October 2016 – Page 2

Interdependence

This session informed me of the inner workings of a dairy farm upon visiting a technologically advanced one which made me more aware of the source of my food as I consume meat on a daily basis. Several controversial issues were brought to light such as: Is it right to conduct artificial insemination to create the best possible breed of cow? Should cows be kept indoors, or should they be exposed to the outdoors? This visit also brought to light issues such as farmers not getting equivalent money for the milk that they produce.

What interested me greatly was the organisation of “passports” which allowed the farmers to see records such as family history and how often the cows chose to get milked. This then provided useful information when considering which bull to match with which cow through artificial insemination which I was not previously aware that this system was used in farms. Additionally, when we first arrived and saw all the cows being kept indoors, it did bother me as I believe cows just like all animals should be free to live in their natural environment which for cows would be outdoors, however, I soon realised that the cows were content being indoors through the silence and that they were getting all their needs and being treated extremely well which caters for animal welfare.

Next, we attended a workshop where Sammi Jones, an Education and Engagement Officer, from Soil Association Scotland gave a presentation about Food for Life, soils and Future Farming.

I was thoroughly engaged in this presentation as geography had always been an interest of mine throughout high school, but what really interested me is just how much of our food comes from the soil as “one-quarter of the world’s biodiversity is found in the soil which supports most of the food chains on our planet”. (Sammi Jones, 2016). Furthermore, this linked to issues raised in the lecture whereby overfishing causes specific species to adapt to this sudden change or find other food which impacts the balance of food chains. There will be more competition from species as larger species may eat all the food that smaller species rely on which leads to those species dying out. This issue is significant as the balance of life in the ocean impacts on all life and results in “healthy people, food security, regional stability and a flourishing ‘blue economy’”. (WWF, 2016).

A useful experiment that was brought up by Sammi Jones that could be conducted in the classroom was investigating the effect covered soil has vs no cover to demonstrate the importance of having vegetation on soil. Children can investigate the impact of three different kinds of cover on soil Sammi Jones introduced several effects, one of which included heavy machinery and over-grazing has on soil that is not covered as soil requires nutrients, water and air which is all clogged up as there is no space for plant roots to find these nutrients and grow. Having learned about this, it is important that I continue to expand my knowledge on environmental issues that affect all life caused by human activities and solutions for these issues and other impacts that affect soil and solutions for these in order to correctly educate children and make them aware of concepts such as erosion, contamination, sealing and compacting which were the main issues affecting soil that Sammi Jones brought up.

References

WWF (2016) Oceans [Online] Available: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/our_global_goals/oceans/ [Accessed: 20/10/16]

Sammi Jones (2016) Soil Association Scotland [Module Resource] Available: Sustainable Development module on Moodle. [Accessed 20/10/16].

Sustainable development learning log 2: Climate change

Theme: Climate Change Key Learning: I learned the difference between climate and temperature, climate is over a long period of time for example 30 years where is temperature is just now. I also became quite interested in the effects that … Continue reading →

Theme: Climate Change

Key Learning:

I learned the difference between climate and temperature, climate is over a long period of time for example 30 years where is temperature is just now. I also became quite interested in the effects that climate change has as this is not something I have ever thought of before. The effects that we have on the environment by just doing things we do in our day to day life is quite surprising. After completing my carbon footprint test online I was quite shocked with my results. I had quite a high carbon footprint, I was surprised at some of the simple steps you can take to reduce this and will defiantly be doing some of these things in future to reduce my carbon footprint. I was also shocked at some of the things that can increase your carbon footprint for example buying clothes and footwear I did not think this would have an effect on this. When I saw there was a workshop on politics and sustainability I was quite confused as I did not know what that had to do with sustainable development but after Louise’s input it became clear to me. It became clear that they can introduce acts that can help the environment and climate change for example the climate change act 2009. This has helped with recycling by the new law having to pay a fee for carrier bags this is encouraging people to recycle their career bags. I particularly enjoyed Andrews Workshop as this was doing experiments making clouds for example this gave me good ideas for what I can do when I am teaching a class on science and also how to link it into a topic about climate. I feel children would really enjoying doing this.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice:

I am defiantly going to take more steps to reduce my carbon footprint especially after seeing how simple these steps are. I am also going to read more into this as I was really shocked at how little I actually knew about this and the effect it is having on us.

