Geography Resources. Paula Owens. Lighthouse for Sale! Key Stage 2

Transcription

1 Geography Resources Key Stage 2 Lighthouse for Sale! by Paula Owens

2 About Digimap for Schools Digimap for Schools is an online mapping service for use by teachers and pupils providing easy access to a range of current Ordnance Survey maps including the most detailed mapping available for Great Britain, OS MasterMap, as well as digital versions of Ordnance Survey's famous paper maps, the Landranger and Explorer series. Also included are street level maps showing street names and road-atlas style maps. Maps can be printed as PDF files at A3 or A4 size with an individual's own map title and name included with the scale bar and school name and address. Search tools include postcode, place name or national grid reference and maps can be moved to centre on any chosen location within Great Britain. Map keys are available for each scale map to explain the symbols used within the map. Maps can be annotated with symbols, lines, areas, text and can be saved to be reused during another session. Digimap for Schools is a subscription service. Schools purchase a subscription for 12 months access to the service. Details on subscriptions can be found at Terms of use of the service can be found at For further information or to give feedback on our resources, contact the EDINA Help Desk on (Mon- Fri 9-5) or edina@ed.ac.uk. About the Author: Dr Paula Owens Paula worked for many years as a primary teacher and Deputy Head and is currently a freelance consultant, author and trainer specialising in primary geography and sustainable schools. She is also employed two days a week by the Geographical Association as Primary Curriculum Development and Primary Geography Quality Mark Leader. Paula has worked with government agencies and NGO s to develop curriculum materials and provided INSET in National and European contexts. She is co editor of the award winning series Geography Plus: Primary Teachers Toolkit and leads an online network of Geography Champions to support primary teachers. Geography Champions network The Geographical Association EDINA at the University of Edinburgh 2012 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

3 Digimap for Schools Geography Resources Ref No: 25 Title of Activity: Lighthouse for Sale! Level: 9-11 years Context: Lighthouses and coast Location within GB: coastlines around Great Britain Knowledge / Skills: Interpreting Ordnance Survey symbols and map features / Annotating maps / Measuring and highlighting areas on maps / Adding labels. Link to Curriculum: Geography, using and making maps at different scales, using appropriate geographical vocabulary, coasts and islands. Other Curriculum Links: English, Maths, History Scottish Curriculum For Excellence: (Social Science Outcomes: People, Place and Environment) 2-13a, 2 09a, 2-14a, 2-10a Note to Teacher The amount of independent work children are able to manage will depend on their familiarity with the software and experience of using maps in general. The step by step tasks are not meant to be read alone by children but as a guide for you the teacher to demonstrate with the whole class and / or direct individuals as appropriate. Each activity has several ideas within it that you can tailor and adapt to suit your class and children. The aim of the pack is to: Support you in developing the use of Digimap for Schools in the classroom across the primary age range Develop the skills of your pupils in the use of the full suite of tools that is currently available Suggest some ideas for developing mapping across the curriculum Save you time and provide inspiration! The contexts for the learning include both physical and human geography, and will

4 explore different scales of mapping from the school grounds to locations in England, Scotland and Wales.

5 Digimap for Schools Geography Resources Activity Pupils have to act as estate agents and create a selling blurb with maps for Muckle Flugga lighthouse. There are suggested follow up activities with links to English and History. Introduction A lighthouse is a structure, often a tower, which emits light from a system of lights to aid navigation for those at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses serve many purposes: they mark dangerous coastlines; warn of hazardous reefs or shoals, show where safe access is to harbours and also help with aerial navigation. The UK's last manned lighthouse was converted to automatic operation in November Muckle Flugga lighthouse was built on the most northerly rock in the British Isles: the rocky stack of Muckle Flugga, north of the Island of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It became automated in March In the past, lighthouse keepers who were posted there had a treacherous journey to make. The Lightkeepers were relieved by helicopter which made trips to the lighthouse once every 2 weeks. Fresh water and any heavy stores were landed at the rock by the introduction of the helicopeter service, reliefs were sometimes long overdue because of heavy seas which made a landing from the Attending Boat impossible. It could be said that the advent of the helicopter was the lightkeepers' dream. The author Robert Louis Stevenson visited Muckle Flugga on 18 June 1869 with his father, Thomas Stevenson, Engineer to the Board. Some believe that the Island of Unst was his inspiration for Treasure Island". Ordnance Survey symbols show beacons as well as working and non working lighthouses around the coast of the Britain at 1:50000 and 1:25000 scale while large scale maps can be used to investigate lighthouse settings. Main Activities You could set the scene for this by showing a short film from Alastair Humphreys about crossing Shetland by bike and boat to get to Muckle Flugga. Muckle Flugga lighthouse is up for sale and you have the job of trying to sell it! You need to create a one page overview of its selling points and plan what you might put on a web page. You also need to create one map showing its location on a large scale map and one showing its location in the GB. First, create the maps and find out the information you need. Then, create your selling blurb. Worksheet 25 can be used as a sheet to help you gather information before creating your final web page layout. Tasks

