Geography Fieldwork

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Geography Fieldwork
Effective contributors

• Successful learners

Responsible citizens
Confident individuals
Introduction Claire Bruce
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Fieldwork makes geography come to life, puts
everything into context in glorious 3D.
Kate Humble Presenter of BBC Springwatch
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. and helps students really grasp how geography
shapes the world around us. Kate Humble
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In the Geography department, pupils are given
opportunities to take part in fieldwork. In S1
and S2, basic fieldwork techniques are introduced
and carried out around Turriff.
S2 Traffic Survey
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Fieldwork techniques include map orientation,
field sketching, observation and recording of
features, traffic and pedestrian counts.
S1 Orientating Maps
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. and environmental surveys. These form the
basis of the skills and techniques that will
serve pupils throughout their studies in
Geography, right through to Advanced Higher
level.
S1 Waste Awareness Bus
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S3 Fieldwork Aviemore and the Cairngorms
Presenters Lucy Elphinstone Euan Swan
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In Standard Grade we have the opportunity to go
on a two day fieldtrip to the Cairngorms and
Aviemore where practical fieldwork techniques are
further developed.
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Here we were able to put the theory, learned in
class, in to practise rather than simply reading
about it in a book. .
S3 Rothiemurchus Land Management
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The Aviemore and Cairngorms area has stunning
scenery carved out by glaciers and the area
offers a number of opportunities for examining
the physical and human landscapes.
On the visit to Rothiemurchus estate we had the
chance to feed deer
S3 Feeding the deer on Rothiemurchus Estate
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see new born Highland cattle.
S3 New Born calf
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feed fish..
S3 Rothiemurchus Fish Farm
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S3 Loch an Eilein
to see the splendour of Loch an Eilein with its
abandoned castle.
and learn about a modern business and the
diversification of activities undertaken by
Rothiemurchus estate to remain competitive.
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S3 View from the Funicular railway on Cairngorm
Another important aspect of the field trip was
the visit to the Cairngorms ski area and the
funicular railway. Here we reached a height of
just over 3000feet.
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At the exhibition in the Ptarmigan centre at the
top of Cairngorm
S3 Ptarmigan Restaurant and Information Centre
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we found out how the landscape was formed and saw
the effects of conservation and tourism.
S3 Inside the Ptarmigan visitor Centre
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In some years pupils have had the opportunity to
take part in conservation work as part of a John
Muir award.
S3 Completing work for the John Muir Trust
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In Aviemore we carried out a traffic and
pedestrian count to identify the busiest areas
and tried to explain the flows of vehicles and
people around the highland resort.
S3 Traffic and Pedestrian count
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We carried out a land use survey to find out the
main functions of the town.
S3 Land-use survey of Aviemore
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Behind the Youth hostel is a hill called Meall a
Bhuchaille or the shepherds hill.
S3 Meall a Bhuachaille
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This hill is ideal for measuring the angle of
slope, using clinometers
S3 Measuring angle of slope
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and the distance from the bottom to a point
above the treeline, measured using trundle wheels.
S4 Measuring distance
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A river called the Allt Ban flows down from the
Cairngorms into Loch Morlich.
S3 River study
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S3 River measurements
and this is used for carrying out river
measurements
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S3 River measurements
..width, depth and speed of flow.
Much of our work is done amongst heather and on
muddy paths and we are allowed to dress in
appropriate clothes rather than our normal school
dress code
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At night we visited Coylumbridge hotel to finish
off the day.
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S3 Processing fieldwork results.
with some of the information gathered being
processed..
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S3 Hilton Coylumbridge
and everyone enjoying some relaxation
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S3 Hilton Coylumbridge
After visiting the Hilton hotel for many years,
staff know that Turriff Academy pupils can be
relied on to be on their best behaviour and often
compliment the pupils.
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• S4 Fieldwork
• Luncarty Farm
• and
• Glen Garioch distillery

Presenters Lucy Elphinstone Euan Swan
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In 4th year, new fieldtrips were introduced this
session. The school has linked up with the Royal
Northern Countryside Initiative a body whose aim
is "To help children and their teachers in the
North-East of Scotland develop a greater
understanding of farming and the working
countryside."
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Under the auspices of the Royal Northern
Countryside Initiative, Mr Hay of Luncarty farm
very generously volunteered to show us around his
farm.
S4 Mr Hay talking about crops.
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We had a fascinating time as Mr Hay went to a
great deal of trouble to show us working farm
machinery.
S4 Working farm machinery
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his herd of cattle, allowed us to see the
various seeds planted on the farm.
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and view some of his huge flock of chickens in
sheds at the farm.
This allowed us to see in real life, the various
farming inputs and processes we had learned about
in class.
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S4 Glen Garioch Distillery
Another new trip was a visit to Glen Garioch
distillery in Oldmeldrum, where pupils were shown
the whisky making process from barley to bottle.
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S4 Glen Garioch Distillery
The groups were given a guided tour of the old
and new distillery. We witnessed all the
processes of whisky making.
S4 -
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We were not allowed to taste the whisky, although
we got a small amount put on to our hands to
smell the peat with which the barley was malted.
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• S5/6 Fieldwork
• Edinburgh

