Theme 8 Fieldwork Enquiry

Theme 10 Fieldwork Enquiry

Contextualised title

Whilst this title should work perfectly well, it needs to be approached carefully in order to avoid answering the question with a simple yes or no. The following suggestions may prompt greater stretch and challenge: ‘To what extent do the positive impacts of tourism in Bowness outweigh the negative impacts?’ or ‘To what extent is the current level of tourism in Bowness sustainable?’ It may be useful for candidates to elaborate on what is meant by ‘impact’ (e.g. type and level of impact) and to show an awareness that ‘impacts’ of tourism may be positive as well as negative.

The exact focus of the investigation may depend on the type of field sites that candidates have access to. If candidates have access to a popular tourist settlement then the focus may be on the impact of tourism on the local economy / local culture / services and functions. If however, the candidates have access to a popular walking area or mountain range (e.g. Snowdonia), it may be preferable to focus more on the environmental impacts of tourism.

For an investigation that focuses on the environmental impacts of tourism (e.g. footpath erosion) it may be useful to compare and contrast impacts in two different locations at the same honeypot. The choice of locations could be based around contrasting visitor numbers and/or levels of access. Alternatively, candidates could compare the impacts resulting from different types of tourism.

Application

In order to reach Levels 3 and 4 of AO2, candidates must apply the results of their investigation to their wider geographical understanding. One way of achieving this requirement may be to compare and contrast their findings with examples of tourist impacts seen in a video or textbook case study. This may also help the candidates to put the level of tourist impact observed at their site(s) into context.

Depending on the title focus and ability level of the candidates, relevant knowledge and understanding may include physical carrying capacity, perceptual carrying capacity, honeypot sites, multiplier effects, carbon footprints, seasonality and rebranding.

Primary and secondary evidence

A selection of the following techniques may be applicable to the investigation:

• Footpath width and depth (in order to construct a cross-section diagram)
• Index of visual impact (to allow students to construct their own subjective scoring criteria)
• Vegetation cover, including bare ground
• Vegetation height
• Soil compaction or infiltration (to gauge evidence of trampling)
• Well annotated field sketches and/or photographs (e.g. showing evidence of gullying, footpath management, tourist facilities)
• Questionnaire surveys of key stakeholders such as local businesses, local residents and tourists
• Pedestrian / traffic surveys
• Environmental quality surveys (e.g. bi-polar survey)
• Survey of facilities and services (e.g. proportion of facilities aimed at ‘tourists’ versus ‘locals’, car parking provision)
• Visitor statistics from National Park Authorities (e.g. income generated, visitor numbers, spending on footpath management).

Encouraging independent thought

In addition to answering the initial question or hypothesis, candidates could choose a specific stakeholder group to focus on in greater depth. These might include: local residents; local businesses; landowners; farmers; National Park employees; Wildlife Trust employees and conservation groups. Alternatively, students could generate their own key question or hypothesis that focused on one specific type of impact, for example environmental, social or economic impact. This would allow independence in the formulation of a question and the selection of relevant data.

A different approach may be to construct a class bi-polar survey or questionnaire that contained common questions or criteria (to allow whole-class data collation) and then allow the opportunity for candidates to add additional questions or indices.

Candidates should be encouraged to reflect on the problems associated with their data collection and subsequent results. They should try to avoid sweeping generalisations or exaggerations of the scale of the impact.

Amending a task to make it suitable for use in a consecutive year

You could choose to repeat the same fieldwork investigation, assuming that it is done at an entirely different location. This means choosing a different settlement or honeypot site to the previous year. An alternative approach would be to use the same location but a different fieldwork task.

The list below shows examples of how the task focus may be changed in subsequent years.

Useful weblinks

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/gcse-introduction/footpath-erosion

Snowdonia National Park information on footpath erosion

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/questions-and-answers/who-manages-snowdonia

Management of Snowdonia National Park

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/park-profile-2010

Snowdonia National Park statistics

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/census-figures/park-data-population

Snowdonia National Park census data

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/years-7-9/effects-of-tourism

Effects of tourism in Snowdonia

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/education/years-7-9/tourism-facts

Snowdonia tourism facts

Video on the impact of tourism on Snowdon – from 1:10 to 2:08.

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/path_erosion_factsheet.pdf

Footpath erosion factsheet (based on the Lake District National Park) with useful diagrams and background information

Powerpoint resource entitled “What is sustainable tourism?” (based on the Lake District National Park) but could easily be adapted. Slides 5 – 7 are particularly relevant.

Website based on the Lake District National Park, with useful information on managing the impacts of tourism

Tourism in Wales (Key Stage 3 site with background material that may be useful for lower ability Key Stage 4)

The impacts of tourism in the Brecon Beacons National Park

Economic impact of the National Parks of Wales

Visitor pressure in the Brecon Beacons National Park