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Climate Change and My Carbon Footprint

After the lecture and workshops last week and reading the government’s Climate Change (Scotland) Act, I realised how much our actions in life affect the environment and the changes our planet is going through. Reading through the Act has made it a lot clearer to me how much really needs to be done if we can achieve the 2050 target of ‘the net Scottish emissions account for the year 2050 to be at least 80% lower than the baseline.’ I work in retail and have seen a huge difference in the way in which people use carrier bags. The charge of 5p per bag was a great idea as it stops people taking extra unneeded bags and entices them to reuse and recycle their own ones.

My results of the WWF carbon footprint calculator was 188%

“Your carbon breakdown

How your footprint is measured and tips on how you can make improvements to reach the targets.

Food19%
Home28%
Travel43%
Stuff10%

Tip Buy more seasonal food.
Tip Check your house for insulation and double glazing.
Tip Take up cycling, carpool, or walk to work.
Tip Recycle and buy second hand.

+ 3.06 Tonnes government expenditure”

I found my result incredibly surprising as I really did not think that my daily actions were so bad for the environment. Most importantly the travel part of my breakdown was quite shocking. I do tend to use my car a lot but after seeing this breakdown i will definitely be changing my habits and will try to walk to places which are not too far away instead of jumping in the car out of easiness. I also think my family would like to see the ‘home’ section as we could all make changes in this area, one big one i think would really benefit us and the environment is getting solar pannels fitted in order to save energy. The tips from the website will all be considered and I will definitely be showing this website to more people as for me it was amazingly eye-opening and I feel that it would be for others too.

IA Session 2: 27/9/16

This session further clarified the impacts that teacher’s choices have on the opportunities available to children as I learned through using organic forms in the art session. It also fuelled my imagination when we were instructed to enhance our handprints which we dipped in ink, I realised I am not as creative and imaginative as … Continue reading “IA Session 2: 27/9/16”

ia-organic-forms — Picture showing variety of enhanced handprints. eg. lego man print turned into a robot and lego man feet turned into a radio.

It was useful to be able to see other people’s creations as often a different perspective can be seen which may influence you to have more ideas, this is definitely an activity that I can see myself recreating in the classroom as it is a great stimulant for activating children’s imagination. Additionally, I have always had an interest for art, more so than the other forms of integrated arts, I remember always volunteering to help with decorations for school shows or wall displays. As an art educator, I hope to inspire the same enjoyment that art can bring and help children to realise it is more than just observing or copying from a famous artist but rather focus and develop the child’s artistic skill while letting them paint their own creative path.

With regards to the dance session, my prior dance experiences have been limited as I only remember participating in Zumba in physical education in high school as I never took dance lessons out with school.

I have summarised my initial feelings prior to the session below:

During this session, I participated in some activities that were outside of my comfort zone such as a variety of “Follow the leader” games whereby individuals would take turns leading the class as they all copied your dance move. We also did a useful introductory game which included striking a pose in the middle of everyone sat in a circle and saying your name. On one hand, I did not enjoy these activities as I am quite an introverted person and this brought me out of my comfort zone. On the other hand, I understand that more confident children would thoroughly enjoy these activities and it would provide a good stepping stone for less confident children as example moves could also be provided by the teacher or encouragement could be given from classmates. Cone (2011) made me question the activities in this session a lot as she raises concerns of too much teacher intervention in suggesting movements, however, this activity was mostly student led which I think is more effective and more fun for the students which I intend to recreate.

I also understand that many children may have a similar response to dance than I have and that some children may be even shyer and require more encouragement than I do. Therefore, I aim to make the most of these sessions and continue participating in activities that I am not entirely comfortable with in order to put myself in a potential shy child’s shoes. To counteract this, children could work in mixed groups so that more able and more confident children are put together with shy children as peers can provide moral support for each other. To further incorporate a cross-curricular approach to dance, Cone (2011) suggests expressing identity through dance which in the session, we assimilated the Scottish identity by recreating points of cultural significance such as the Scotland flag and Loch Ness. I think this is a great way to get all children to be able to relate more to dance and realise it is not all about learning steps or routines.

My whole perspective and anxieties on being a dance educator were turned around by the end of this session as through the activities I participated in, I realised as long as I had a firm grasp on the 10 basic steps that every dance educator should know, my exaggerated fears and anxieties were unnecessary.

References

Theresa Purcell Cone (2009) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances, Journal of Dance Education [Abstract, Online] Available: http://dx.doi.org/10/1080/15290824.2009.10387390 [Accessed: 10/10/16].

Climate Change (learning log)

Before I started the climate change topic, I had a vague understanding of the concepts. Throughout the lecture, my understanding between climate change and global warming, as I thought they were mostly the same thing. I also thought that the climate and weather were the same, but I now know that the climate is the […]

The misconceptions that I had about climate change included the my thought that global warming meant that we would have warmer temperatures all year round. I now know that global warming means the fluctuation of weather, not just the weather getting warmer. I also know that the seasons are not fixed, that they blur together.

