State of Play Geography P-12 National Curriculum
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2 CONTENTS » QUEENSLAND GEOGRAPHER, NOVEMBER 2010 4 6 7 DAMNED IF YOU DO, PROFILE: CAN ECOTOURISM SAVE THE WORLD? DAMNED IF YOU DON’T Meet Redlands Shire Council Mayor and by David Lergessner by David Lergessner GTAQ Life Member, Melva Hobson 7 9 10 ACARA UPDATE IN THE FIELD: RGSQ 125TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE Where to from here? Geography at the Cathedral School, SERIES: Exploring the Limites: Extreme Townsville Geography GTAQ GTAQ GTAQ 2010 COMMITTEE COUNCIL MEMBERS CONTACT DETAILS Angela Edmonds, Graham Jordan, FOR ALL CORRESPONDENCE: PRESIDENT David Lergessner, Margaret McIvor, The Secretary Anne-Marie Gerlach Alexandra Osuch, Russell Smerdon, GTAQ Inc. Andrew Wheaton c/o Royal Geographical Society of VICE PRESIDENT Queensland 237 Milton Road Lerece Roberts COVER IMAGE All 5 gates at Wivenhoe Dam are MILTON QLD 4064 opened to release water. SECRETARY Photo: Neil Grady Ph. (07) 3368 2066 Therese Bourke Fax. (07) 3367 1011 TREASURER Kaye Schwede MEMERSHIP SECRETARY Kay Channon MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 3 » Fellow Geographers, that has additional activities on it - a great bonus! Term Four is always fast and furious and the never ending rounds of marking checking 2011 Conference and reporting keep us all busy. This year Planning for the South Australian AGTA I would particularly like to publicly thank Conference is well on the way and all the many fine Geography teachers that are members are invited to this event. Visit capping their white board markers, closing http://www.agta.asn.au/ for regular their atlases and saying good bye to field updates and information. The dates are trip risk assessments as they head off to the Jan 10-13, 2011 with a pre conference tour greener pastures of retirement. Many of you to Kangaroo Island. After speaking with have made significant contributions to the Mark Manuel the organiser on the weekend teaching of Geography across the state and at the AGTA Board Meeting, numbers are your years of experience and expertise will looking great with nearly 200 delegates. be sorely missed. However, if you have a The facilities at Scotch College are amazing, few hours to spare and just for the thrill of it the program looks fun and action packed think up an assessment piece, you think you and the satchels are going to be hot items. QUEENSLAND GEOGRAPHER, NOVEMBER 2010 have some skills you would like to pass on to Unfortunately, the extended early bird rates a younger and less experienced generation have now ended but there are still places of Geography teachers or you would like available – but be quick! Register on line. to perform some kind of Geographical community service we would love to hear Geography’s Big Week Out flow of resources and stimulating reading, from you. The Western Australian’s GTA is putting but most importantly this gives us the finishing touches on their planning and opportunity to keep you informed about This year we have held three very successful organisation for this years Big Week Out Geography going national!! professional development opportunities which will be held during the last week of across the state. These have involved Mick Term 4. Students will undertake a range Hope to see you at the AGM. If not, have a Law and Contour Education providing in of field work activities in and around Perth safe and happy Christmas, enjoy AGTA and services on free spatial technology sites which focus on the health and well being come back for more fun in 2011. and their possible uses in the classroom. of the Swan River. This is the last year the We would love to be able to offer this to GBWO will be held in WA – next year the Regards our membership again in 2011. If you action will be run by GTAV some where in Anne-Marie can get together a minimum of 10 paying Victoria. President GTAQ participants and let us know we can do the organising. The best bit is the host school 6th World Environmental Education gets two free places so contact your fellow Congress teachers in your local area and or in your Just to let you all know that in July next region and give us your details and dates year the World Environmental Education and we will endeavour to make it happen Congress will be held from 19 – 23 July at (contact Lerece Roberts). the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. According to their blurb the broad FEEDBACK The GTAQ Annual General Meeting is theme s covered will be Explore, Experience, fast approaching and is held at the Royal and Educate. Their aim is to have delegates Geographical Society premises on Milton listen, discuss and share information about You may have noticed our new look