6 Your first map will need to highlight Muckle Flugga and show its grid reference number. You may need to use the worksheet provided or open up a Word document to collect information. 1. Search Digimap using the term Unst and find Muckle Flugga. Locate the Ordnance Survey symbol for lighthouse in use and find the grid reference number. Click Grid reference tool from the toolbar and click on the lighthouse. A grid reference number will appear at the point you click. Highlight and copy, then open the Annotation toolbar and select Place label, choosing the smallest text. Click near to Muckle Flugga and when the text box appears type Lighthouse then paste the grid reference number after it and save. 2. Measure the area of Muckle Flugga. Choose Measuring tool from the tool bar and select Area. Hold down the Shift key then click and drag the measuring tool around the edge of Muckle Flugga. It will show the area measurement in square metres. When this is done, copy and paste it to your working document, rounding it up to the nearest square metre. This will be useful for your sales pitch. 3. Highlight the area of Muckle Flugga rock. Open the Annotation toolbar and select Draw Area, then Draw a freeform shape. Use your mouse to drag this tool around the coastline of Muckle Flugga and double click to finish. Before you do this though, ensure that the transparency level on the toolbar is set to 50%. 4. Zoom in and out of your map and decide what the best scale is to show the area of Muckle Flugga and its lighthouse. When you are happy with this, give the map a title and choose make a printable map. Choose open and look at your map to make sure you are happy with it. If you are, save this pdf file to your folder and print.

7 5. Make another map to show the location of the lighthouse in relation to GB. First, add a marker to the lighthouse position. When you zoom out to a smaller scale map, the lighthouse symbol and the entire detail of the islands will be lost so you need to have a marker to show where the lighthouse is. You need to use a map that will show the grid reference label. Open the Annotation toolbar and click Add Marker then click on the lighthouse symbol. Close the Annotation toolbar. 6. Zoom out until you are happy you can see the location of the lighthouse and most of the GB. You might need to move your grid reference label if it is not clearly placed or overlaps the marker you have added. Open the Annotation toolbar, select Move Feature tool and click on the label to move it. Don t move your marker as this shows exactly where the lighthouse is. 7. If you have time, you could add labels to show England, Wales and Scotland, the North Sea and any other information you want to add. Select Place Label from the Annotation toolbar and the size text you want then click to add on the map. If you make a mistake, use delete feature from the Modify section of the toolbar. 8. Use your maps and information to create your web page layout. Information sheet 25 Lighthouse for sale is a news story about another lighthouse that was up for sale in recent years. Read this to get some ideas as to how you will sell this structure. You could include the following information: The address The grid reference number A description of the location and views A description of access An approximation of the size of the rocky stack Muckle Flugga in square metres Nearby attractions and transport links A description of its potential Taking it further

8 Information sheet 25 The Last Lighthouse Keeper has three separate news stories about the last manned lighthouses. Make maps to accompany each of the stories. Write a diary entry imagining you are a lighthouse keeper on your last day before it becomes automated. Research other lighthouses around GB and make a map showing your favourites. Research and create a timeline showing how Muckle Flugga developed. Choose a lighthouse with good public access and imagine it is going to be a new visitor centre. Write an advert for it. Additional Resources Information sheet 25 Lighthouse for sale New story about a lighthouse for sale Information sheet 25 The last Lighthouse Keeper Three news stories Worksheet 25 Lighthouse Description Images of Muckle Flugga Weblinks Crossing the Shetland Islands by Bike and Boat: a film by Alastair Humphreys from his Micro Adventures series of videos Water features: images and OS symbols -Water-features Map of lighthouses England and Wales Map of lighthouses Scotland Geograph gallery resource: lighthouses Muckle Flugga reef image Mike Pennington Muckle Flugga, Shetland, image John Dally Muckle Flugga and its lighthouse, the most northerly in the British Isles as seen from Hermaness, Unst. Image John Dally History of Muckle Flugga Lighthouse

