Get into Geoscience Wales

We were delighted to welcome over 40 budding young geoscientists to our first Get into Geoscience Wales event at Aberystwyth University in October 2023. This event is the latest offering from the award-winning Girls into Geoscience initiative, which has been inspiring young people to pursue study and careers in the geosciences for a staggering ten years!

The two-day event began with a series of talks on where a career in geoscience can take you, from using remote sensing to protect and conserve our natural world with Alexandra Kilcoyne (Natural England), to the Moon and back, followed by life as an editor with Geoscientist’s own Marissa Lo, and to the role geologists play in managing vulnerable water resources with Kate Lambert-Smith (Dŵr Cymru). Interactive workshops followed, including using the latest virtual reality (VR) technology to set foot on Mars, exploring how river processes shape our landscape with our Little River stream table, becoming environmental detectives with the power of super sediments, and learning about the dangers of volcanic eruptions with some explosive experiments.

We ventured outside for the second day, visiting the Central Wales Orefield to discover more on monitoring and managing the environmental impacts of mining, then on to Bwlch Nant yr Arian to appreciate the beautiful glacially sculpted landscape, and ending the day exploring climate change at Cors Fochno – one of the largest raised bogs in the UK.

This event was the first of its kind to run in Wales, and the first to be offered in Welsh and English. It was fantastic to welcome such an engaged and enthusiastic group of school pupils (and their teachers) from North, Central and South Wales, the West Midlands, and South-East England. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with all students agreeing that the event improved their knowledge of the geosciences.

To find out about future events visit: www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges/outreach/gig

Share this article