Exploring sustainability in the context of land reclamation: an exercise for environmental management trainees

Abstract

Reductions in the fieldwork component of many environmental curricula mean that graduates have less practical experience. This paper attempts to compensate by developing a short, intensive, highly structured field exercise that aims to connect classroom theory to field realities in the context of the management of reclaimed coal-land. A self-paced field trail guides learners, first to examine land degradation processes in detail and then to tackle larger sustainability issues. The problems that learners encounter include difficulties in understanding the mind-sets of either landscape designers or land users and of comprehending landscape process dynamics. Nevertheless, learners value the first hand experience, the realisation that real-world answers are not always simple, that prior learning is essential to effective field interpretation, that teamwork is a problem-solving tool and that these skills require 'practice'. Learners who score well in fieldwork also scored well in class quizzes, spoken presentations, essays, other field projects and formal examinations.

Fieldwork@40: fieldwork in geography higher education

“…However, exposing Geography learners to occasional, infrequent, fieldwork experiences may have important side-effects; one such is that learners may prove unable to grasp the transience of the conditions in their field setting. If the sun is shining during their field visit, in their imagination, at a very deep level, it is always shining; if a riverbed is dry, it is always dry (Haigh, 2010). Solutions might include ensuring that fieldwork is a more regular part of the curriculum or focussing on particular field locations repeatedly.…”