilitating the digitilisation of manufacturing industry. This very well attended event was hosted by the Laboratorio RISE which is a leading research centre in the field of utilising innovation and circular business models for resource management.

The summer school is open to students from all countries and there is some financial support available for those that wish to attend. If you require more information please feel free to contact me.

Dr Terry Tudor
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
University of Northampton
terry.tudor@northampton.ac.uk

Geography students visit SW USA

Second year Geography students have just returned from trip of a lifetime! They spent two weeks in Nevada, Arizona and Utah as part of the USA Field Module.

The students learned about tourism, geology and landscape development, and resource management.

Learning about tourism and Route 66 in Arizona

Visiting Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

They visited a number of National Parks during the trip, including the Grand Canyon.

Smiling despite the rain!

The traditional Grand Canyon group photo

Admiring Delicate Arch (Arches National Park)

The glorious Bryce Canyon National Park

The group travelled through iconic landscapes, such as Monument Valley.

At Monument Valley

There was also an opportunity to learn about adventure tourism through rafting on the Colorado River in Moab, Utah.

Rafting the Colorado River

Towards the end of the trip the group spent some time in Las Vegas, learning about the unique tourist experience offered by the city.

The group's Twitter account of their trip can be viewed here (no login necessary).

Waste Management student undertakes work shadowing placement at SRCL

Final year Waste Management student, Stephen Anuge, recently undertook a work shadowing placement with SRCL.  SRCL is a leading healthcare waste services provider. The placement was organised by Dr Terry Tudor, a Senior Lecturer in Waste Management.

Read all about Stephen's work placement here.

Read more about Dr Terry Tudor's work supporting student employability here.