Geography News Spring/Summer 2011

One of Dr. Liz Young's MA Sustainable Development Students, Tom Broadhurst,  has just had his dissertation research published by PISCES (Policy Innovation Systems for Clean Energy Security (Edinburgh Univ) The paper is available on line at:

http://www.pisces.or.ke/sites/default/files/Pisces%20Working%20Brief%20No.%203.pdf

Interesting and pertinent discussion about Biofuel production in the developing world and its implications for food security and sustainable development.  The case study is based in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of many African countries seeking to benefit from global interest in first-generation liquid biofuels for transportation. Several domestic and international organisations have identified jatropha (Jatropha Curcas L.) as a potential bioenergy crop, and are initiating biofuels programmes throughout the country using varied production methods and business models, each with different social, economic, and environmental implications.

Radio Stoke interviewed Dr. Liz Young, Senior Lecturer in Geography, to discuss the implications  of the global pop totals reaching 7 billion on Mon 31st Oct.

Dr. Young emphasised that concern about global population trends diverts attention from patterns of consumption that are still responsible for most global environmental impacts.

Also, that declines in fertility are associated with increases in female education . . so that any policy interventions to reduce population are best if they target  female education across the developing world rather than ethically suspect population control programmes ( as have be pursued in the past in China, India etc.).

If you are interested you can still  hear the interview...if you follow this web site and put the curser on the Peter Morgan image and scroll to 1 hour 16 mins (8.16 am) it lasts about 4 mins.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00l5zxk/Breakfast_with_Pete_Morgan_An_indepth_look_at_adoption/

Geography student Abigail Dunning was recently highly commended for her entry into the annual photo competition of the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Subject Group of the Higher Education Academy. The topic of this year's competition was ‘Our Inspiring Planet: Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at University’.

Abby entered a photo from her recent field trip to Barcelona, which showed the Barcelona skyline and the Collserola Mountains. In the caption which accompanied the photo, Abby described how these mountains have historically limited the growth of the city, but posed the question as to how long nature could resist the endless onslaught of urbanisation.

You can view Abby's photo and caption, along with those of the competition winners and other highly commended entries at http://gees.ac.uk/projtheme/sawards/2011/photocomp11.htm

The Geography Department’s growing reputation for expertise in Geoconservation was recently highlighted by the filming of staff and students at an event in the Manifold Valley for the BBC Countryfile programme.
The event organised by Patrick Cossey, Senior Lecturer in Sciences (SU Geography) and Sarah Taylor (Keele University, Ecology) on behalf of the Staffordshire RIGS Group (a voluntary organisation dedicated to the conservation of geology and landscape features) featured the clearance of vegetation from an important rock exposure at ‘Lee Cutting’ on the Hamps and Manifold Geotrail.
On the day (Monday, December 5), joining in on the action were Countryfile presenter Adam Henson and a veritable army of willing volunteers including Geography students Jamie Harris, Jonathan Tyler, Paul Vale and ex-Staffordshire University student Simon Hargreaves. The clearance work revealed some highly fossiliferous (Carbonifeous) limestones, a previously unexposed mineral vein and some spectacular folds and fault structures which bear testament to huge forces in the Earth’s crust associated with the collision of tectonic plates around 300 millions ago.
In extracts from an original interview Patrick said ‘the fact that BBC Countryfile is interested in our work demonstrates the importance of geoconservation from the national perspective ……. there is this growing awareness that geodiversity underpins biodiversity and that rocks and landscape are just as an important part of our planet’s natural heritage as the plants and animals that live on it’. And that ‘if we are to learn anything about the history of our planet and of the events and processes that are shaping it today, it is crucial to ensure that our most important rock exposures are kept free of vegetation and available for study’.
 
Dr P. J. Cossey with the BBC Countryfile film crew, presenter Adam Hensen and the SRIGS geoconservation volunteers in action, on location at the Lee Cutting, Ecton in the Manifold Valley
 
To hear what Pat had to say on camera, tune in to BBC Countryfile on BBC i-player at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wml3t/Countryfile_05_12_2010/
(Countryfile – 05/12/2010 Rural affairs programme. Adam Henson and Ellie Harrison visit Manifold Valley the Peak District where Adam cleans up a cave in the name of conservation), or visit the Countryfile website at http://www.bbccountryfilemagazine.com/
For more information about Staffordshire RIGS please check out http://www.esci.keele.ac.uk/srigs/

Our Geography department has been ranked 8th out of 62 departments across the country in the Guardian Rankings for their University Guide 2011.
Clearly beating many other prestigious universities.

Cycling in Stoke

Cycling Stoke have £9.6 million to spend over three years to improve cycling in Stoke on Trent.
Since October 2009 Cycling Stoke and the Geography Department have been collaborating by using students to investigate cycling in the general public, and staff and students at Staffordshire University.

Please click here for the current newsletter (PDF, file size: 180.13KB) for the Institute for Environment, Sustainability and Regeneration.

Professor Fiona Tweed has been invited to be one of a small advisory team of outstanding academics, stakeholders and policy makers from across Europe.

The group will offer expert guidance to the European Commission funded 7th Framework project CAPHAZ-NET (Social Capacity Building for Natural Hazards: Towards More Resilient Societies).

This project aims to identify and assess existing practices and policies for social capacity building in the field of natural hazards across Europe. The project will make recommendations to enhance the resilience of European societies to the impacts of natural hazards.

The ERASMUS programme allows both staff and students to study at partner Universities, one of the links we have is with Oldenburg University in Germany.
Students from geography, biology, ecology and forensic science would all fit into the programme of study well.

Please see associated word document (DOC, file size: 41KB) with full details.

Other resources

There is a box file in the Learning Resource Centre 4th Floor Mellor Building, marked Oldenburg – ERASMUS with more information.

Key contacts

Jon Fairburn from the Geography has been to Oldenburg and you can have an informal chat with him or email him at Jon.Fairburn@staffs.ac.uk.

Ingo Mose head of the Regional Science group ingo.mose@uni-oldenburg.de

Katja Kaboth responsible for incoming international students at Oldenburg University katja.kaboth@uni-oldenburg.de

Susan Lloyd International Office, Staffordshire University 01782 294838 s.r.lloyd@staffs.ac.uk