Schools Years 6-9
Resources on the identification of pelagic sargassum, its challenges and opportunities developed for school children (years 6-9).
Booklets for teachers – English, Español
Booklets for students – English, Español
Resources on the biology of pelagic sargassum developed for school children (years 6-9).
Handout booklet – English, Español, Français, Português
Poster – English, Español, Français, Português
College, A levels, and professionals
Our More than Maps team offers online and in-person workshops for students and young professionals, developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
If you have any questions about our workshops or how to get involved, please contact Dr Sien van der Plank: sien.vanderplank@soton.ac.uk
Learn more about our workshops in the following video
Get Involved
Our More than Maps team offers online and in-person workshops for students and young professionals, developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
All of our workshops are completely FREE to attend.
Curriculum
To learn more about our More than Maps workshops developed at the University of Southampton, take a look at the current curriculum:
| No | Workshop Structure | Case Study | Discipline | Skills | Details |
| 1 | Introductory workshop: case study of Caribbean multi-hazard coasts | Sargassum – issues & opportunities (coupled with SARTRAC research) | Geography, Remote Sensing, Social Sciences | The importance of evidence-based policy in adapting to climate changeLearning objectives:Define disastersDefine SIDS Understand issues and opportunities related to SargassumUnderstand the role of different scientific disciplines in evidence-based policy making | |
| 2 | Skills workshop I | Sargassum – issues & opportunities (coupled with SARTRAC research) | Remote sensing | Basic coding in Google Earth Engine | The importance of mapping in adapting to climate change Learning objectives: To have a basic understanding of seaweed algal blooms as a case study for climate change adaptation and hazard mitigation – To use JavaScript in a free open-access platform to identify seaweed blooms in satellite imagery – To compare how seaweed algal blooms change over time and in different locations |
| 3 | Skills workshop II | Sargassum – issues & opportunities (coupled with SARTRAC research) | Social sciences | Stakeholder analysis | The importance of social sciences in adapting to climate change Learning objectives: – Define climate change and climate change adaptation – Define social science – Explain why social science is important for climate change adaptation – Apply a commonly used social science research method (stakeholder analysis) to climate change adaptation case studies – Understand the role of policy making in climate change adaptation |
| 4 | Skills workshop III | Flooding in developed and developing countries | Remote sensing and big data | Managing big data Basic coding in Google Earth Engine | What happened at Somerset Levels? Learning objectives: – Describe two examples of flood risk, from a developing and developed country. – Apply a method for calculating flood risk using the case study of Somerset Levels. – Assess the benefits, costs and risks of using big data in research |
| 5 | Final workshop: case study of coastal flooding | Flooding in developed and developing countries | Social sciences | Adaptation research framework | Why do households adapt to hazards? Learning objectives: – Describe coastal flood risk to households in the UK – Define adaptive capacity and adaptation motivation – Provide examples of factors affecting adaptation motivation |
Workshop 1: Introduction to research disciplines
Content coming soon
Workshop 2: Using Google Earth Engine for environmental mapping
Learn how satellite remote sensing can be useful in environmental monitoring and how to use Google Earth Engine for environmental mapping.
How to get the best workshop experience:
Watch our online video and work through the material at your own pace using our interactive online workshop booklet:
All interactive tasks with links can also be found in the column on the right for your reference.
List of interactive tasks:
02:31 min – Please take 1min to complete our pre-workshop survey: https://forms.office.com/r/PiCbw2kHz5
06:48 min – Activity: Why has there been a change in Sargassum from 2011 onwards?
14:22 min – Activity: What’s an example of an environmental change occurring in your geographic region?
15:08 min – Activity: Can you think of any other monitoring techniques to monitor your local environment?
15:33 min – Activity: Can you think of other remote sensing platforms?
16:35 min – Activity: What band is sargassum most distinguishable in?
17:35 min – Activity: Which is a good wavelength to distinguish between soil and vegetation?
