A Young Geographer's Insights into the Modern World

Life during the COVID-19 pandemic is completely different for each individual. Its impacts depend on individual circumstances but there is no doubt that it has had a global impact. I thought I would share my experience of lockdown and what I have been doing to adapt and change to this new world. During this period of COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, I have found myself very busy. I began by signing up to a french language course to keep myself busy and learn a language. I also had online exams which were 24 hours and open book so lots of time was spent preparing for them. Now, I have finished my first year of university and have some more time on my hands.  I have found myself keeping very active trying new workouts and the couch to 5k challenge. My usual dance classes moved online and I also tried out some other online classes, even teaching some of my own. I have recently discovered yoga as I find it a great way to stretch sore muscles, improve flexibility and calm the mind. I

Welcome to the  iGeo Team UK Blog ! Over the coming months, we look forward to sharing with you our experiences at  iGeo 2019 in Hong Kong . Keep an eye out on this page for more updates as we continue to write away! Just over a week ago, on the 29th July 2019, we travelled as Team UK (comprised of Zachary Elliott, 18; Freya Ruparel, 18; Alex Teeuw, 17; and Naomi Gammon, 17) to participate in the 16th International Geography Olympiad - this year based at EdUHK in Hong Kong. Competing against over 160 students from 43 countries, we participated in a written response test, fieldwork exercise and multimedia test. Team UK with their medals at the Closing Ceremony of iGeo 2019 This year, we were delighted that, as Team UK, we were collectively ranked 3rd overall. We were also thoroughly pleased with our individual results: winning a Gold (Zachary being placed 2nd place - the UK’s highest ever ranking), Silver (Alex being placed an incredible 19th place) and 2 Bronze medals (with Nao

Friday 15th March Climate Protest JOIN US IN WESTMINSTER - SAVE OUR PLANET THE CLIMATE CRISIS OPEN LETTER We, the young, are deeply concerned about our future. Humanity is currently causing the sixth mass extinction of species and the global climate system is at the brink of a catastrophic crisis. Its devastating impacts are already felt by millions of people around the globe. Yet we are far from reaching the goals of the Paris agreement. Young people make up more than half of the global population. Our generation grew up with the climate crisis and we will have to deal with it for the rest of our lives. Despite that fact, most of us are not included in the local and global decision-making process. We are the voiceless future of humanity. We will no longer accept this injustice. We demand justice for all past, current and future victims of the climate crisis, and so we are rising up. Thousands of us have taken to the streets in the past weeks all around the world. Now w

Water is a renewable resource that is essential for all living organisms so humans have only been able to develop easily where water is available. The Aral Sea used to be the 4th largest lake in the world, its water sources being the Syr Darya and Amu Darya which flow through central Asia.    Since the 1960s, huge irrigation schemes in Kazakhstan used water to irrigate rice crops and cotton. Now the area of the lake has been reduced by 90% and is polluted by pesticides, fertilisers and industrial waste causing serious problems. Globally, we're producing over 100 billion new garments from new fibres every year and the planet can't sustain this. It can take over 15,000 litres of water to grow the cotton to make a pair or jeans and the majority of this often comes from the Aral Sea. We need to stop buying so many used clothes and start buying more second hand ones to stop the over exploitation of rivers and lakes around the world. Fashions Dirty Secrets  - Click on me

Just a shocking photo taken from National Geographic March 2017 showing how different food cultures are.

Here is my entry for the 2018 Young Geographer of the Year Competition by the RGS. The brief was the uniqueness of the Arctic so I decided to focus on the world's northernmost town. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1--q0cPFVEZhdFncABM4378lIcO5GSytiq3knTpnwnVY/edit?usp=sharing