Geography GCSE Fieldtrips
Last week, GCSE geography students had the opportunity to explore both natural and urban environments through field trips to the River Chess and King鈥檚 Cross.
As well as providing an opportunity to collect data for our GCSE course, these fieldtrips provided a welcome break from the busy day-to-day life at 91茄子鈥�. This coincided perfectly with Mental Health Week. On Thursday, half the cohort investigated the river characteristics along the River Chess and the other half investigated the sustainability of King鈥檚 Cross鈥� urban regeneration. On Friday, the groups then swapped.
On Thursday, my half of the cohort spent the day measuring a range of different characteristics along the course of the River Chess. We started by measuring to width and depth of the river. Next, we timed how long it took a dog treat to float over a distance of five metres to calculate the velocity of the river. After this, we explored the two other sites downstream, where we repeated these tests. Our findings were particularly intriguing as they contradicted the Bradshaw model, which predicts how the characteristics of a river change downstream. However, this contradiction might be attributed to the use of Tesco dog treats as a substitute for very expensive equipment!
On Friday we visited the recently regenerated area of King鈥檚 Cross. Here, we built on what we had learned in class and experienced the regeneration of the area for ourselves. We used GIS tools to collect geolocated data on environmental quality, which we paired with our perceptions of each study area. We also canvased the views of locals through short questionnaires on how beneficial the regeneration had been to the area. Throughout the day, after countless interviews with locals and visitors alike, I found it inspiring to see how well-designed urban spaces can promote a sense of community and well-being. Most interviewees felt positive about the redevelopment, however, our group noted that some locals felt they had been priced out since the regeneration had taken place 鈥� these views were particularly important to collect and will be vital in helping us conclude on how sustainable the regeneration of the area has been.
These two trips were incredibly interesting and helped us to apply our existing knowledge and understanding in real-world settings. The trips also showed us how geographic techniques are vital in understanding the world around us and how they contribute to improving areas in the future.
