Summer Competition...Geosquishing!

Am keeping this one at the top of the blog for a while!

Geosquishing- Updated version

View more documents from Liz Smith.

Thanks to Vic Ellis for original idea and Emma Johns (SLN) for the prize idea!

A tribute...

Michael Jackson's Earth Song...

Flintstones Funky Funny for Friday Frivolity...

A new middle east crisis erupted last night as Dubai Television was refused permission to broadcast 'The Flintstones'.
A spokesman for the channel said 'A claim was made that people in Dubai would not understand the humour, but we have heard that people in Abu Dhabi Do'

Coastal Management

What types of coastal defences can you see in the image below? Examples of hard or soft engineering?

Sidmouth seafront west in England
You can see lots more of these 360° panorama's here and on the 360° website. Many thanks to Noel Jenkins for these fantastic images.

One in six UK homes 'at risk of flooding'

One in six homes in England is at risk of flooding, the Environment Agency warned today.

And with climate change likely to raise the risk of flooding through rising sea levels and more rainstorms, £20bn needs to be invested in flood defences to protect properties in the next 25 years, the agency said.Read the full article here. More from the BBC here.

Here are the top 10 local authorities with the highest number of properties in areas with a significant chance of flooding:

Boston district: 23,700
North Somerset: 20,415
East Lindsey district: 14,949
Windsor and Maidenhead: 11,477
Kingston upon Hull: 9,825
Shepway district: 9,065
Sedgemoor district: 8,092
East Riding of Yorkshire: 7,513
Runnymede district: 7,007
Warrington: 6,533

How will global warming affect us in the future?

This week scientists issued the most detailed assessment yet of how global warming will unfold across Britain. In a range of possible scenarios published by the government, the experts painted a picture of a very different UK, with soaring summertime temperatures and dwindling rainfall.Read more here.

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust...

Have launched a new website- complete with an education section and many more fantastic photos of Silurian- the research vessel i was lucky enough to be on board last summer with the teacher team. It also has a record of the latest sightings...no killer whales today!
I have added a permanent link to the site in the sidebar.

Slumdog Millionaire...

I finally got to see this film after it being released on DVD last week and it was great! The film is based on the novel 'Q&A' by Vikras Swarup. Not sure it should be described as the 'Feel good film of the decade'.


It is filmed in Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai and Asia's largest.



Interesting quote from director Danny Boyle, one for discussion...

'The people who live in these slums are extraordinary people. So generous, so resourceful. I want it to be something they would like. I hope if they ever see it on a pirate copy somewhere that they think, Yeah, that is okay'.

This is a film that will be used for the new GCSE OCR B specification- Theme 4 Economic Development.

Beachy Head in the news...

Beachy Head is in the news at the moment, with the tragic case of Neil and Kazumi Puttick, throwing themselves off with the dead body of their five-year-old son in a rucksack. Beachy Head has been described as a 'fatal attraction'. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty. At 535ft above sea level, it is the highest chalk cliff along Britain's coastline and this makes it a notorious suicide spot. On average there are about 20 deaths on an annual basis. Read more from the Times here.

Message for Year 11...

Hope the exam went well today! Was thinking of you all. Many thanks to Collette for emailing me this super PowerPoint for use with future students, i will use as an example of a strategy for revision, very kind and clearly much revision gone on there! I will see you all on results day, much love Miss Smith :)

Collette’S

View more OpenOffice presentations from Liz Smith.

The urban geographies of Brighton...

I decided to take some photos in Brighton, as part of 'rehab' really and to help with 'Theme 2: Settlement and Population' scheme and also the fieldwork focus for Controlled Assessment (OCR B Spec).

In this work there has been a shift from looking at 'patterns' of land use that has developed in Brighton over time, moving away from the more traditional urban land use models, to demonstrating the 'processes' involved with the continuous development of Brighton as an extremely dynamic and complex urban landscape.

Urban Geographies

View more OpenOffice presentations from Liz Smith.

(See the notes on each slide for an explanation of the various urban landscapes in Brighton).

My photos can be viewed on Flickr. I also produced an animoto:

Some funky stuff...

I got very excited by one particular shop today! Maybe it was the excitement of actually being able to go into a shop in Brighton!

A globe lampshade...



Deck Chairs...

Follow Mark Beaumont's journey...

I posted earlier this week about Mark Beaumont who will be cycling from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina. You can now follow his journey on this blog. I have added a link in the sidebar. Thanks to Alan Parkinson and Val Vannet for setting it up.

Settlement: How is the pattern of land use within cities changing?

A little activity using Google Street View...if you are not familiar with Street View you can watch the demonstration of how to use it here.

Click here to access the map of London with 10 different locations.

Changing Land Use

View more OpenOffice presentations from Liz Smith.

(OCR B GCSE- Theme 2 Settlement).

Big Climate Callout Competition...

This December we could see history in the making. World leaders will meet in Copenhagen to discuss issues around climate change and make decisions that will effect everyones future. You could be there. You just have to answer 3 questions:
1. Why is Climate Change an important issue to you?

2. What can young people do about climate change?

3. What should young leaders decide at their meeting in Copenhagen?

You can submit your entries by video here, or by text here.