I have learned a lot in this module so far, which I will bring to the classroom. I have learned how our climate has changed, and how they measure the changes of the ice cover. Other interesting facts I have learned through this lecture is the effects of climate change to the world. for example, I now know the effect on agriculture includes the risk of crops being wiped out in low lying areas that suffer from flooring. Significant amounts of agricultural land on the edge of deserts become unusable, through the process of desertification. Sea levels are also effected, as the costal land is at risk and sea defences are under more stress.

After taking the “WWF Measure Your Footprint” quiz, my awareness has been increased of my own carbon footprint. From the results, it is clear that I could do more to reduce my carbon footprint. I have already taken steps to improving this. For example, I take the Bio-Bus when available and reduce the time I spend on public transport, choosing to walk when convenient. I also make sure to recycle whenever possible, and often reuse plastic bags.

Climate Change Learning Log

The bill for The climate Change Act (2009) was passed by parliament in June 2009. This act set a target for 2050, and an interim target for 2020 as well as annual targets. These targets where to lead to “the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; to provide about the giving of advice to the Scottish Ministers relating to climate change; to confer power on Ministers to impose climate change duties on public bodies; to make further provision about mitigation of and adaptation to climate change; to make provision about energy efficiency, including provision enabling council tax discounts; to make provision about the reduction and recycling of waste; and for connected purposes” (Scottish Government, 2009). By the year 2050 Scottish ministers must make sure that total Scottish emissions are at least 80% lower than the baseline.

One of the ways I think the government have progressed towards meeting these targets is charging people for carrier bags. On the 20th October 2014, legislation was passed by the Scottish government the requires all retailers to charge at least 5p for all carrier bags. This was to promote bag re-use and to reduce the effects of littering. Scotland alone uses a staggering 800 million single-use bags each year. And each year, council litter collectors pick up at least 7.4 million bags from our streets and surroundings. These bag charges hopefully will encourage people to re-use bags and prevent people from littering.

This has definitely had an impact on me personally and also upon my family. Whenever we go to the supermarket we always re-use bags from previous shopping trips and have several “bags for life”. We also ask for our shopping not to be put in bags when we are getting it delivered to our home. Whenever we do have to purchase a carrier bag we never throw it away but will keep them to re-use again.

Having completed the WWF Environmental footprint I learned a number of things about my lifestyle and my own carbon footprint.

screenshot_2016-10-07-12-23-48

My carbon footprint was at 115%. I did anticipate it being high. In fact, I actually thought it would be higher 115%. Despite this evidently it is not a good result. It is definitely somewhat of a thought provoker. What is plainly clear is that if I want to reduce my carbon footprint I need to make some changes.

screenshot_2016-10-07-12-23-55

screenshot_2016-10-07-12-24-26

During my carbon breakdown it was revealed that the area I need to reduce the most is “food”. This does not surprise me. I eat a lot of animal products which I know has environmental repercussions. I also live in a family home and we probably purchase far more food than we need each week. This of course leads to waste. We also have a young, rather fussy, child in our home who rarely cleans their plate and often refuses to eat the meals cooked for them. In addition we have a very pampered pet cat that frequently turns up their nose at their food dish, expecting something better as a replacement. This obviously leads to even more food waste. However all of our food waste gets put into our brown bin and not just into general rubbish. Perhaps taking this into account my carbon footprint would be slightly less but I am not sure.

The thing that really surprised me while completing this quiz was my own ignorance. There are so many things I never even associated with my carbon footprint. When you mention environment my first thoughts would be about transport, recycling, heating your home, food waste and so on… It never even occurred to me that all of the “stuff” I buy and use such as makeup, beauty products, my phone, the television and clothes are linked in a strong way. I admit that I love shopping and there is no doubt in my mind that I purchase significantly more items than needed.

I was surprised to see that my carbon footprint is smaller than the UK average. I suspect this is partly because I cannot drive, rather than my own efforts to be greener. However when compared to the world average it really quite embarrassing to see how large my footprint is. I suspect others in the UK feel the same way. This topic has been somewhat of an eye opener and highlighted that I do need to make some small changes in areas I had previously never thought about in order to make a difference.

