Latest News
March 2008
Over the next few weeks we’re going to be changing the 'Misc' part of the site from its current '‘time-based' series, to one based on developing 'themes'. This will entail removing all the photos and replacing them in relevant themes.
Let us know if you have any suggestions for themes we can/should use….
Previous News
If you go down to the woods today…
Staff from Northumbria University’s Divisions of Geography and Biomedical and Food Sciences and children and staff from Chillingham Road Primary School in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, are teaming up for an exciting project during the school’s ‘Art Focus week’.
During the week beginning 25th June the school’s timetable is turned upside down as the children participate in a variety of arts-based activities underpinned by a ‘Dark Forest’ theme.
Classes in Year 3 and 4 (7 – 9 year olds) will be exploring Thornley Woods in Gateshead with the University staff, using digital cameras and audio equipment to collect sights and sounds from new and unusual perspectives.
As well as extending their experience in geography, environmental perception, and woodland ecology, the children will be creating sculpture using natural materials, and back at school will be creating artwork using the images and sounds captured in the wood.
Their photographic and audio work will even be used on the University’s own ‘mywalks’ website, a space where everyone can now share ‘their walk’ and the experiences they encounter, with others.
Kate Hancock, from Chillingham Road school said ‘This multi-sensory, cross curricular collaboration will provide an amazing learning experience the children are sure never to forget!’.
Graham Mowl, Head of the Division of Geography at Northumbria, said ‘'This is an exciting opportunity for us, the school teachers and first and foremost the children. As geographers we are interested to find out more about the nature of children's perceptions of woodland areas, where they come from and how they develop. This is going to be a great learning experience for all involved and a perfect way of celebrating both the school's arts focus week and the national Geography Awareness Week’
Further information:
Graham Mowl, Division of Geography, Northumbria University – 0191 2273746 / 07800808399
Kate Hancock, Chillingham Road Primary School - 0191 265 5940 (Chillingham Road School)
Chillingham Road Primary School - http://www.chillingham.newcastle.sch.uk/
Geography Awareness Week - www.geography.org.uk/events/worldwise
Mywalks is changing…. Come back soon for some exciting new developments (and the ability to map your walks…).
It's been a busy month! Recently some of us went to Manchester for a 'seminar'/event all about senses and walking (see our links page for "sensescapes"), and while there we recorded a soundwalk with accompanying pictures … we've put more explanation on the 'Word/PDF Submissions' page, but our Top Tip is to set the audio file going (in 'Browse Audio' page) then click on the slideshow for the Manchester Soundwalk in the 'Walks' page. Enjoy!
We're really keen to get more audio submissions - if you have a camera or mobile phone that records audio (preferably .mp3 files but we'll have a good go at converting anything else!) then why not record your walks and send them in to us at mywalks@northumbria.ac.uk … together with any comments of course!
And also, we have added a new page to accommodate the undergraduate work being done here in the divisions of Geography and Environmental Management at Northumbria University - in particular in our 'Geophotography' and 'Social Geography' modules. Why not have a look?
You can now send us your photos using the very handy 'Upload a Photo' facility found on the left hand side of the page – click on this link and then follow the instructions. We hope this is a speedier way of submitting pictures than emailing (but you can still do so if you wish).
Cheers
We have passed the 1000th visitor already – great news. Please keep visiting, sending pictures, descriptions, stories, walk plans, audio files… whatever! The new ‘walk pictures’ section is where submissions of more than one picture taken on a walk will be housed, so they can be viewed together. A number of new links have also just been added.
Go here for an interesting article on the mywalks project:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,21130-2531009.html
Best wishes
New links / new areas!!
Many thanks for all the interest, emails, pictures and post we have received! We are endeavouring to get these submissions posted onto the site as soon as possible. If you had logged on before today you will have also noticed how the site is developing all the time – from today we now have new sections where entire walks can be posted together, and where word submissions can be posted. Please email these to us in the same way as jpg pictures (to mywalks@northumbria.ac.uk).
If you have any ideas for improving the site, let us know too.
Please also take some time to add comments to the submissions, and even rate them – we are intrigued about what it is that you are rating – the aesthetic value of the picture, the idea it embodies, the description…? Email us at mywalks@northumbria.ac.uk and let us know!
Mywalks
Happy new year!
The mywalks project featured on this morning’s Radio 4 Today programme. You can see what you missed here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/misc/listener_editors_2006.shtml) and see Today programme presenter, Sarah Montague’s pictures of her journey home here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/galleries/904/).
Mywalks is now live!
What did you see when you walked outside today? Did you notice anything new or different? In fact, did you notice anything at all?
A team of academics from Northumbria University’s Divisions of Geography and Environmental Management within the School of Applied Sciences have been asking just this, as a new website, entitled ‘mywalks’ is launched this week. Mywalks is a project designed to encourage people to open their eyes to the ‘hidden’, perhaps less glamorous corners of their towns and cities; basically the things around you: the man-hole cover, the tower block, the back lane.... ‘Switch off your mp3 players and look around’ is the message – don’t rely on ‘experts’ to tell you what is worth looking at or appreciating; break away from the tourist trail, which directs people to admire a parade of ‘landmarks’ in any city or town, and engage with the less obviously picturesque sights (or in some cases, the downright ugly…). The original aim of the ‘mywalks’ project was to get Northumbria students to view their immediate environments from a different perspective, and to appreciate that geography is everywhere around them. The idea has since grown into the ‘mywalks’ website – where everyone can now share ‘their walk’ and the experiences they encounter, with others.
Dr Duncan Fuller, ‘mywalks’ project leader, said: “'Mywalks' is about re-engaging with our immediate urban, day-to-day, city, country, local, taken-for-granted environments and geographies. We all too often ‘autopilot’ on ipods, get into our cars and turn the stereo up, dash from place to place, and so focus on where we're going, and not where we actually are – and what is there. So as an antidote to this we came up with the idea of ‘mywalks’ - to encourage us to pay more attention to the streets, places, and spaces we walk through.
“We want people to think about what makes them look and listen, what they think is interesting, what disgusts them, what makes them smile, what makes them look again, what intrigues them, in fact just whatever comes into their minds when they’re out and about – and then we want them to tell us about it on the mywalks website through text, pictures, or even via an audio-recording of their thoughts.
“The ‘mywalks’ website also ties in with work that Northumbria University has recently been heavily involved in, from exploring graffiti and urban art, to discovering and mapping England’s most tranquil areas. We want people to tune into their environments and then tell us how they feel about them. Finding and enjoying the qualities of places which generate excitement, outrage, tranquillity and peace is something that all of us can participate in, not just be told about”
For more information, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/mywalks
Contributions can be sent NOW to mywalks@northumbria.ac.uk