As a geographer or environmental scientist you all already know how important fieldwork is to our research. At QMUL your first official week of learning involves a LOT of fieldwork – talk about throwing you in the deep end! The Green London fieldwork week is a fantastic way of exploring the city of your university as well as learning about your fellow group members. This post is designed to be your guide in helping you make the most of your week.
Aims of the Green London fieldwork week are:
Here is what’s expected of you:
During this week, you will need to be present and punctual to all of your fieldwork locations. Your fieldwork is conducted in small groups.
You’ll also be given a list of questions to keep in mind when looking at the different locations you’re sent to, for example: “What sort of green and blue spaces and forms of biodiversity exist in London?”; “What is the value of ‘nature’ in the city?” and “How do green spaces and forms of biodiversity vary in different boroughs?”
The ultimate expectation of you is to work hard and absorb as much information as you can – this will surely be an eye opening and informative week, enjoy it!
Activities
There are three principle activities during the week:
You will be given the timetable at the beginning of the week. This will include for example a talk from your biodiversity officer, looking at an art exhibition before you engage in the City of London walks, as well the use of an app for looking at green spaces.
There will also be an extra day of being out and about recording environmental information and activity along London canals in association with the London branch of the Canal and River Trust.
Presentations
Your final discussion and presentations will take place on the Friday in the Ecology Pavilion in Mile End Park. Your presentation is created in the same groups that you conduct your fieldwork research in. We had to create a three-minute presentation. It required us to take our photographs and transform them into skitch images. Skitch is a programme you’ll be taught how to use, essentially it allows you to add annotations to your images. Your presentation will also consist of research – you’ll be given specific websites to collate data from. The last component is to produce verbal commentary to compliment your presentation slides.
Assessment
When it comes to your assessment, you’ll be given questions relevant to all of the fieldwork and research you’ve undertaken. My questions were: “In what ways do the City of London and Tower Hamlets boroughs differ in terms of green space and biodiversity? What are the challenges of making space for nature in these two boroughs, and what is the value of green space for people in each borough?”
Everything you need to do to ace it:
Hope this helped, happy essay-writing!
Hamida Khanom (Geography BA, class of 2019)