Presenters Anouk Chalmers Jennifer Cunningham
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In Autumn the Higher and Intermediate Geographers
set off to Edinburgh for a Human Geography
fieldtrip. As part of the Higher Intermediate
Geography exams, we need to be familiar with the
changes that have taken place in a large urban
concentration in the developed world.
S5/6 Higher - Edinburgh
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In Edinburgh, we started our fieldwork at the
castle, looking at the old medieval core of the
city.
S5/6 Castle.
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including the old water supply
S5/6 Edinburghs Old Water Supply.
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and the high rise blocks developed along the
Royal Mile. In St Mary Street, we sketched one
of the buildings to highlight the gentrification
that has taken place.
S5/6 Gentrification on St Mary Street
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S5/6 Scottish Parliament
We saw some of the newest developments on
brownfield sites, including the new Scottish
Parliament on the site of the old brewery.
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Princes Street and George Street form the more
modern commercial core of the city and land use
is recorded along these streets.
S5/6 Princes Street
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Busy commuters were interviewed to find out where
they had traveled from to reach the city
S5/6 Land-use survey along George Street
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and other useful information such as their method
of travel and the reason for their visit.
Edinburgh Commuter
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In the evening, a meal was enjoyed in Jimmy
Chungs.
S5/6 Meal at Jimmy Chungs
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S5/6 Meal at Jimmy Chungs
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followed by signing in to the Youth hostel just
off Leith Walk to drop off our bags. Across the
road from the Youth hostel is the Omni cinema
which provided the evenings entertainment.
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• S5/6 Breakfast at the Youth Hostel

The next day after a full Scottish breakfast we
headed of
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S5/6 Ocean Terminal
to Leith, for a visit to Ocean Terminal, a new
shopping centre.
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with ocean going terminal to compare the
shopping experience with the city centre. But
unfortunately we had very little time to actually
shop!
S5/6 Ocean liners
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S5/6 Ocean Terminal
Facts about the centre were noted and customers
were interviewed to find out why they shopped at
Ocean terminal
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where they had traveled from and how they got
there.
S5/6 Ocean Terminal
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S5/6 Housing types
After lunch we boarded the bus and headed off on
a tour during which various housing areas were
compared.
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S5/6 Gorgie Old Industrial Area
Our destination was Gorgie and Tynecastle, an old
industrial area where fieldwork such as a land
use survey was carried out
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before boarding the bus once more for the
outskirts of Edinburgh and the Gyle a new
industrial area to allow comparison of old and
new industrial areas to be made.
S5/6 The Gyle New Industrial Area
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From there it was straight on to the Forth Road
Bridge and up the road to Turriff.
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• S6 Advanced Higher Fieldwork
• Kindrogan

Presenter Claire Bruce
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With all that experience of fieldwork behind us,
Advanced Higher Geography should be no problem!
At the start of the course pupils from across
Aberdeenshire attend a three day field work
course at Kindrogan Field Studies centre near
Blairgowrie.
S6 - Kindrogan
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Students are split in to mixed groups and head
off each day to carry out various fieldwork
techniques such as Geomorphological mapping.
S6 Geomorphological mapping.
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S6 River Study.
river flow discharge measurements
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S6 Soil Study.
and soil studies.
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In the evenings, students are introduced to the
joys of Spearmans Rank Correlation coefficient
and Pearson Product Moment Correlation
coefficient or statistics.
Fieldwork starts at 9 am and class sessions in
the evening finish at about 9pm.
S6 Class Work until 9pm.
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S6 River survey
Fieldwork is part of a wide range of outdoor
learning opportunities offered at Turriff Academy.
Fieldwork offers first hand, real life and
unforgettable experiences.
It adds value to everyday classroom teaching and
helps develop a stronger motivation to learn.
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It helps to raise attainment, improves attitudes
towards the environment and encourages pupils to
work together.
Above all its often inspirational and always
fun!

• Fieldwork
• Motivational
• Real life
• Team building