Climate Change: Learning Log

Key Learning: Fridays lectures and workshops definitely made me more aware of climate change and the impact we are having on issues such as global warming. It specifically allowed me to […]

Key Learning:

Fridays lectures and workshops definitely made me more aware of climate change and the impact we are having on issues such as global warming. It specifically allowed me to gain a deeper understanding into:

  • What climate change actually is and it differs from day to changes in the weather. I now have a better understanding that climate change is taken from the average weather and temperatures over a considerable period of time.
  • How politics and climate change are so closely linked and the impact our politics and our beliefs can have and are having on climate change. Louise’s workshop allowed me to see that as humans we are far less likely to support a party that is aiming to fight climate change and global warming as the language we use when discussing it is always so far in the future meaning we struggle to want to take responsibility for it when we aren’t going to see its affects immediately in our day to day lives.
  • Some interesting ways of teaching or doing practical activities in class related to climate change and the weather. In particular I found the cloud in the jar and the thermometer task quite interesting experiments and our both something I would consider doing with a class in the future.
  • The impact that climate change is having. The lectures and work involved in this module to do with climate as always when dealing with the issue of climate change and global warming makes it shocking clear the impact its having on the planet with videos of ice caps melting and others showing the amount of CO2 that we are putting into the air.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice:

This weeks work has impacted on my views of climate change. I am now far more aware of it than I have been in the past and far more concerned about doing my bit to help reduce my own carbon footprint which while already not too bad at 71% could probably be slightly lower. As a flat I know that we are now trying to recycle a lot more, this is something that I have never really done in the past but as Ayrshire council provides recycling bins and with their being a bottle bank near by it seems only fair that we start to our bit their and recycle more.

In practice I can definitely see myself using a lot of the activities and experiments Andrew showed us linked in with some lessons on climate change as I could see how making a tornado in a jar and building their own thermometer could be very interesting for children. It is also very important that we educate children in climate change from a young as they will want to do something about it they will be keen to do walk to school weeks and recycle more and contribute to other environmentally friendly projects in and around the school. This then makes them more aware of the impact they are having on the environment and gives more hope for a healthier future for the Earth.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop:

  • I plan to look into the politics behind climate change slightly more as it was something that I had never truly considered just how much it impacted in how we try to tackle the issues of climate change and global warming.
  • I also plan to look further into the experiments Andrew showed us to see what other ideas are available when teaching about climate change and how others would suggest linking them into a lesson.

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 […]

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.

Report a Glow concern
Cookie policy  Privacy policy

Glow Blogs uses cookies to enhance your experience on our service. By using this service or closing this message you consent to our use of those cookies. Please read our Cookie Policy.