Climate Change: Study Task

Through the reading and work on this module I have become more aware of the factors that our effecting my carbon foot print in my day to day life and what are consequentially affecting global warming when looked at across the world as a whole. From completing the survey my carbon footprint was outlined at being 71% however I was slightly surprised at some of suggestions that the site made to reduce my carbon foot print. It is easy to forget that simple things such as buying more locally produced produce and just less items in general can reduce my footprint as things have become so easily accessible and readily available within our society it is easy to forget how far they have been transported or where they have been imported from and the effect that must be having on the environment. It was also surprising just how much goes into calculating my carbon footprint I hadn’t realised quite how many factors of my life contribute towards calculating it.

It also reminded me that I should be more mindful of throwing food away with the World Wide Fund for Nature stating that “one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted”. However the survey did also remind me of what I am now doing to help the environment our flat has recently begun ensuring that we recycle more by using the recycling bins provided and making trips to places such as bottle banks so that our glass is reused. Therefore one value is definitely in reminding you of the bigger affect every little thing that we can do can have on the environment.

Learning about climate change in school is vital so that children take responsible for the environment and are more aware of the damage we can cause to it from an early age. It also allows linkage to other aspects that will help improve children’s lives such as encouraging them to walk to school or to use more public transport as not only will this lead to them reducing their carbon footprint but in the case of walking or cycling it could lead to them having a more active life style.

I was also intrigued to learn that the government had such long term goals in place to be completed by 2050 to reduce Scotland’s carbon footprint with the government’s legislation stating that by 2050 Scotland’s emissions will be 80% lower than the baseline. It will be interesting to see if by 2020 they are on track with their target of 42% lower as it is going to take some fairly drastic steps to lower Scotland’s emissions so dramatically. The document in general made for quite an interesting read to show more what the government has put in place to deal with climate change although ideally it looks as though some stricter rules and targets would be better for the planet however they would be a lot harder to implement and stick to. 2016-09-27

The Environment Learning Log

The environment itself could be defined according to Kemp, D (2004) as the surrounding area and everything within it, although it is most commonly thought of in terms of nature. Our interest in environment stems from an early age from our want to become aware of and then to start exploring our surroundings. Spatial awareness plays a big part in this. As when a child is first born it depends on taste and touch to engage with its surroundings but as it develops it begin to be able to focus on and see objects with in its environment and then as of about the age of ten months the child is capable of crawling and hence able to begin to explore its environment for itself. The environment itself could be defined according to Kemp, D (2004) as the surrounding area and everything within it, although it is most commonly thought of in terms of nature.

With regards to the environment Scoffham (2010) claims that “Our sense of identity, it seems, derives in some part from the social and physical environment in which we spend our childhood.” This means that our environment plays a part in how we learn to interact with others and how we feel towards certain tasks. In interacting with their environments children gain essential survival skills, life skills and learn to accept the consequences of their actions. This prepares them well for developments in later life however it can now be suggested that current generations of children are not fully engaging with the outside world and although schools cannot hope to take the place of the child’s own self-discovery it is important that we take the steps to encourage a child’s interest in nature and their environment through data collecting activities, field work or even school trips. This in turn allows us to encourage children to be more active learners and discover things in their environment for themselves rather than simply being passive learners.

A lot of my own attitudes towards the environment probably come from growing up in the countryside and having a very large garden meaning that there was always plenty for me to explore and lots of adventure to be had. I have also been left with plenty of positive memories of the outdoors through having a family that is very keen on hill walking and cycling whilst also being a part of the scouts and duke of Edinburgh.

Fridays session allowed me to see interesting examples of how we could encourage pupils to become engaged with the natural environment. Personally I found the tree identification task the most interesting and feel it would be easiest for pupils to undertake as unlike wildlife and birds trees are less likely to wander off or remain to elusive for the pupils to survey. I found the bug survey task to be the least engaging however I can see how pupils might have more luck as they would probably be more willing to dig around the mud for beetles where as we found very few. I also like the example used in the Andrews workshop of giving the class plants to grow. This educates pupils in plants and their needs whilst teaching pupils responsibility and getting them excited and interesting in plants and the environment around them. It also helps move pupils away from being in the bubble wrap generation that Scoffham by letting get involved and become active learners so that they can experience things first hand for themselves and learn not just from the lesson itself but from their mistakes.

