geography with plymouth university newsletter autumn 2013

Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
GEOGRAPHY
WITH
PLYMOUTH
UNIVERSITY
NEWSLETTER
AUTUMN 2013
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the
Geography Newsletter from Plymouth
University. Our cover picture was taken in
Shanghai on a recent fieldtrip, shortly before
the group left for the second part of their trip
in Hong Kong - more details inside. We also
take a look at our first field visit to Belize,
and catch up with what our students and staff
have been up to, including an assessment of
the contribution they have made to the 2013
Eurovision Song Contest!
We hope you enjoy this edition.
Dr Ralph Fyfe
Associate Professor
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Student Stories
Simon Cook (BA Geography 2010-13) was runner-up
in the Royal Geographical Society’s Social and Cultural
Geography dissertation for his work entitled Jography:
exploring the mobilities of road running. Described by
his supervisor Jon Shaw as the best dissertation he’d
ever seen at any University, it focussed on developing
an understanding of the movements, meanings and
experiences of road runners, drawing on a range of
ethnographic approaches.
Amelia Pitts (BA Geography 2011-14) has just returned
from a year at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU),
located on the USA/Mexico border. Whilst in the US
she had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans, New
York, Florida, Washington, Oregon and Los Angeles, built
a network of international friends and developed entirely
new outlooks on culture, education and country music!
Amelia Pitts flying the flag in Texas, USA
Thorger Enge (BSc Geography and Ocean Science 2011-2014) spent the second year of his studies
at the University of North Carolina (UNC), and has returned to complete his final year at Plymouth.
Whilst at UNC he collected a series of impressive awards, including the Distinguished Undergraduate
Research Scholar award, was awarded membership of the international Gamme Theta Upsilon society
and nominated for membership of Sigma Xi, the international scientific research society, which he will
take up on graduation from Plymouth.
Alan Nicholls (BSc Geography 2011-14) was awarded £3000 from the Bernays Charitable Trust and
the JAF Luttrell Memorial Charity to support fieldwork for his dissertation on vulnerability of tropical
coral reefs to ocean warming. Alan spent a month diving to collect his field data this summer.
Alan Nicholls collecting data for his final year dissertation
and relaxing with the locals ...
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
You’ve got to Belize it!
Belize, the only English speaking country in
Central America, was the recent destination for
30 third year geography students undertaking
their advanced fieldwork module. This was the
first visit by Plymouth University to the country
which has a population of around 350,000 in an
area the size of Wales. Based on the success of
this trip it won’t be the last.
Xunantunich Mayan site
Students and staff draw breath having completed a bush
and cave trek at Tiger Sandy Bay
Belize proved a great place to study geography
reflecting its outstanding physical features and
ecology and its unique mix of Creole, Mestizo,
Garifuna and Mayan culture. Visits and talks
focused on forest conservation, sustainable
tourism and urban development with sessions in
Belize City, St Herman’s Blue Hole National Park,
Belize Zoo and Community Baboon Sanctuary,
along with tourist attractions including a zipwire
and the Mayan site of Xunantunich.
This provided a great platform for studentled projects investigating human impact on
the conservation value of Belize’s forests, the
economic and cultural impact of cruise ship
tourism and the development of the world’s
smallest capital city - Belmopan - built as a
response to the threat from hurricanes.
Visiting during the rainy season ensured full
exposure to the tropical heat and humidity
not to mention venomous snakes, spiders and
scorpions which were successfully avoided.
However, there was less success in avoiding the
mosquitos and sand flies except on the final day
when we escaped to Caye Caulker on Belize’s
barrier reef for some well-deserved rest and
relaxation in a tropical paradise.
Haulover Creek in Belize City
Swimming at St Herman’s Blue Hole National park
There were many highlights and memorable
moments from a fieldtrip which provided the
perfect combination of adventure, learning and
fun, including a 30 minute appearance by team
members on Belizean breakfast TV which gave us
the opportunity to sing the praises of this unique
frontier country.
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Graduation 2013
Plymouth University celebrated graduation once
again on Plymouth Hoe in September, and we
were delighted to see so many of students on what
is for us the most exciting day of the academic
year. Plymouth also awards honorary degrees or
doctorates, and this year we were delighted to
award Kate Adie, the highly respected journalist
and war correspondent an Honorary Doctorate
within the Geography graduation ceremony.
At the same time Olympic diver and World
Champion Tonia Couch was awarded Sporting
Colours.
Each year the Geography Department awards
a series of prizes for exceptional performances,
which are given at Graduation. The prizes are:
The Geography Prize for the Best Overall Performance
in Geography and the Plymouth City Coach Prize for
the Best Dissertation in Geography were awarded
to Simon Cook (BA Geography).
The University Bookseller Prize for an Excellent
Dissertation in Geography was awarded to Greg
Rushby (BSc Geography).
The Geography Prize for Excellent Overall
Performance in Geography was awarded to
Natalie Sluggett (BSc Geography)
Kate Adie and Tonia Couch receive their awards.
Students gather for the post presentation photograph
The University Prize for the Best Language Student
in French was awarded to Fiona Lapworth
(BA Geography and French)
The Royal Town Planning Institute Prize for the best
MSc Planning students was awarded to Sarah
Dyke (part-time studies) and Steven Leger
(full-time studies).
The Mark Blacksell Prize for the Best Taught Student
on a Geography-related programme was awarded
to Rebecca Coombe (MSc Sustainable
Environmental Management) and Lucien
Georgeson (MA Planning).