18:02 min – Activity: Which is a good wavelength to distinguish between algal water and clear water?
19:04 min – Activity: Calculate the NDVI for healthy and unhealthy vegetation and fill in the table.
19:32 min – Take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with our workshop booklet (WB): https://sway.office.com/jJRWnQD6tDH4Mno2?ref=Link
19:35 min – Activity: Watch the following video to learn about Google Earth Engine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnCf9Gjz720
25:02 min – Activity: Follow Section 1 in your workshop booklet.
25:59 min – Activity: Follow Section 2 in your workshop booklet.
27:15 min – Activity: Follow Section 3 in your workshop booklet.
30:14 min – Please take 1 min to fill in our post-workshop survey: shorturl.at/jkJKM
Workshop 3: How does studying people help solve environmental problems?
Learn more about the role of social sciences in solving environmental problems and get an introduction into stakeholder analysis.
How to get the best workshop experience:
Watch our online video and work through the material at your own pace using our interactive online workshop booklet:
All interactive tasks with links can also be found in the column on the right for your reference.
List of interactive tasks:
02:11 min – Take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with our workshop booklet (WB): https://sway.office.com/hFjdESSXyH12frqR?ref=Link
02:30 min – Please take 1min to complete our pre-workshop survey: https://forms.office.com/r/TWGUsr4nur
06:54 min: Activity – Which perspective on Sargassum resonates most with you?
11:08 min: Activity – Can you think of any social science methods that you could use to collect quantitative/qualitative data?
14:54 min: Activity – What is your aim for your stakeholder analysis? (workshop booklet)
23:57 min: Activity – Identify stakeholders that are part of the Sargassum case study (workshop booklet).
26:29 min: Activity – Which categories do the stakeholders belong to?
29:20 min: Activity – Where do the stakeholders fit on the matrix?
32:00 min: How does Policy 1 influence the stakeholder matrix?
32:45 min: Take a 5 min break!
33:29 min: Activity – Watch the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLl5Ay1MRKA
And note down stakeholders and their interests/influence (workshop booklet).
34:49 min: Activity – Where do the stakeholder from the video fit onto the matrix? (workshop booklet)
38:05 min: Activity – Where do the stakeholders fit onto the matrix under Policy 2 & Policy 3?
40:14 min: Activity – In what other environmental projects/issues could you use a stakeholder analysis?
40:56 min: Activity – What is your personal take home message? (workshop booklet)
41:23 min – Please take 1 min to fill in our post-workshop survey: shorturl.at/ntM16
Workshop 4: What happened at Somerset Levels?
Content coming soon
Workshop 5: How do households adapt to coastal hazards?
Learn more about the role of social sciences in solving environmental problems and get an introduction into stakeholder analysis.
How to get the best workshop experience:
Watch our online video and work through the material at your own pace using our interactive online workshop booklet:
All interactive tasks with links can also be found in the column on the right for your reference.
List of interactive tasks:
02:30 min – Please take 1min to complete our pre-workshop survey: https://forms.office.com/r/9rkhT9sDpa
03:43 min – Take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with our workshop booklet (WB):
04:12 min – Activity: Word search (WB)
05:57 min – Activity: Flood hazards (WB)
07:28 min – Activity: Exposure to coastal flooding (WB)
09:37 min – Activity: Vulnerability to coastal flooding (WB)
12:23 min – Activity: Watch video on residual flood risk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3MIE-hsuac
12:32 min – Activity: Difference between risk and residual risk (WB)
15:15 min – Activity: Check your 24-hour flood risk: https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding
16:12 min – Activity: Check your long-term flood risk: https://www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk
16:48 min – Activity: Check your flood risk under climate change in 2050: https://coastal.climatecentral.org/
20:37 min – Activity: Self-assess your knowledge (WB)
22:02 min – Activity: What would you do with £1000? (WB)
32:30 min – Activity: Household adaptation (WB)
38:05 min – Activity: Protection motivation framework for volcanic eruptions (WB)
38:54 min – Please take 1 min to fill in our post-workshop survey: shorturl.at/rwDN3
Schools
Our More than Maps workshops are highly interactive and designed to engage students with current environmental issues and state-of-the-art research methods.
