Annual General Meeting of the Earth Science Teachers Association

Annual General Meeting of the Earth Science Teachers’ Association

University of St Andrews, Saturday 24 September 2016

ESTA Chairman’s report

To be supplied.

Nikki Edwards, ESTA Chair

ESTA Treasurer’s report2015/16

Income

Income from subscriptions total £10,550.24 and shows a slight increase since last year (£9704.82). As activities for Primary teachers are now largely web-based, there is no need for a separate category of Primary subscription. Thanks are due to Elouise Gill, Membership Secretary who has dealt with subscriptions.

The ESTA Conference 2015 income (£3921.60) includes £570.67 in refunds from the conference account; therefore the actual surplus was £3350.93.A £1500 start-up fund for the 2016 ESTA Conference at St Andrews was retained in the conference account.

A generous donation of £6500 towards the 2015 ESTA Conference was made by the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) in 2014 and is shown in the 2014/15 accounts. Thanks to PESGB for their very generous donations of £8500 towards ESTA’s ‘Geo Skills’ fieldwork skills project.

Promotions income (£205.65), which was mainly produced by the mail order sales of rock kits, was higher than it was last year (£32.98). We are indebted to John Reynolds for his work on promotions and also to all those ESTA members who helped by staffing our stand at conferences during the year.

Total advertising income is the same as last year (£360). This income was generated mainly by adverts placed in the magazine Teaching Earth Sciences (TES). Thanks to Jen Noble who has taken on the role of Advertising Officer.

Income from the Publishing Licensing Society (PLS) was lower this year generating £1576.76 (£2719.86.in 2014/15).

Expenditure

Publications (Magazine and Newsletter) costs are lower (£8992.72) than last year (£12,427.29).In 2014/15 they included the printing and distribution of ‘ESTA - A Personal History’.

Council expenses are slightly higher this year (£6542.00 compared to £6289.96 in 2014/15). Council expenses include the costs of Council meetings, attendance at external events, Secondary meetings and workshops, Primary meetings and workshops and the upkeep of the website.

Publicity costs (£1806.27) are mainly incurred by attendance at conferences and careers fairs. ESTA presence at conferences serves to publicise the association to a wider audience.

ESTA Conference expenditure includes the transfer into the Conference account of the £6500 donation from PESGB.

Subscriptions to other organisations include a £720 payment to the National Stone Centre for 2015/16 rent of office/store space. This includes delayed fees for 2014.

The current subscriptions no longer cover the Association’s expenditure. A subscription increase was mentioned at the Annual General Meeting during the 2015 ESTA Conference on September 26th. At the Council meeting on 14November 2015 a subscription increase was proposed and agreed to be put to the Membership in order to allow the Association to continue providing its current services. In accordance with Rule 8 at the next ESTA AGM, on 25September 2016 at the University of St Andrews, Council will propose that the Ordinary/Institution membership of ESTA will become £40 and Student/Retired membership will become £20.

ESTA first adopted a Reserves Policy during 2006-7 and a contingency sum is held to bridge cash flow problems and ensure, firstly, continuity in the production of Teaching Earth Sciences and ESTA News in the event of a large variation in income and, secondly, payments towards specific future projects under the PT Carr Award scheme and for PESGB funded Projects. I wish to record that the level of reserves held on the last day of the financial year was £10,000. £4849.77 was spent during 2015/16 on educational projects funded by PESGB. We are grateful for the generous donations from PESGB that allow us to continue with educational projects such as the Virtual Experiments and the ‘Geo Skills’ projects.

I wish to place on record my thanks to Elizabeth Devon and Peter Kennett for inspecting the 2014/2015accounts. I also wish to thank past ESTA Treasurers Maggie Williams and John Reynolds for their continued help and support with treasuring activities.

At the time of writing this report the accounts for 2015/2016have not been inspected.