Urban Environment

Within my local Urban area which is within the large town of Ayr there are a variety of physical characteristics blending both natural and man made features. Ayr is a coastal town which has shaped the types of development that
have taken place in the area. Such as larger numbers of homes being used as holiday lets or bed and breakfasts so that people can capitalise off the seaside location. There is also a larger number of fish and chip shops, ice cream venders and leisure facilities such as laser quest, bowling and arcades to encourage tourism to the area. The area also offers large areas of grassy land for outdoor activities. A good example of this is the well maintained wellington square which is an excellent place for tourists and locals alike to relax whilst still supporting nature by offering a greener area with more varieties of plant life.ayr-beach

Ayr is also showing signs of development through regeneration schemes. Major examples of this can be seen along the river Ayr. As part of the Ayr town centre strategy more unsightly buildings are being converted in to new flats and public buildings which brings new life in to the community and helps prevent the area from getting too run down whilst preserving the environment by regenerating existing buildings rather than taking over new land to build new buildings. Part of this is being done as part of the Ayr riverside framework project. This can be viewed in more detail via this pdf:  http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/documents/ayr%20riverside%20framework.pdf . The areas of land by the river have also shown signs of development within recent times through the construction of the UWS campus and halls of residence. The main building itself cost 81 million pounds to construct and was opened in 2011. This development helped raising Ayr’s student population whilst expanding on the facilities within the area.

Ayr also has good public transport links through having a decent bus network and good access to other areas out with Ayr via its train station. This is also helped by Ayr having its own bus station which allows people the option to use public transport for their daily commute. There are also sections of one way streets in place to help with congestion and the road down Ayr high street is reserved with in specific times purely for public transport. However the area doesn’t offer any sort of tram system and lacks in a lot of places pedestrianised zones. However there is evidence of good use of land with the presence ayr-shopof a multi-storey carpark as a part of the kyle shopping centre near the high street reducing the need for on street parking within the area which in turn reduces congestion.

Ayr has multiple primary schools including Braehead primary school, Grammar primary school and Forehill primary school which means local children have a higher chance of living closer to their primary school minimising their commute. This also allows communities to have stronger bonds to their respective local school whilst have wider connections to the other schools within Ayr.

There are also contains a couple of options of community centres giving people somewhere to go to socialise and take part in activities to raise skills and create bonds within the community. These include Heathfield community centre and Lochside community centre. However as the John Pollock community centre is now closed it could be observed that more could be done to encourage people to become more involved with their community.

The area also includes a library, Carnegie Library, offering people an access to technology and information showing signs of good development within the area. The south Ayrshire council is also working to continue to expand the amount of allotments available in the area. This is a good benefit to urban environments as it helps create more green spaces and in many cases offers up activities for elderly members of the community. It also allows people to then give something back to the community once they have grown their produce on their allotment.

Ayr offers plenty of opportunity for work during the summer months being a seaside town it can attract plenty of tourism meaning there are plenty of opportunities within the area to capitalise on tourism such as plenty of fast food outlets and hotels such as The Mercure Ayr hotel which is just up the road from where I livedsc_0337. This encourages tourists to bring more money into the area meaning the area is given more of a chance to thrive. There is also a strong agricultural and farming presence in the area which is supported by having an SRUC campus in the area helping to inspire future works in agriculture. Ayrs high street is still suffering some regard like most high streets across Scotland however there is still a large variety of large retail industries within Ayr as well as large choice of super markets including Morrisons, Lidls, Tescos and Aldi. This means people can do their shopping within Ayr without feeling the need to commute to cities such as Glasgow or Edinburgh.

In terms of recreation Ayr notable has the Gaiety theatre which has just been renovated showing signs of development and improvement within the area. This is important as it is things like this that help create people image of Ayr and what helps them define what it means to be a part of Ayr’s culture and environment. The area also offers sporting opportunities through places like the Citadel Leisure centre. This helps people get involved in their local community and allows people to live a more active life style.

With in Ayr there are 92 people per square kilometre. This is far less than the major cities within Scotland such as Glasgow which is currently estimated at 3415 per square kilometre and even the other surrounding counties such as East Ayrshire which is currently sitting at 97 per square kilometre.  This suggests the area offers far more open spaces and that people in general have a lot more room. The air quality within my area considered low (2), shown 2016-09-20from the results taken from www.scottishairquality.co.uk which suggests that the area is far less industrial and is putting out far less pollutants that would affect the areas air quality. This is good as it means buildings like the UWS that are more environmentally friendly and the lack of certain industries within Ayr is helping to keep the air quality at a healthy level.