9 List of Lighthouses in the UK Trinity House: list of lighthouses History Timeline

10 Lighthouse for sale worksheet: Luxury is not a word you normally associate with lighthouses, but Corsewall in Kirkcolm, combines spectacular views with a four star hotel rating It was first lit over 185 years ago as a warning for ships approaching the mouth of Loch Ryan. And Corsewall lighthouse still performs that same function, casting a powerful beacon into the night sky from its rocky location on the very edge of the west coast of Scotland. These days, however, the lighthouse is most famous for its award-winning hotel and is as likely to lead home wayward guests who've had a few drams too many as it is to warn passing ships to steer clear of the rocks. Views Of Arran The tower remains a working lighthouse but the rest of the complex was converted into a luxury hotel in And now it s up for sale if you fancy it, the price is offers in excess of 1.25m. The lucky owner will get six individually styled rooms, many with unique features, and a beautiful 28-cover restaurant. Within the 20 acre grounds are five recently renovated cottage style suites - four two-bed and a one-bed cottage - which can be run on a self-catering basis. The stunning location there are views of Arran, Ailsa Craig and over to the coast of Ireland has made the hotel one of the most unusual in Britain,with real prospects as a going concern. Who To Call David Reid, Knight Frank s hotel expert, said: "Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel is a great opportunity which should easily appeal to buyers from Scotland, England and Ireland.

11 "It will also be attractive to investment buyers who might look at the property with a view to fractionalising and developing the grounds further." For more information please contact David Reid on or to: david.reid@knightfrank.com Pics:

12 NEWS STORY 1 Thursday, November 26, 1998 Published at 15:23 GMT Lights out for the last keepers Dermot Cronin: "I had no idea I would be closing the door of the last manned lighthouse" The Duke of Edinburgh has presided over the closure of the UK's last manned lighthouse. The BBC's Dominic Hughes sheds light on a tradition dating back 400 years. The forward march of technology means that the keepers at North Foreland Lighthouse in Kent are the last of their kind. For hundreds of years, the lighthouse at North Foreland in Kent, has both warned and welcomed mariners. For those who lived their lives on the sea, its presence has been a constant. Whatever the conditions, there has always been someone looking out for them. North Foreland's light will keep up its signal Lighthouse keeper, Dermot Cronin remembers starting the job 33 years ago. "I had no idea I would be closing the door of the last manned lighthouse in the British Isles," he said. "To me a lighthouse was meant to be lived in. It was part of working life. And ships passing, day or night, knew there was somebody there, looking at them." It is a poignant moment for Dermot that marks the end of a long career. "I think its going to be harder first of all on my wife, having to get used to me being home for 365 days of the year. That'll be on both our parts I suppose. But yes, fitting into a job on the shore - that will be the difficulty, because here we have a watch keeping system. "At night time you are your own boss, you can do whatever you like and you have your freedom. It can be lonely at times but that's part of lighthouse keeping".

13 The lighthouse at North Foreland has witnessed the departure of armies and adventurers, the arrival of countless trading vessels and more than one shipwreck from sailors who failed to heed its warning. With automation, the regular human activity that gives the building its soul will cease. North Foreland's light will keep up its signal - five times every 20 seconds - only now a computerised system will monitor it from 200 miles away. But retired teacher and local historian Dr Alan Kay, a keen student of the life and times of the North Foreland, says its important to look to the future: Lighthouses have been around since Roman times "From a historical point of view I feel sad. But for someone of my age I think one has to look forward to the 21st century, and to look forward to advances and not always look back to the historic past, wonderful though that may have been." The automation programme, started in the early 1980s, is now at an end. Its completion means the job of watching over British shores passes to a new age. NEWS STORY 2 Thursday, 16 April, 1998, 18:16 GMT 19:16 UK Lighthouse keeper bows out to technology Around 300 years of maritime history has come to an end in south-west England after the region's last manned lighthouse became automated. The Lizard Lighthouse in Cornwall is to be remotely controlled by a computer at Harwich in Essex. Its veteran keeper Eddie Matthews gave over control of the centuries-old beacon at a handing over ceremony. He described the moment as "the saddest day of my working life". The first lighthouse on the notoriously hazardous Lizard peninsula was built in 1619 by Cornishman Sir John Killigrew, but was eventually demolished. The current 19 metres high twin-towered lighthouse was completed in 1751, with the company Trinity House assuming responsibility 20 years later. Mr Matthews, who was born just a few minutes from the lighthouse, said he understood why the automation decision was made as technology moved on, but said he regretted the loss of human involvement. "The disadvantage is you take away the local knowledge and the eyes of the keepers," he said. "People think all the time of the big tragedies, but people fall off cliffs, swimmers get into trouble, and local knowledge is essential for these smaller incidents." But Mr Matthews, who has been with Trinity House for 42 years, will be staying on as attendant at the lighthouse where he served for the last 10 years. There are now just three staffed lighthouses remaining in Britain as the Trinity House automation programme, which began in the early 1960s, nears completion. St Ann's Head in Anglesey, Nash Point in Pembrokeshire and North Foreland in Kent will be automated by the end of the year.

