Month: November 2017

The theme over the past two weeks of the Sustainable Development module has been Natural Disasters.  A natural disaster is defined as “a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources.  Although often cause by nature, disasters can have human origins” (ifrc.org, 2017).   I think it is essential that children are aware of what is going on in the world around them but the fundamental question is ‘how much do we let them know?’.

Through the two inputs that I participated in, I was able to develop my understanding of the impact that humans can have on natural disasters and the role of the government and various charities and aid groups before, during and after a natural disaster occurs.

In the first input we explored economics, equality and social justice when it comes to natural disasters.  In this workshop we compared two case studies of earthquakes that had hit Japan and Haiti and develop our understanding of the political involvement in these disasters.  Despite already knowing that Japan was a more developed country than Haiti, I was surprised to find out that the earthquake recorded in Japan

was 9.0 on the Richter Scale in comparison to the lower 7.0 magnitude recorded in Haiti as the disaster left Haiti in a much worse state than Japan.  This was due to the significantly higher level of preparation that was put in place in Japan through building much stronger buildings that have a higher chance of remaining intact and keeping people up to date through the medium of the news and social media.  Japan also received considerably more media attention and aid than Haiti as they are allied with many more countries.  This therefore left Haiti to rely heavily on charities and volunteers as they were so badly prepared in coping with a disaster of this magnitude as well as being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Prior to reading these case studies I had always believed that the Haiti earthquake had been of a higher magnitude however, by reviewing all of the information provided on graphs and charts I was able to develop my critical analysis skills.

During this first workshop we were provided with various pictures of disasters on our tables.  We discussed how we might approach the topic of teaching natural disasters to young children.  It is extremely important when teaching children about disasters that we are sensitive and aware of the materials that we display to children.  We should make our main focus the preventative measures, the disaster and the recovery processes involved during a disaster rather than focusing on the death toll and mass destruction which could upset children.  Therefore it is advisable to cover the topic of Natural Disasters with second level pupils as younger ones may find it distressing.  It may also be useful to invite guest speakers from charities or members from the government to speak to the class in order for children to learn more about the aid provided to countries that experience such disasters and pose their own questions to those who work directly in the field.

In the second workshop we participated in various different activities that linked to natural disasters.  These included creating our own fossils using clay and dinosaur moulds and creating a volcanic eruption using baking soda, washing-up liquid, food colouring and vinegar.  I particularly enjoyed the volcanic eruption experiment and believe that it could be easily replicated with a second-level class to develop their investigative and equity skills.

The topic of Natural Disasters can also be linked to other curricular areas.  For example, we could help children to understand how a victim of a disaster may feel by using some of the various drama conventions that we have learned and allowing the child to take on the role of the victim.  Subsequently, children could take the role of a member of the emergency services or a charity worker being interviewed by a news reporter to allow them to look at the disaster from their perspective.

I can describe the physical process of a natural disaster and discuss its impact on people and the landscape.  SOC 2-07b

References

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – Available at: www.ifrc.org  [Accessed 5th November 2017].

Scottish Government (2017).  Curriculum for Excellence: Social Subjects.  Available at:  https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/social-studies-eo.pdf  [Accessed 5th November 2017].

During our theme of Interdependence we visited two different family-run dairy farms: Strandhead Farm in Tarbolton and Mossgiel Farm in Mauchline.  Despite the final product produced being the same, it was interesting to compare the farms and how they vary both in their methods and ethos.

The first farm we visited was Strandhead Farm which relied heavily on technology.  They use machines to milk the cows, gather and distribute their feed.  It is one of the most technologically advanced farms in Scotland and I found it really interesting to see how they have developed the traditional farming

methods, especially when it comes to milking.  At Strandhead, the cows are given the freedom to decide to be milked whenever and how often they   liked.  This process involved the cows queuing up and then being milked one at a time by a robot which also screened them for any potential infections or nutrients that the cow may be lacking in order for the farmer to determine whether they need to provide any changes to their diets.

Strandhead Farm kept its cows indoors all year and used shutters to shelter them from the varying weather conditions.  This method concerned me as it raised many significant animals rights issues however, the farmer justified this decision by explaining that the harsh winter can have a huge impact on the farmland which can affect the cows health and therefore can be damaging to the farmers livelihood.  This farm also raised concerns when they explained that they separate newly born calves from their mothers just hours after being born.  This upset me as the calves were placed in single, solitary pens and many seemed very distressed to be in such a confined space by themselves.