Road on November 25 where you can come new trends, practices and research in edition of Queensland Geographer. along and listen to our guest lecturer, have environmental education. the opportunity to take part in State Council http://www.weec2011.org/ While we have printed this edition, in elections and of course last but not least, It sounds very interesting so have a look. a bid to save trees and waterways, we enjoy the hospitality of the GTAQ Christmas are looking at migrating the Journal Party. National Curriculum to electronic copies only via an email ACARA is in the process or amending its newsletter with clickable links to the AGTA Shape Paper based on the feed back sent full PDF download.... On the last weekend in October I spent my in from over 700 groups and individuals. time in a very cold and damp Adelaide. I Again I can report that the focus group was accompanied by Margaret Mc Ivor meeting held in Sydney in October went What do YOU think? (AGTA Director) and Lerece Roberts (GTAQ well. The lead writers are at the point of VP) and I am very pleased to announce that passing the document on to the curriculum Your feedback is important. It is the Margaret has once again been elected as writers and advisors, once the appointments GTAQ membership that drives our an AGTA Director. Also on an AGTA note, I for these positions have been finalised efforts, so please do not hesitate to hope that you have all seen the new and later this month. Writing is expected to make contact: improved edition of “Keys to Geography” commence in December. written by many of Australia’s leading [email protected] Geography teachers and educators and Membership Fees published by Macmillan – I believe it retails Just a little reminder to get you membership Many thanks! for about $40. This is an excellent resource organised for 2011. We hope that you have and certainly provides clear explanations provided us with your email addresses and activities to improve students’ so that we can keep you more up to date Geographical skills. It also comes with a CD with notices of activities in your region, the NEWS properties. 4 • The residents of Toowoomba voted and » rejected adding recycled water to their water supplies and • endangered lungfish were found to be breeding in the area of Wivenhoe Dam where recycled water was to be added Photo: Neil Grady Photo: and so that project is on hold. Fortunately the drought ended with a FLOOD. There was not a lot of warning as Queensland was affected by a La Nina event and an entirely different set of circumstances was thrust upon the population of south east Queensland. The role of the Wivenhoe Dam was to retain water for domestic use. It also had another role. It had additional capacity to store water QUEENSLAND GEOGRAPHER, NOVEMBER 2010 in exceptional circumstances such as the 1974 deluge. At full capacity for domestic All 5 gates at Wivenhoe Dam are opened to release water. water. release opened to Dam are Wivenhoe at 5 gates All use, the Wivenhoe Dam holds water for 2000 days at current use. That is close to 5.5 years supply for SE Queensland. The dam has significant EXTRA capacity. DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON’T There has been much discussion about the David Lergessner extra capacity. Why, in times of drought, is LECTURER IN GEOGRAPHY, QUT KELVIN GROVE it not used to store domestic water? Why, in fact, is it just not used to store water? One had to feel for the people in charge of south-east Queensland’s water supply and Millions of tax-payer’s money was spent on: For many dams throughout SE Queensland, waterways this past month. One week, the there is no option to release water once city is in partial chaos as flood waters from • Raising wall of the Hinze dam the dam is full. The water simply flows over the spillway BUT on the Brisbane River, recent rains encroach on properties in low • The Gold Coast de-salinisation plant lying parts of the city. Predictions run riot of Somerset Dam has gates and Wivenhoe • The Traveston Crossing Dam flooding similar to 1974 happening again. Dam has gates. These gates can retain or • Pipelines to carry treated water to release water as required. One week later, flooding is anticipated as a Wivenhoe and beyond. result of excess water from Wivenhoe Dam Some of this infrastructure was built. When Somerset is too full, water is released meeting a high tide in the Brisbane River. Some is under construction and some was into the Wivenhoe catchment downstream. Residents are warned, roads are closed dropped like a ‘hot potato’. Refer back to the For the first time in many years the off, houses sand-bagged and what for?... original sentence – millions of taxpayer’s Wivenhoe Dam exceeded the requirements Nothing – no flooding occurs.