Carole Rushall, ESTA Treasurer

EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION – Accounts and Treasurer’s Report for 2015-16
Current Account
Income / 2014-15 / 2015-16
Adverts / £360.00 / £360.00
Conferences / £160 / £400.02
ESTA Conference2015 / £3007.84* / £3921.60
Gift Aid / £0.00 / £0.00
PESGB Conference Sponsorship for 2014 & 2015 conference. / £12,500.00 / £0.00
PESGB Donation for Educational Projects / £6,000.00 / £8500.00
Promotions / £32.98 / £205.65
Publishers Licensing Society / £2719.86 / £1576.76
PT Carr Fund / £0.00 / £0.00
PT Carr Fund Interest (in deposit account) / £120.12 / £31.22
Deposit Account Interest excluding PT Carr Interest / £97.05 / £291.95
Sponsorship/ donations (other than from PESGB) / £0.00 / £0.00
Subscriptions - ordinary / £9694.82 / £10550.24
Transfer from deposit / £0.00 / £5000
Total income / £34,578.54 / £30837.44
*includes £551 surplus from 2013/14
Expenditure / 2014-15 / 2015-16
Bank charges / £51.43 / £50.69
Conferences & Publicity / £1636.12 / £1806.27
Council expenses / £6289.96 / £6542.00
Data Registration / £35.00 / £35.00
ESTA Conference 2015 / £6387.00 / £7294.67
Promotions / £28.98 / £151.65
PESGB Projects / £1500.00 / £4849.77
PT Carr Award / £0.00 / £0.00
Publications / £12427.29 / £8992.72
Public Liability Insurance / £196.78 / £201.52
Subscriptions to other organisations / £745.00 / £825.00
Refunds / £304.00 / £80.00
Future ESTA conference expenses / £268.60
Transfer to Deposit account / £323.17**
Total Expenditure / £29601.56 / £31421.06
**Interest from Deposit account returned to DA
Deposit Account / 2014-15 / 2015-16
Start / £35,769.16 / £35,773.62
Interest / £4.46 / £323.17**
Transfer in/out / £0.00 / -£5000.00
End Balance / £35,773.62 / £31096.79
Total Accounts / 2014-15 / 2015-16
Start / £44,582.89 / £49564.33
End / £49,564.33 / £44303.88
Total Accounts include areserve of £10,000.00
Additional Information
Designated Funds

1. PT Carr Legacy – Interest on the invested sum of £3003.05

21 05 2009 £3003.05 invested for 5 years, Halifax Stepped Income Reserve Fund
2009 / Interest / Balance
2009/2010 / 2010 / £96.10 / £1,284.08
2010/2011 / 2011 / £99.06 / £1,383.14
2011/2012 / 2012 / £102.73 / £1,485.87
2012/2013 / £500 awarded to J Marion / £112.92 / £985.87
Account closed 17/06/13, balance and interest in current account. Closing balance £3123.17
2013/2014 / £112.92 / £1098.79
2014/2015 / £120.12 / £1218.91
2015/2016 / £31.22 / £1250.13
Total PT Carr Legacy including amount available for awards / £3003.05 + £1250.13 = £4253.18

1. PESGB funded projects £9350.82 remaining

ESTA Conference Account Summary / 2014-2015 / 2015-16
Income
Sponsorship / £6000 / £6500
Fees received / £10,787.00 / £19,565.40
ESTA (float) / £1,500.00 / £1,500.00
Leicester Uni / £300.00
SRK Consulting / £300.00
Total income / £18,287.00 / £28165.40
Expenditure / 2014-15 / 2015-16
Accommodation & Catering / £5031.27 / £15,060.20
Insurance / £126.16 / £171.72
Staff fees / £6881.4 / £5918.10
Printing & Postage / £380.40 / £450.91
Sundries / £348.73
Transport / £310.00 / £1230.00
Contributors accommodation & travel / £668.20
Fieldwork expenses / £584.00
Conference 2016 / £0.00 / £483.64
Total expenditure / £14,330.16 / £22,830.93
Retention of ESTA priming for 2016 / £1500.00 / £1500.00
Conference Surplus / £2,456.84 / £3350.93

ESTA Secretary's report 2015/16

Three Council meetings were held during the year: on 11 November 2015, 5 March 2016 and 25 June 2016. Council would like to offer thanks to Keele University Science Learning Centre and the University of Liverpool for hosting these meetings.

Nikki Edwards took over as Chair of Council at the 2015 AGM in Cardiff where the membership also confirmed Elouise Gill as our Membership Secretary. Following the AGM, Jen Noble volunteered to take on the role of Advertising Officer.

Topics discussed by Council have included:

• ESTA subscriptions
• Encouraging engagement with primary schools
• GCSE and A-level reforms
• Planning for future ESTA Conferences
• Fieldwork training
• Updates to the website
• Special projects, including Earth Science Week activities
• Liaison with the BGS, Geological Society of London, Geologists’ Association, Geographical Association, Palaeontological Association, the Institute of Quarrying, MinSouth, English Geodiversity Forum, UK Groundwater Forum, University Geoscience UK and other organisations.
• ESTA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Geologists’ Association. Similar agreements with the Geological Society of London and the Geographical Association are under discussion.

Council is planning to meet on 12 November 2016, 4 March 2017 and 24 June 2017. Any member interested in becoming a member of Council is invited to attend a meeting to observe business (travel expenses will be met).

We are increasingly using email to contact members as it is the cheapest and quickest practicable way to keep members informed. If your email address in our database is out of date or incorrect you won’t receive your copy of ESTA News or other important information such as changes to the password for resources on the ESTA website.

