Overview
Course start date: Monday 5th October 2020
Course end date: Friday 11th December 2020
Special offer 10% off price £135: BOOK NOW
Lecturer(s): Dr John Merefield
Course Code: ENVT011
Level: Non-accredited, non-credit bearing
Assessments/Exams: None. Throughout the course you will be given ideas and questions to respond to in the online discussion area. Participation in online discussion is encouraged, but not compulsory.
Duration: 10 weeks
Estimated Student Study Time: 2 – 5 hours per week are recommended, but time spent is flexible and at your discretion.
Fee: £150.00
Pre-Requisites: No academic qualifications or experience of environmental geology are required, only a strong enthusiasm for the subject.
Delivery: Online Distance Learning
Late Entrants: If this course is not full by the start date then late entrants will be accepted for up to two weeks after the start of the course. As a late entrant you can choose to catch up on the material you have missed or you can skip the missed weeks and concentrate on the material at the point where you join the course, but unfortunately we cannot offer fee reductions or course extensions for late entrants.
Recommended Reading**:
- A list of recommended reading is provided within the course.
Required Reading**: There are no required texts for this course.
**Please note: All courses are subject to sufficient numbers of students registering before they are confirmed as running. Therefore, after booking your place you are advised not to purchase any texts until you have received confirmation that the course is running.
Summary
On this course you will consider the resource afforded by geodiversity within the context of UK and broader European concepts of geological and geomorphological heritage.
‘Geodiversity’ is a recently developed concept which parallels biodiversity, and is taken to represent all aspects of Earth’s geological history, as well as contemporary expressions of surface processes traditionally included within physical geography.
Geodiversity therefore encompasses:
- all aspects of natural non-living materials and landforms that make up the physical structure of our planet, including geological materials such as:
- sediments
- rocks
- minerals
- fossils
- the geological and geomorphological processes that have formed and continue to form materials and landforms today – both internally and at the surface
- the products of the interactions of these materials and processes with biological systems, which include:
- soils
- natural landscapes
- earth materials moved from a natural to a cultural context, for instance to museums or for use as building stones
Geological heritage is concerned with the conservation of geological and geomorphological features and processes.
We will therefore consider:
- justifying their protection
- identifying threats to their integrity
- providing management solutions
In particular, we will see how integrated approaches, which include objectives for both geodiversity and biodiversity at both a site and landscape scale, represent the future of natural heritage conservation in Europe.
Syllabus Plan
The syllabus will be based on the following topics:
• The concept of geodiversity and its conservation (including justification for conservation and types of site)
• Selecting geodiversity sites for conservation (methodologies)
• Managing Earth heritage sites (including threats and techniques)
• The protection of Earth heritage sites in the UK (including legal frameworks)
• The sustainable management of fossils and minerals (including collecting issues and museums)
• Earth heritage sites for education and tourism (including interpretation and educational provision)
• Action Planning for Geodiversity management (including LGAPs)
• Earth Heritage conservation in Europe (including ProGEO, Euroepean Geoparks, Council of Europe declaration, etc)
• Geological heritage conservation at a landscape scale (including CCW’s LANDMAP and the European Landscape Convention).
• Integrated approaches to bio- and geodiversity conservation (including the Devon BAP)
Week 01 – The concept of ‘Geodiversity’ and ‘Geological Heritage’
Week 02 – Why conserve Earth heritage sites?
Week 03 – What types of sites and materials are important to Earth sciences and Geoconservation?
Week 04 – How is Geoconservation achieved?
Week 05 – Site selection and protection in the UK
Week 06 – Fossils, minerals and collecting
Week 07 – Interpretation and Education on Geodiversity Sites
Week 08 – BAPS, LGAPS and integrated approaches to Earth heritage conservation
Week 09 – Geodiversity and landscape: Integrated approaches to geodiversity conservation at a landscape scale
Week 10 – International Geoconservation initiatives
Learning Outcomes
The course is particularly appropriate for those students wishing to extend their studies in the Earth sciences, following on from Geomorphology or Environmental Geology; and for students taking other biological and ecological subjects who wish to provide a geological historical context to their studies, including insights into past climates and environments and the story of life on Earth.