GCSE Geography B
Fieldwork Enquiry Task for award in 2016
Urban Ecosystems
These teacher guidance notes have been developed jointly by WJEC and FSC.
Theme
2
Generic task
for the field
work Enquiry
Investigate an
urban
ecosystem
The tasks are linked to the following
enquiry questions from the specification
Page in
specification
2.1 What physical processes connect living
and non-living elements of ecosystems?
2.2 How do ecosystem processes benefit
people?
2.3 How does human activity affect physical
processes within ecosystems?
2.4 How can ecosystems be managed
sustainably?
16
Developing a contextualised task
Urban ecosystems provide an important habitat for wildlife and essential recreational space
for human populations. As such, they can become damaged by human activity and
therefore need management. In developing this task centres may choose to focus on any of
the four enquiry questions in the above table. So, for example, it is acceptable to develop a
task that investigates the links between biotic and abiotic factors in an overgrown cemetery
or an urban copse. Alternatively, you may develop an enquiry that focusses on the benefits
provided by an urban park, the impacts on its use and its management.
Centres may provide candidates with an overarching enquiry question, such as:
Does Christchurch Park in Ipswich meet the needs of both people for leisure /
recreation and habitats for wildlife?
Alternatively, centres may present the task to their candidates as a hypothesis, such as:
The practices used at Colchester Road allotments encourage the development of a
variety of sustainable ecosystems.
Developing a task on the impacts of human activity or management of an
urban park
Whichever investigation is chosen students must be involved in primary data collection.
Some suggestions are given below. Clearly, you will want to select / suggest a range of data
collection techniques that provide opportunities for your students to meet the criteria of the
mark scheme.
Types of primary data that students might collect for the question approach could be:



Land use mapping
Mapping of habitats / observation of wildlife
Photographic evidence








Footpath erosion / management surveys
Activity Participant Survey – who the visitors are, when they visit, where they go,
what they do in the park. This could be based on observations of the visitors in
different parts of the park. This could also be combined with a survey of routes that
visitors take through the park together with access points. How long people spend in
particular places, what they are doing, impacts on the environment, conflict matrix, do
they stick to paths, use bins etc.
Visitor Impact Bi-Polar. Relevant categories devised backed up with annotated
photographs
Facilities / Services Audit. Map the number of services and facilities targeted at locals
and tourists or that are beneficial / not so beneficial to the environment.
Counts / maps Pedestrian counts / litter, information boards, toilets, litter bins,
signage etc.
Interviews / questionnaires of users of the park
Visit to the information centre in the park
Guided talk from Wildlife / Education Rangers
In particular, candidates could conduct one or more of the following types of survey:

Air Quality Survey: Air quality is important for both humans and the management of
urban areas as well as the amount of biodiversity in the area. Using lichens and/or
sycamore trees, we can assess the levels of air pollution in an area. OPAL has
produced a series of fieldwork activities that can be integrated into a fieldwork study:
http://www.opalexplorenature.org/TakePartAirSurvey

Tree Audit: Trees support the biodiversity of a green space as well as the wellbeing
of the people using and working around the green space. They provide food and
habitats for wildlife and people, as well as combating climate change. There are
many ways to investigate the tree health within a green space. One might be a basic
audit and mapping of the trees in the area:
Tree Location
GR 234 560
GR 235 561
Excellent
Good
Acceptable
Unacceptable
Healthy and vigorous
growth, with no signs
of disease, no dead
or hanging braches,
no visual damage or
vandalism to tree.
Growth is healthy
with little sign of
disease, branches
are not damaged or
weak, no dead
material or cuttings
in area, little visual
damage to tree.
Growth shows some
signs of disease,
some dead or
hanging branches,
tree stake in OK
condition or tree ties
needs replacing.
Some dead material
or branches and
some damage to
truck.
Growth is poor with
signs of disease or
damage, some dead
branches. Leaves at
ground and human
height have been
destroyed. Damage
or graffiti is visible
and tree is not staked
or protected if young.
x
x
A fuller study can be found on the OPAL project site in English
http://www.opalexplorenature.org/TreeSurvey#english and in Welsh
http://www.opalexplorenature.org/tree-health-scotland-wales

Footpath erosion and management: Students could measure width & depth of the
path and height of vegetation on and off the path. They can also use quadrats to
measure vegetation type and cover and the percentage of bare ground. This could
also be done using a range of categories to allow a subjective range. Students could
also include any management of the paths such as surface or edges of the paths.