References

http://carrierbagchargescotland.org.uk/

http://www.greenerscotland.org/cleanerscotland/carrier-bags

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaires/

Learning Log: Climate Change

Theme: Climate Change Key learning: This input really opened up my eyes to the dangers of climate change. It is becoming increasingly more important that we do our best to prevent it before the damage becomes irreversible. I was somewhat … Continue reading →

Theme: Climate Change

Key learning:

This input really opened up my eyes to the dangers of climate change. It is becoming increasingly more important that we do our best to prevent it before the damage becomes irreversible. I was somewhat aware of the effects of global warming such as the icecaps melting, but watching the video of the build up of CO2 was a huge shock.

Deforestation plays an immense part in the build up of CO2. Trees take in the CO2 in the atmosphere and produce oxygen, what we breathe in. With the deforestation happening at such a rapid pace, there are less trees to take in the increasing levels of CO2.

Climate change is something that we are briefly told about, and then every so often reminded of, but it isn’t reiterated often enough for people to take more than a fleeting interest in. More should be done in the media to show the effects of climate change, what can be done to prevent it and to help people really understand that they world they live in is in danger and that it does affect them.

I never realised that the more developed countries tried to get the less developed countries to cut their emissions so that they did not have to. I thought this was awful, as it was be even more challenging for these countries to develop while trying to cut back on emissions and this in turn furthers the imbalance between developed and less developed countries.

I think that it is vital that we teach children about climate change, especially as it is the future generations that are in more danger from it. It is important that it is taught in a way that is informative and highlights the importance of making changing to our lifestyles, but not so that it scares the children.

Climate Change Study Task

After completing the WWF Footprint Calculator test, it showed me that my carbon footprint was sitting at 117%. This number really surprised me as it is a lot higher than I had anticipated. I never thought that some of the things that I do everyday in life could have such an impact on the environment. However, I was quite … Continue reading Climate Change Study Task →

I would say that my household was quite environmentally friendly as we tend to recycle almost everything, such as: glass, plastic bottles, paper, etc. Also in the house we usually turn everything off, like the lights when we are not using them or we put the television off correctly rather than leaving it on standby. We also have double glazing windows, energy saving light bulbs and insolation in our house. However, we have recently bought some new kitchen appliances, and I now realise that this can contribute to the percentage of our carbon footprint.

I believe that I could possibly decrease my carbon footprint by reducing the amount of car journeys I go on. I tend to go out a lot with my friends in the car, mostly for socialising but also to go shopping or to other places. I sometimes travel by car to university, but I mainly get there by bus and I feel that if I continue to use public transport rather than a car then I can reduce my carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

After having studied the Climate Change Act (2009) it has made it more clearer to me that Climate change is a serious threat that Scotland and the world is facing. Therefore the aim of this act is to create a framework in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland (GHG). The Climate Change Act creates mandatory aims in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.I think that a decision by the Scottish Government that has had a huge impact on us is the 5p carrier bag charge. Due to me working in retail, I have seen a huge difference in the amount of carrier bags that are given out. Many people now tend to use re-useable bags when they go shopping, which is what I now tend to do also. Previously, I would have always just have thrown away carrier bags, but now I realise that recycling bags, even plastic Asda or Tesco bags makes a huge difference.

References

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/tips

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/12/contents

Climate Change

After studying the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 I gathered that the Scottish government are doing a lot to help climate change. I do believe that it is possible to reach the 2050 target, in which the acts commits to Scottish Ministers ensuring that by 2050 that the net Scottish emissions fall by at least 80% from the baseline, 1990 levels. The 80% target includes GHG (greenhouse gasses) emissions which currently accounts for around 20% of the countries total emissions.

I have always been very much aware of climate change but I have never really gave it much attention since primary school as I was in the eco committee. I think the 5p plastic bag charge was a very effective decision by the Scottish government, I myself can not remember the last time I used a plastic bag as I always have ‘bags for life’ with me. I also think it was a good idea that if customer does decide to purchase a 5p bag, the government say that that 5p will go to charities.

I just recently passed my driving test but I have yet to purchase a car. I mainly use the train to commute which I understand is not helping the climate change issue. I do try my best to walk everywhere but it is very hard to so sometimes due to where I live. I was also always able to walk to my work but due to recent roadwoarks around my town I now have to rely on getting dropped off by my parents or getting a bus as the footpath has been shut.

I was very shocked when calculating my carbon footprint on the WWF Footprint Calculator. My carbon footprint was 223% which is extremely high. However, the site informed me that 68% of this is due to my travelling. In the past year I have flew to both Florida and California from the UK as well as two flights to London, one to Dublin and Spain. I also travel to Ayr everyday by car to university which is around an hours drive. As well as that I often go drives with friends and family. I also was not anticipating questions on new house appliances and as my house is getting redecorated we have had a lot of new appliances such as dish washer, oven etc.