14 The Last Lighthouse Keeper NEWS STORY 3 Last one out, leave the light on: The Needles lighthouse is to lose its keepers as manning is phased out around Britain. HELEN NOWICKA Sunday 15 August GERRY Douglas-Sherwood's job comes with a spectacular view of the English Channel - but not for much longer. The Needles lighthouse off the Isle of Wight, his place of work and part-time home for 11 years, is being automated. Once the contractors move out, he will be surplus to requirements. Along with 208 other lighthouse keepers around the shores of mainland Britain, his job is under threat from a combination of technology, which can do the work without their wages, and pressure from shipping firms on the lighthouse authorities to cut costs. Lighthouses are almost entirely financed by light dues levied on ships entering or leaving port, according to their tonnage. Most of the dues come from companies which pay thousands of pounds each time for large vessels and are keen to keep the tolls as low as possible. The two lighthouse authorities covering England, Wales and Scotland are using their modernisation programmes to phase out manned lighthouses. Antiquated lighting systems, often driven by diesel generators, are being replaced by electrical and solar-powered lights, which can be monitored by computers based at a separate control centre to be developed at Harwich. Conversion costs can soon be recouped - the pounds 352,000 it will cost to automate the Needles will be recovered in five years once wages for a six-man crew do not have to be paid. The number of manned lighthouses has steadily declined from 74 six years ago to the present figure of 32. By the end of 1997 there will be none. Keepers are being lost through natural wastage, while others, mostly younger men, are leaving after retraining programmes. Those still employed in four years' time will be made redundant. Mr Douglas-Sherwood, 44, a principal lighthouse keeper, plans to be among the last to go. The Needles will not become fully mechanised until next year, after electricity cables are laid along the sea bed to connect it with the Isle of Wight.. He hopes to be transferred to another manned station but is undecided about the long term. A mechanical engineer, he became a lighthouse keeper in 1970 after spotting a reference to the service in a careers handbook.

15 He enjoys the routine of working for one month and then spending a month with his wife and son in Norfolk. 'The job is fun and challenging, and there's great companionship - I have a good crew, I'm extremely lucky. 'It takes a bit of getting used to but you learn to keep yourself to yourself, be tidy and get on with the others. It's quite an art; there are only a few people who can do it. But as soon as I get home I switch off, I hardly think about it.' The Needles is one of only three remaining manned rock lighthouses off the coast of England and Wales, and conditions are rudimentary in the extreme. Heating comes from a single solid-fuel stove, while the threeman crew on duty share a single bedroom during their month on board, sleeping in 'banana bunks' built around the 90ft-high tower's circular walls. Below the bedroom is the kitchen, the main living area which doubles as washing area and office. Above is a shower room, toilet and storage area, and at the top is the light - the beam can be seen for 15 miles. The Needles operates a 24- hour watch, with keepers working to a three-day rota. Their main duty is to make sure equipment functions correctly and to switch the 35,000-candlepower light on and off. They supply regular weather reports for coastguards, alert them if a ship is in difficulty, activate the fog signal, and keep a log of conditions. Whoever takes the 4am shift has to ensure the living area is tidy. Sleep is snatched at irregular intervals, and free time is occupied by listening to the radio, reading, hobbies, and watching television. Mr Douglas-Sherwood is a vintage-motorcycle enthusiast and takes parts to the lighthouse to work on. He is also the archivist of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, which takes up further time. Some nights he takes advantage of the view of the sky from the platform above the lantern to practise his astronomy. 'It is something quite special, it really is.' He regrets the changes taking place and believes local sailors will miss knowing they are under the keepers' gaze. 'The little boats are upset about us going, because we can watch out for them. 'When we have gone, there will be no one to keep a lookout - the nearest coastguard is miles away at Leeon-Solent. This is a very busy seaway: we have helped canoes, windsurfers and people who have broken down. 'What's happening is very sad. I haven't thought about what I will do. Most of the older keepers are intending to stay to the bitter end. I certainly will.'

16 Worksheet 25 Lighthouse Name Offers in the region of Location Address Grid Reference Views over: Location description: Access to the lighthouse: Nearby Attractions: Transport Links: Contact Estate Agent name:

17 Images of Muckle Flugga