If you have recently acquired or changed your email address, are not receiving ESTA email updates and ESTA News, or think your details may be out of date, please let me know!

Members may be aware that a Google Map showing schools teaching GCSE or A-level Geology has been compiled (see This can help us put new geology teachers in touch with members and track the state of geology teaching generally, so please check your school is on the map and let me know if you spot any errors.

Finally, it is my sad duty to report that Sheila Rogers died early in March this year. Longstanding ESTA members will recall that Sheila was our Membership Secretary between 1988 and 1994. She was also the Membership Secretary for the Yorkshire Geological Society (1992–2004) and a member of YGS Council (2005–08), as well as President of the Hull Geological Society (1984–87). Sheila established the first computerised membership database and took the lead in organising the ESTA Conference at Hull University in 1987.

David Bailey, ESTA Secretary

Membership Secretary’s report

Current membership – 354

June 2016 / July 2016
Complimentary / 22 / 22
Student / 7 / 9
Retired (incl. ESEU) / 61 / 63
Ordinary / Institutional (incl. ESEU) / 230 / 242
Agency / 17 / 18
337 / 354

We have had 39 new members since 1October 2015.

I anticipate a small drop in numbers over the coming year; some possibly due to tightening budgets and the increased Membership fee and some as the current ESEU facilitators’ roles come to an end (fees will no longer be covered by ESEU).

Elouise Gill, Membership Secretary

ESTA Higher Education Coordinator’s report

Higher Education Network Annual Meeting(Monday 11January, 2016)

The annual meeting of the Higher Education Network was held in Liverpool on Monday 11January 2016, with a general theme of “Sharing Educational Practice in the Geosciences”. Derek France (University of Chester) and Richard Chiverrell (University of Liverpool) gave interesting keynote talks, focusing on fieldwork technology and large practical class sizes respectively.Other contributions discussed 3D structural modelling, virtual worlds, high tech/low-tech solutions, teamwork, interdisciplinarity and ‘on-campus geological mapping’ (at Glasgow).

The conference was followed by a one-day workshop on 12January 2016 addressing the broad theme of “Helping large numbers of students succeed in practical classes” facilitated by Alan Boyle, Simon Martin and several other staff from the University of Liverpool.Demonstrations of two virtual worlds and Midland Valley’s MOVE software was followed by a ‘carousel’ of different practical activities in Liverpool’s new practical labs, giving a taste of how the university delivers a suite of practicals to 200+ students over a term. Fascinating, daunting, and great fun!

Most of the presentations from this and past events are hosted here:

The next HEN annual meeting will be held at Burlington House, London, hosted by the Geological Society, in January 2017.

University Geoscience UK (formerly CHUGD) 2 day meeting, 24-25February 2016, Burlington House

A thematic University Geoscience UK meeting on the value of fieldwork in the HE curriculum and the challenges facing it was held at the Geological Society in February. Commitment to fieldwork teaching was re-iterated by both Industry and HE stakeholders. The two critical threats to field teaching were cost (understandably), but also the decline in staff confident/competent/willing to run field trips – due perhaps to a more general decline in field-based research. A need for staff training was identified, and some options for this were briefly explored, including involving the Higher Education Network. There was also a call for greater inclusivity in fieldwork, and geoscience overall – notably in the traditionally ‘macho’ image of earth science courses projected to potential students via prospectuses and other publicity material (i.e. rugged young men in equally rugged landscapes). The new Careers webpage at the Geological Society could provide a template for this.

An interesting set of figures presented by Andy Saunders (Accreditation officer at the GSL) showed that most universities with GSL-accredited programmes were currently providing significantly more field teaching time than was required for accreditation (in some cases >200%). There was some debate over whether that represented either welcome scope for reduction without detrimental effects, or a laudably healthy situation that demonstrated the need for retaining fieldwork in the curriculum…

Geographical Association Conference, 8 April 2016, Manchester

Coincidentally, I also part in a panel debate on the value of fieldwork in Geography, specifically as an advocate of virtual fieldwork.I confess that I abjectly failed to stir up a robust debate, by maintaining that virtual fieldwork should never be regarded as a replacement for physical field experiences, but rather as a useful support tool that can enrich, strengthen and extend physical field trips.I’m glad to have had the opportunity to have raised the profile of virtual fieldwork, but a sharper edge to the debate might have focused people’s minds more on how to improve current fieldwork teaching provision.