The advanced nature of the workshops means they are best suited for senior students. Students specialising in Geography for their university entrance qualifications will find the workshops especially interesting, providing possible ideas for research projects, and case studies of hazard management and climate change adaptation.
Our team has also successfully worked with younger secondary school students. Please get in contact to discuss this opportunity further.
Our More than Maps workshops can be attended in-person at one of our partner institutions or online. For our online workshops, please ensure your students have access to a computer and a reliable Internet connection. We will provide online booklets available before, during and after the workshop.
What’s in it for your students?
- Dedicated time spent on relevance to A-level curriculum in each session
- Certificate of Participation for attendees
- New material covered each day
- Opportunity to attend 1, 2, 3, 4, or all 5 sessions – mix and match
Professionals
Each of our More than Maps workshops introduces a new area of research or methodological approach, and is therefore appropriate for young professionals working in a relevant environmental or climate sector wishing to expand their skillset. For example, a policy specialist with an interest in how hazard maps are produced, or a GIS specialist with an interest in how to identify stakeholders in a specific context.
Please take a look at our curriculum or get in contact to learn more about our workshop opportunities for professionals.
For more information on our latest workshops, please follow us on Twitter.
For further information send an email to Dr Sien van der Plank: sien.vanderplank@soton.ac.uk
To sign up your students head to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/more-than-maps-workshops-for-a-level-geography-students-tickets-188274984547
Overview of Workshops
Introduction to research disciplines
In research, like in school and college, we examine and analyse the world from different angles. We demonstrate perspectives of disaster research in the multi-hazard context of the Caribbean. Prof Emma Tompkins describes the types of disasters she researches in the Caribbean, including the threat of sargassum seaweed influxes, from her perspective as a geographer. Professor Jack Corbett offers the political perspective on how small islands in the Caribbean cope with disasters. Join this session to explore a multi-hazard case study across multiple disciplines.
What happened at Somerset Levels?
Flood risk is thought to be an ever-increasing threat across the UK and with the Thames barrier closed for the 200thtime in 2021, geographers are continuing to explore how we can best protect communities from flooding. Participants experience a university-level mini guest lecture which is then unpacked and discussed to offer students a method for calculating flood risk using the case study of Somerset Levels. This workshop gives an insight into how we can use innovative data to tackle environmental threats, including crowd-sourced and ‘big’ data, and apply analytical approaches to determine flood risk
How can we use environmental mapping?
Join us for this workshop on how we can use data to monitor environmental events, hazards and disasters. Participants will have the opportunity to use space-borne imagery to detect and map environmental changes over time. This is an introduction to using the freely available web-based software Google Earth Engine and a chance to have a go at coding in JavaScript with support from us! Learn a new skill and gain insight into how scientists can monitor and map environmental hazards on the earth surface from space.
Why should households adapt to hazards?
In this workshop explore what householders can do within the home to be part of hazard and climate change adaptation. This workshop focuses mainly on a England based case study of coastal flooding and together with the students works through a method of assessing household motivation and capacity to adapt to coastal flood risk. We then explore how this framework might also work for other hazards in the UK context. Finally, the students are tasked to apply the same framework to the Caribbean context.
How can studying people help to solve environmental problems In this workshop, we will take a look at how studying the interests and complicated relationships of people and organisations can help to tackle environmental issues. Participants will be introduced to the concept of stakeholders and will learn to conduct a stakeholder analysis, using the emerging hazard of sargassum seaweed influxes in the Caribbean as a case study. This allows for plenty of time to practice the method, as well as provides an opportunity to examine and use qualitative data.