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Above - staff and students alike enjoy the Graduation Day event set on Plymouth’s famous Hoe
Below - staff and student graduates from our MSc Planning course
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Eurovision Song Contest 2013
Plymouth MSc Planning student Samaria Bezzina represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
on Saturday, 18 May, 2013. She was one of the backing singers supporting her brother, Gianluca. They
received 120 points overall and were placed eighth in the competition, which was considerably higher
than Bonnie Tyler for the UK (23 points, 16th)! The competition was watched by 135 million people
worldwide, which makes presenting an in-class seminar rather less daunting!
MSc Planning student Samaria Bezzina (top left) represents Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest
The Making of a Modern City
The exhibition ‘The Making of a Modern City’, which
ran from 27 April to 29 June, 2013 at the City Museum
and Art Gallery as part of the inaugural Plymouth
History Festival, was part-assisted by Mark Brayshay
and Stephen Essex. It was staged to celebrate the 70th
anniversary of Professor Sir Patrick Abercrombie and
James Paton-Watson's 'Plan for Plymouth' (1943) and
delved into the archives to reveal the documents, plans
and politics that shaped Plymouth in the immediate
post-war period. Mark and Stephen wrote the draft
text for the exhibition using their own research
publications. This collaboration with the Plymouth and
West Devon Records Office has opened new research
avenues on these themes with the discovery of audio
recordings of interviews with two of the actors made
in the mid-1970s (James Paton Watson, City Engineer
and Surveyor and Sir Colin Campbell, Town Clerk).
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Hong Kong Fieldwork
From 1 to 14 September, 2013, a group of 18
geography students led by Dr Andrew Williams
and assisted by Dr Charley Braungardt and Dr
Stephen Essex visited Hong Kong as one of the
destinations for the final year fieldwork module.
With Hong Kong’s population at around seven
million people concentrated into a relatively
small land area constrained by topography, the
city has one of the most densely populated
built environments anywhere in the world (up
to 116,000 persons per km2). The overarching
theme of the field course was therefore the
management of a large global city, encompassing
the constraints posed by the physical setting
and environment; the historical development
and legacy as a former British colony; the urban
planning and design of the built environment
and the socio-economic conditions; the
decentralisation of population pressures into
new towns; the challenges and controversies
surrounding urban renewal; waste management
practices; and the growing awareness of the
importance of the conservation of the natural
and built environment.
A tale of two cities: the affluent urbanisation of Hong
Kong Island (above) in contrast to the cage homes and
squatters of Sham Shui Po (below)
Student-led projects investigated a broad range
of topics, including the urban design of new
towns; biosecurity in Hong Kong following the
SARS and avian flu epidemics; the effectiveness
of interpretation media used in the city’s
museums; the impact of real estate and retail
development around the MTR rail stations on
the surrounding urban fabric and communities;
the air quality on Hong Kong Island during rush
hour; and slope and landslide management.
Student-led project presentations at Hong Kong Baptist
University
In Hong Kong, the group were hosted by the
Geography Department at Hong Kong Baptist
University, with special thanks to Dr Bernie
Owens (Head of Department), Dr Donggen
Wang, Professor Wing-Shing Tang and Johnson
Yeung (GIS technician). During the visit, the
HKBU Student Geography Society organised a
social event for the Plymouth students, which
included the tasting of traditional Chinese food
and drink. Students enjoyed their experience
in Hong Kong, with many saying that they felt
that they had seen a lot of the city and region
in a short time and had enjoyed the mix and
locations of the field days. Many were surprised
by the extremes of wealth and poverty evident
across the city as well as the diversity of the
urban and rural landscapes.
The Geography Student Society social event at Hong
Kong Baptist University with locals and Plymouth
geographers ‘doing the G’ for Geography
Follow us on Twitter @PlymGeog
Staff news
Welcome to four new members of staff, who joined the department at the start of September:
Professor David Gilvear (Professor of River Science) joins us
from Stirling University. David specialises in fluvial geomorphology, in
particular the behaviour of natural river systems and their interaction
with society.
Dr Nicki Whitehouse (Associate Professor (Reader) in Physical
Geography) is a palaeoecologist and environmental archaeologist who
is particularly interested in environmental changes over the last 10,000500,000 years. Nicki joins us from Queen’s University Belfast.
Dr Paul Simpson (Lecturer in Human Geography) has returned to
Plymouth after a year at Keele University. His research and teaching
interests cover the study of the social and cultural geographies of artistic
and everyday practices and the use of urban public spaces.
Dr Stephanie Mills (Lecturer in Physical Geography), formerly
of Kingston University, is a glaciologist, with an interest in marginal
glaciations, and works in Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Papua New
Guinea.
Research awards
Dr Naomi Tyrrell has been awarded £7000 from the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust for a study
of the impacts of children’s residential mobility on migration in later life.
Dr Tim Daley has been awarded £20,000 from the National Environment Research Council for a
study examining the role of peat bogs in combating climate change, in particular studying the interactions
between bog rewetting and carbon sequestration.
Recent successful PhD completions
Congratulations to the following students who recently completed their PhD’s:
Dr Marta Perez for her work on A palaeoecological approach to understanding the impact of coastal
change on past societies.
Dr Sam Allcock for her work on Living with a changing landscape: Holocene climate variability and socioeconomic trajectories, Central Turkey.
Dr Mehmet Seremet for his work on The provision of GIS in UK Higher Education.
Dr Wendy Miller for her work on Allotments and alternative food networks: the case of Plymouth, UK.
Dr Suha Zoozi for her work on Pollution of estuarine sediments.