Sustainable development independent study task
I live in North Ayrshire in a town called Kilwinning. Kilwinning is about 21 miles from Glasgow. The 2017 Census recorded the town as having a population of 17,250. My family and I have lived here every since I was born, so for 18 years. It is a very residential area with 6 main housing areas. There is a mix of pre-war and new builds. Within the town there are 6 primary schools, one academy and one college. There are also many churches and one leisure centre called Kilwinning Sports’ Club. Very recently there was a restaurant built which is doing very well and is a personal favourite of our family. In the town there is a doctors’ surgery, lots of shops, cafes and hairdressers.
I live in a new residential area where there are a lot of modern houses with streets safe for children to play as a lot of families live around this area. There are some new builds which have three stories but it is mainly two story homes. In Kilwinning 5 of the estates are council estates and one is a private estate. There is a lot of greenery around where I live, and not too far from me is a park with a place for children to play and events such as fireworks night is held there. Furthermore we have a ruins of an old castle in Eglinton Park providing a historical side to the town. We have the remains of an Abby that was built in the late 1100s and the Tironensian monks lived there for around 400 years. In addition we also have a working mill at Dalgarvan which is a part of Kilwinning and is a historical site too.
The transport system in Kilwinning is excellent. We have two train lines that run to Glasgow and 6 trains run at peek time to Glasgow every hour. We also have a very good bus system too. Kilwinning is a very busy place and popular with commuters. Furthermore we have many cycle paths that start in Kilwinning.
Kilwinning is an urban space as it is mainly filled with houses, with some green areas.
A way to investigate urban environments with a primary 5 class could be organising a trip around their town to find out places they have never been before. Taking a map and using it to help navigate their way around the town. Writing a list of things they would like to see and check listing them off as they go. Recording their finding maybe by taking photographs and writing about their experience back in class. Possibly taking a class survey of how people travel within the local area.
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
Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit.
SOC 2-10a
These two outcomes from curriculum for excellence would be covered with the activities above.
I have discovered several new facts about Kilwinning because of the research for this blog. I think looking at your local town would give children a feeling of belonging and hopefully instil a feeling of pride in their local town. I now have several ideas that I can take on placement.
Reference
Scottish Executive, (2004). Curriculum for Excellence [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 10 October 2017]