The second of the two farms we visited was Mossgiel farm which is what I would typically expect a farm to look like.  It is a much smaller, family run farm by owner Bryce Cunningham who decided to move to more organic methods in order to be as ethically and environmentally conscious as a farm can be.  This also allowed Bryce to be able to ensure that the farm could still be financially viable as he explained to us that the drop of the wholesale price of milk over recent years resulted in him losing thousands of pounds in income per month.  In order to be considered as an organic farm, Bryce has to ensure that there are no pesticides used and he is only able to use natural fertilisers.

Mossgiel Farm also prides itself in keeping its native breed of Ayrshire Cattle which means that the cows are better suited to the weather conditions and soil in this habitat.  Therefore, unlike Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel allows its cows to roam freely outdoors as the grass is native to the area which is ideal for the cows and this consequently reduces the cost of having to buy any additives that many non-native breeds may require in order to survive.  Unlike Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel does not use the artificial insemination process as often as they have 4 bulls housed within the farm.  This process does increase the number of male calves born at Mossgiel however Bryce explained that he has now created Ethical Veal as he felt very uncomfortable using the popular method of killing these calves at birth.  This veal allows the farm to continue with its ideology of ethical and organic sustainability.

In contrast to Strandhead Farm, Mossgiel Farm cows are milked twice a day by Bryce and he allows himself to take the time to check over every cow to ensure they are at their best health rather than Strandhead’s robotic system.  The milk at Mossgiel is pasteurised onsite which takes several hours using a slow heating and cooling process before being packaged and sent off to the farms customers – which Bryce explained are mainly specialist coffee shops.

Despite their differences, both farms also had various similarities.  For example, both farms separated the newly-born calves from their mothers just hours after being born.  Bryce expressed that when he first took over Mossgiel Farm he decided to keep the young calves with their mothers however this then caused a detrimental effect as within the first couple of days many of the young calves died due to contracting harmful bacteria from their mothers udders.  Therefore, Bryce had to reconsider his options and he then placed the newborn calves into individual pens, however unlike Strandhead Farm where calves are placed in solitary pens, the pens at Mossgiel are structured to look more like a crib where they are able to still be within their mothers reach.  This method appeared to be extremely effective as all of the calves, one as young as 2 days old, gave the impression of being comfortable in their pens.

Despite it being very impressing and informative to observe a more modern farm,  I preferred the second farm at it was a more traditional farm.  I believe that it would be very insightful to take pupils on a school trip to a farm as they would be able to fully participate and understand how products that they use – such as milk – are produced and get from the cow to their own fridge at home.  I would be very inclined to arrange a trip to a farm through RHET as a teacher because they informed us that they are responsible for providing the risk assessment for the teacher which can take any pressure/initial doubts off the teacher and the school.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed exploring the topic of Interdependence.  I believe that this has been achieved by taking part in a more practical setting by hearing from those who make a living from Interdependence.  However, I do think that this would be a challenging topic to address with school pupils as I believe the best way for them to learn this topic is through experience of practical lessons such as visiting a farm much like us.

Climate change is a topic that is very current in our lives today as people are beginning to debate whether it is a natural occurring process of our planet or if it is a more man-made process due to effects such as the industrial revolution causing decades of greenhouse gas emissions.  Having read the Climate Change Scotland Act (2009) I am now aware of the objective set my the Scottish Government to reduce the emissions in Scotland to below 80% of the baseline by 2050.  In order to achieve this, they have implemented various strategies including the land use strategy and adding a charge to the single-use carrier bag.  The land use strategy was first published in 2011 and is revised every 5 years.  The strategy is a long-term goal of having a sustainable, well-integrated land use which will benefit society greatly in many ways.  The second strategy put into effect is the introduction of a five-pence charge to carrier bags in October 2014.  It was estimated that without the implementation of this charge, the seven main grocery retailers would have used over 800 million carrier bags in a year.  This Act has therefore changed the way in which I shop as I am more likely to buy and re-use a ‘Bag for Life’ than a single-use carrier bag as it not only allowed me to be more aware of recycling but it has also saved me money in the long run as I am not having to constantly buy carrier bags when I am shopping.

