Production of this resource was part-funded by the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland.

What is the resource?                    Back to secondary resources

The Woodland Trust has joined forces with the Geographical Association to bring you an innovative and exciting online resource for ages 11-14. This is a GIS-centred enquiry, of particular value for the new key stage 3 geography curriculum from 2008 onwards. It uses some of the Trust’s spatial data, plus others, to help pupils understand the value of woodland and other natural areas in modern society. Four geography teachers from across the UK were instrumental in developing these resources.

The Northern Ireland prototype featured here provides a focus on land use in and around Ballykelly Forest near Londonderry, including the restoration of ancient broadleaved woodland.

Download the guided tour document to investigate this resource and explore the functionality.

An online exploration of Ballykelly Forest in Northern Ireland:

   Pupil Worksheet

   Teacher Notes

What do pupils do?

Pupils navigate their way around the landscape at different scales, becoming familiar with the different features. They then consider questions of sustainable land use using real examples.

The activity works well in an ICT suite for individual exploration and discovery or it can be used as a shared pupil experience by projecting the image onto a whiteboard.

Coming soon….

Three more case study areas, plus detailed pupil worksheets for all four case studies to explore the issues of sustainability.

Northern Ireland: A focus on landuse in and around Ballykelly Forest near Londonderry, including the restoration of ancient broadleaved woodland

Wales: Using geographical and census data, deciding how to situate a new area of native woodland on the island of Anglesey

Scotland: An investigation of the pressures of landuse on Edinburgh’s greenbelt and woodland

England: Considering opportunities for sustainable development in Marston Vale, Bedfordshire

Need more help?

For more help, select help at the top of the online resource screen.

Comments or suggestions?

This resource is still at the prototype stage so any comments would be much appreciated. Email us at learning@woodland-trust.org.uk. Please use the subject header ‘geography resource’.

Credits

© Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

© Forestry Commission

© Woodland Trust

Ballykelly tree species -
Forest Service DARDNI Crown Copyright RESERVED

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