Our first day in Sustainable Development consisted of mostly practical learning. However, in the lecture, Louise talked about what Sustainable development was which according to the Scottish Government “The goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations.”. We also learned why this was beneficial to teach as children learn that we overuse the Earths resources, and how this has impacted on the world.

Throughout the day we learned mostly about the environment. In the first workshop we went toi the science lab with Andrew, and talked about the ways of teaching environment in the classroom. We done this by having a variety of stations, which included snails, food webs and microscopes. We also had the opportunity to go outside to the university’s Japanese garden and learn about the areas trees and leaves. We done this by taking paper and a crayon and imprinting the pattern of the trunk and leaves of the tree. I thought this was an effective way of getting children motivated to learn more about the environment we live in, and why it is important to take care of the planets resources.

In the second workshop, we went outside with Louise to do some activities. First we had to try and look for insects and tick them off on a worksheet. This got everyone involved as we tried to complete the exploration. The second activity was that we had to be mindful, and analyse the environment around us. From this we used different senses such as hearing, listening, touching and smelling. Usually on my way to university I would just walk right past and not acknowledge very much, however from this experience I have realised I took the environment for granted and did not realise the detail that was there.

An example of this was that me and a few others looked at the different ;plants and trees, and did not understand what substance was coming from the tree. It was syrup like, which we then later realised was sap. I researched this more and found out that it flows through sapwood which creates carbon dioxide according to gardenknowhow.com.

We also looked at the trees into great detail and noticed that the lichen on the tree was only on one side of the tree. Lichens also only grow in areas which are fresh aired. I also researched and found out that trees only have lichen on the north side of the tree trunk in the northern hemisphere as we get sun from the south more than the north, and lichen grows easiest when shaded according to scienceline.ucsb.edu.

For our study task we went home and done a blog about our urban environment and the area we live in. We answered questions which asked about the roads, the population, greenery and also entertainment. I learned a lot more about East Kilbride and also about the history.

I have developed a lot of my skills like creative skills, this was due to us thinking about different types of lessons we could create to teach children about their environment. This made me think more about practical and hands on learning, like going outside. I also believe I have developed my evaluating. This was improved when I was doing outdoor observation and being mindful about the world around us. Due to this I learned quite a few things about nature.

This lecture and workshops related to primary teaching as we had to think of ways in which to combine nature with learning. I believe that outdoor learning is the best way to teach, as children are more motivated and excited to move rather than sit in a classroom and write for too long.

 

I live on the outskirts of East Kilbride in a hamlet called Jackton. I have lived in East Kilbride all my life however I have moved three times. Me and my family moved to Jackton nine years ago when new estates were built on farm land.

East Kilbride once called Kilbride used to be a small village. However after the war, in 1947 they began turning it into a new town to house 2500 inhabitants from Glasgow according to South Lanarkshire Council.

The type of buildings around me are new estate buildings made of brick and are well secure. There are also some cottages near my area also. There are not many roads around Jackton, however the roads around my estate all have cul-de-sacs. They made these types of roads because a lot of families moved into the houses and they want to make the streets safe for children to play in.

There are also a lot of greenery where I live. For example, in front of my house is an open space of grass where many street party events like bonfire night is heled. Also about fifty metres down my road there is farm and grass landscapes which hold animals such as sheep and cows.

To get public transport you can walk 15-20 minutes to reach the train and bus station. The train is about thirty minutes from Glasgow so there is easy access to lots of shops, and entertainment. In the centre of East Kilbride there is a lot more transport mostly near our town centre which has its own bus station.

East Kilbride is the second biggest town in Scotland with a population of 74,000 people so there are a lot of community halls around the town. Some of the halls are used for cafes, spaces for sport activities like gymnastics, charity events and clubs like scouts or guides. There is a town centre which has a lot of shops and opportunities for work. There is also a lot of entertainment like cinemas, shops, pubs and restaurants. There are also leisure centres which have gyms, swimming,a track field for athletics and its own football club.

There is a lot of things to do like walk around the James Hamilton Heritage Park with a man-made Loch. There is also the biggest on soil wind farm called the Whitelee Wind Farm which is in Eaglesham, South West of East Kilbride.

East Kilbride was Scotland’s first new town and was built to home the overflowing population of Glasgow. A green belt surrounded East Kilbride, however due to East Kilbride increasing in population, a lot of new housing has been built on this area, which is like the PERI-urban space. Even though there has been an expansion of population in East Kilbride, the air pollution seems to be quite low according (www.scottishairquality.co.uk).

To teach children about urban environment, I would want to do some practical work. I would start by creating simple tables for children to compare traffic, urban appearance and cleanliness in an urban area and a rural area. This would show children how different the areas are, and how population affects these places.

TED TALK

1. The increase in urban population has affected negatively in places south of the equator. A reason for this is due to rapid growth. For example, it took 150 years to reach eight million people however Mexico took fifteen to reach that same interval. Another reason for violence in over populated cities would be that in fragile cities 75% of the population is under 30. A lot of their parents die young and end up in gangs, turn to drugs, alcohol, and no education. This leads to a lot of violence in these cities.
2. I believe that a lot of people move to urban areas instead of rural is due to smaller houses, which means, less rent, less bills, less money spent on energy and furniture. Another reason I think there is an increase of people living in urban areas is because their work is nearer there, which means they can get there quicker but also pay less money on petrol and public transport.
3. EU policies are trying to get countries to compete to try and use the energy and use what their country can resource them. This will make countries more enthusiastic about being resourceful and will hopefully make a difference by 2020.