HEN discussion workshop: ‘Virtual Worlds in GEES Teaching -Games or Reality?’, Leeds University 14June 2016

Jacqui Houghton (Leeds) and I convened a meeting to gather colleagues interested in using virtual worlds in GEES teaching, and discuss how to take these currently disparate initiatives forward.The day included some short talks on ongoing projects from Leeds, Daden Ltd/OU/FSC, and OU/Google, followed by demonstrations of virtual world applications from Leeds, Plymouth and Hull Universities, as well as the ‘Fieldscapes’ project from Daden Ltd.In the afternoon, a series of discussions took place on how to build on the current momentum of these projects, and in particular how to pool the resources and efforts of the different groups to make virtual worlds more widely accessible and improve adoption rates in both HE, schools and beyond.One focus was on the different potential models for sustaining/funding these initiatives.

Re-invention of the HEA ‘Early Career Lecturers’ workshop, December 2016 (RGS)

Stephanie Wyse at the RGS contacted me a couple of months ago for assistance in developing a workshop to support lecturers at the start of their careers – essentially resurrecting the well-regarded HEA events – targeted at GEES practitioners in particular.This is currently slated for December, after some initial wrangling about the best time to hold the workshop (i.e. not just as the new academic year starts!).

Geological Society

The 2016 Earth Science Week ( will take place on 8 – 16October, over 2 weekends. The theme this year is ‘Earth Science in Action’. The GSL is encouraging anyone holding events in this week to ‘badge’ them as ESW events.

Following the closer affiliation of University Geoscience UK with the Geological Society of London, further efforts are being made at the Society to strengthen links across the geoscience community. One initiative, championed by Chris King of ESTA, is a workshop on ‘Mobilising the geoscience community', planned for Thursday 17November 2016. This will involve representatives from a wide range of organisations in planning a major outreach project designed to engage as many UK geoscientists as possible.

The Careers Pages on the Geological Society website were launched earlier this year, providing an engaging mix of resources on possible careers in Earth Sciences, aimed mainly at school leavers and undergraduates.Judi Lakin and Liz Pedley have put a lot of work in to design and produce this attractive and informative careers portal, with support from University Geoscience UK.

Virtual fieldwork

A Daden Ltd-led project investigating the feasibility of a ‘virtual field trip service’ was awarded further funding for a Phase 2 project (development), which will run until Nov 2016. A number of trials with schools, mainly run through the FSC, have been organised, showcasing a new prototype aimed more squarely at schools than Virtual Skiddaw was, based in Shropshire (Cardingmill Valley) – the idea is to produce virtual environments that could be used for a range of disciplines: Geography, Ecology, Environment, Archaeology, History… as well as Earth Science.

Tom Argles, H.E. Co-ordinator

ESTA Secondary Co-ordinator’s report

Geology teacher training

• The OAKS SCITT linked with Keele University is offering three places for geography/geology or science/geology teaching with government bursaries. Three trainees have been offered places.
• The third ‘Teaching and Learning in Geoscience Education’ Summer School, supported by ten £1500 industrial bursaries, was successfully run at Keele in July 2016. All places were filled – so ten science and geography teachers have been trained to teach A-level geology through the Summer School. Keele University has offered to host the Summer School annually for the foreseeable future, so now further bursaries for the next three years must be sought.

Professional development in fieldwork weekend, Anglesey 1-3July, 2016

28 people took part in the course, which was offered free of charge for those able to pay their own travel and accommodation expenses. £400 was granted by the Tomlinson Trust to offset part of the leaders’ expenses. The course feedback was excellent and consideration is now being given to running a future course.

A-level and GCSE Geology in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

WJEC and OCR work on specification and sample paper development for both A-level and GCSEcontinues. OCR is undertaking a research exercise to seek data from schools and elsewhere in support of A-level geology – this will eventually be published under the auspices of ESTA.

Representation at Conferences

• At the ASE Annual Conference at Birmingham University (6- 9January, 2016) ESTA ran a stand and a range of workshops, where overall attendance was better than for many years, with the greatest numbers attending Iain Stewart’s lecture. Similar representation is planned for the ASE Conference in Reading next year.

• ESTA ran a stand and a workshop session at the Geographical Association Annual Conference at the University of Manchester (7– 9April, 2016). ESTA will be similarly represented at next year’s conference in Guildford.

ESTA Secondary Working Day – Saturday 4June, 2016

This ran at Keele University, kindly hosted by Nikki Edwards. A similar day is planned for next year.

International Geological Congress, 27August – 4September 2016

This will run in Cape Town, South Africa (see: will be represented by Nikki Edwards and Chris King.

International Geoscience Education Conference, July/August 2018

GeoSciEd VIII will run in 2018, probably at Campinas, near Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Earthlearningidea

Earthlearningidea’s success is continuing; we have exceeded 2.5 million downloads, currently averaging at 56,000 per month. Translations into Slovak have recently been added.