Level 1 Geography

Geography is the study of the environment around us.  We look at aspects of physical, human and environmental geography, developing an understanding of the interactions that occur between the cultural and natural environment. 

We will be learning about:

• Spatial distribution of features in the environment - we study a variety of global patterns and why things are located where they are -  specifically focusing on the global distribution of tropical rainforests
• Research -  conduct a field trip where research and data collection will occur in the field.  We will be studying water quality from source to the river mouth -  specifically starting off at the beautiful Putararu Blue Springs, following the river down to the town of Te Aroha testing water quality at sites along the way.
• We will be improving students' breadth of knowledge of the natural processes that are necessary for natural hazards to occur  -  we will be looking at earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical cyclones, tsunamis, and flooding, looking specifically at case studies from around the world and New Zealand.
• We will also be learning about perspectives and how they influence planning and decision-making that is carried out in New Zealand and the world.  We will be studying a variety of geographic issues around the concept of resources, specifically looking at hydro in Egypt with the Aswan Dam, and here in New Zealand with the Waikato River.  We will also look at the conflict around wind farms and Coal in NZ and overseas, as well as the Nuclear energy debate.  We also plan to look at recycling, specifically the impact of plastics in our oceans, and the perspectives around managing that issue.

We plan for the Level 1 course to be a comprehensive introduction to a range of geographic ideas so that students will have a broad understanding of geographic topics and issues by the end of the year.

To see what Level 1 students have done this year follow us on instagram@sjcgeography