As part of the study task we were asked to watch a documentary entitled ‘Antartica on the Edge’ which followed 55 scientists who took part in 22 experiments in Antartica to understand the significant changes in the region.  This documentary shocked me as it allowed me to physically see and understand the effects of climate change.  I had previously heard of the ‘ice caps melting’ through various mediums such as the news and social media, however, this documentary allowed me to understand how this ice melting would affect all of us out-with the region as it is predicted that sea levels could rise by up to 1 metre by the end of the century due to Antartica warming faster than anywhere else on the planet.

I was able to measure my own carbon footprint by using the WWF Measure Your Footprint activities.  My carbon footprint was measured at around 290% and my total carbon emissions was measured a 28.3 tonnes which stunned me as it is considered good to be under 100%.  My largest contribution to my carbon footprint was travel which was measured at 65%.  I commute from Paisley to Ayr 4 days a week for University however, I do car share with 2 of my peers so had their been a question regarding car sharing I believe this figure may have been slightly lower.  I could also reduce this by walking more and using the bus or train when travelling locally.  I was also really surprised to see how much my diet could affect my carbon footprint.  I discovered that the “live-stock industry is responsible for 14.5% of global emissions” (WWF, 2017) so by reducing my meat consumption and increasing my vegetable consumption I would further reduce my carbon footprint.

To conclude, it is extremely significant that Climate Change is an topic that children, as well as adults, are well-educated in and are aware of the changes that they can make in order to improve the future of planet Earth.    Having taken part in these tasks I believe that I will be more conscious to make changes to my carbon footprint in order to help provide a small, yet useful, contribution to society and our future.

References

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

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/?_ga=1.176985891.745195644.1442412124

Before attending the lecture I was briefly aware of what Climate Change was due to it being such a relevant topic on the news nowadays.  However, I had never really stopped to consider the affects of climate change to myself and how I contribute to these changes.  In the lecture we discussed how climate change is affecting our world today with the increase in temperature and decrease in ice cover which I feel is an extremely relevant subject that should be discussed in schools.  The Met Office defines climate change as “a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet’s weather patterns or average temperatures”.  Therefore, if the climate does not stay the same over a period of time it can be defined as ‘Climate Change’.

During the lecture we were introduced to how the evidence for climate change is recorded and collected.  Climate change experts collect various data and items such as weather recordings, fossils, ice cores and analyses of pollen and trees in order to determine the changes to our climate.  Some of the main dangers to climate change include:

• Sea level changes
• Damage from flooding such as house or crops damage
• Flooding of low lying coastal areas

The British farming industry is massively suffering from the affects of climate change due to the weather.  Therefore, a poor quality of crops are being produced which are causing farmers problems in selling and in some areas masses of crops are being completely destroyed due to flooding which is causing a detrimental effect to many farmers and their livelihoods.  Over the past couple of years the UK has experienced a lot of flooding due to climate change such as the 2015 flooding in Cumbria as well as the more recent floods once again in Cumbria in October this year.

The first workshop allowed us to be very interactive as it allowed us to participate in a number of experiments.  One of these experiments involved us taking two plastic cups: one with cold water and blue food colouring and the other with warm water and red food colouring.  Both cups had pebbles put in them and they were both placed into a large tank of room temperature water.  I found this experiment to be very significant as is allowed us to see the warm, red water rise to the top of the tank whilst the cool, blue water sink to the bottom.

In the second experiment we made a tornado in a jar in order to understand how a real tornado is created.  This involved filling a jar with water and adding washing-up liquid and food colouring.  We then swirled the jar for around 60 seconds before stopping to see that we had produced a tornado by seeing the cold and warm air combining and spinning.  I found both of these experiments to be very beneficial to my education as it allowed my to fully engage and understand how the topic of climate change could be taught in a primary education setting.

In the second worship we explored the impact of politics on global warning.  Prior to this input I had never considered how much politics can have an impact on global warming.  However, having researched how much the UK Government is involved in climate change and the ways in which we can strive to reduce it I have a better understanding of how to tackle climate change and the impact these changes in the climate has on me.

Through the inputs I participated in and the directed study task I can now see how global warming and climate change can be taught in schools and how to use a cross-curricular approach to link climate change and global warming to other subject areas.  I have more confidence in being able educate children on how important it is to be aware of climate change and what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint to ultimately help to slow down global warming.  Furthermore, I was able to identify various CfE experiences and outcomes which could link this teaching to the appropriate curriculum areas such as:

I can consider ways of looking after my school or community and can encourage others to care for their environment.  SOC 1-08a

Having explored the ways journeys can be made, I can consider the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of transport, discussing their impact on the environment.  SOC 2-09a

References

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-guide/climate-change