On Tuesday 5th March, the Meridian Geography Sixth Form Lecture Series was launched. Organised by Mike Smith (Geography Curriculum Director), A Level Geography students from across the Trust, including Bishop Laney Sixth Form, were invited to attend and listen to an online lecture on physical geography, presented by two assistant professors from the University of Birmingham.
The series is designed to stretch geographical thought from beyond the A Level, whilst also making key links to the content in the Specification that the students are taught. There were also some passionate GCSE Geographers tuning in as well! Professor Adam Sheppard started by speaking about studying Geography at University, and what careers the subject can lead into, then Professor Benedetta Dini gave an inspiring lecture about her work in the field of tectonic hazards, specifically relating to landslides.
Mike Smith said: “Prof Dini took us on a motivating tour through areas of Bhutan, Nepal and Peru and explained how and why natural hazards occur, and what the impacts are on local populations. Whilst she was talking and it made me realise how important it is to take more time for us to look at hazard prevention, rather than reacting to disasters when it’s too late. It was great to see so many students from across the Trust engaging with the lecture and I hope it has reiterated just how important being a geographer is in today’s world, with the countless challenges we face as a global population interacting within difficult physical environments.”
A student, Matthew, from Nene Park Academy said: “I found the lecture incredibly informative and engaging. The graphics displaying how deformation is measured and hence how landslides are predicted (a new way of presenting geographical data) was very interesting. It was also really thought-provoking to consider how wide the impacts of landslides are, right up to the global scale.”
The next lecture in the series is being held on Tuesday 23rd April, hosted by the University of Leicester, and will have a human geography focus.