Footpath use: Students could measure pedestrian footfall (and bicycle use) along
paths and also record flow lines of park users across areas of open ground. They
could assess how these might have an impact on the park’s ecosystem, perhaps
suggesting a change of the path’s direction to increase the biodiversity of the
parkland.

Visitor Impact Bi-Polar: see example below, a pilot survey would be appropriate to
see if the categories are relevant to the area. Each location surveyed could be
supported by an annotated photograph.
Score

The area has a distinct
natural beauty
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
Natural beauty has been
damaged
Few human built
structures
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
Intrusive car parking &
management structures
Not many people
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
Crowded with people.
Some people have to
walk off the paths
No damage to natural
vegetation
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
Widespread damage to
vegetation
No obvious hazards
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
Volume of traffic high
and annoying
No visible litter or dog
mess
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
High levels of litter &
dog mess
Quiet
+3 +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –3
High levels of noise
(e.g. music, traffic)
Environmental Audit: This could be assessed using a visual bi-polar with categories
designed support the investigation. So for example, if students were looking at the
environmental management of the park it might include categories such as:
o healthy diverse range of trees & shrubs;
o sufficient open spaces where flowers and tree seedlings can grow;
o invasive species such as holly and rhododendrons do not dominate the
spaces;
o dead wood that has been left for fungi, beetles etc.
If students were looking at the management of people and activities within the park
this might include categories such as:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
sports pitches have even grass coverage and are flat;
no litter, leaf debris or dog fouling on the footpaths;
gates are structurally sound and working;
entrances have level surfacing and accessible for all;
boundaries are well defined between usage areas e.g. playgrounds and dog
walking areas;
little graffiti or vandalism;
relevant visitor information is available etc.
Secondary data could be collected from:
 Ipswich borough Council website re Christchurch Park facility
 Suffolk Wildlife Trust website
 Newspaper articles local press
 Guide books about the facility
Developing a task on urban habitats (e.g. an allotment)
Primary data for the hypothesis approach could be:
 Survey of allotments – mapping of land use / habitats / facilities
 Species count / identification
 Annotated photographs
 Bi-Polar assessment using appropriate categories
 Interviews with Allotment Secretary / Field Warden
 Questionnaire / interviews with a sample of allotment holders
 Questionnaires / interview with Ipswich Borough Council Allotment department
representative
Secondary:
 IBC allotments website
 IAHA (Ipswich Allotments Holders Association) website / magazine
 Suffolk Wildlife Trust website
How to encourage independent thought
Time should be allowed for students to become involved in the planning process before the
fieldwork is conducted. Students should be encouraged to contribute to discussions about
data collection and sampling techniques together with methods of presenting their findings.
Student guidance sheets should be designed with suggestions to prompt independence, for
example, whilst all students are involved in some common data collection, they could also be
given the opportunity to select 1 / 2 additional data collection techniques. As well as
answering the main contextualised title students could be encouraged to consider additional
guiding questions to investigate the data further. These could be linked to, or based on, the
enquiry questions 2.1 to 2.4. The amount and range of secondary supporting data and how
it is selected and processed to support the primary evidence also allows for independence to
be demonstrated.
AO2 Application
The mark scheme criteria for AO2 (see page 36 of the Specification) should be checked
thoroughly when designing the fieldwork enquiry. Students will need to set their
investigation in context by looking at processes and ecosystems, benefits to people, impacts
of human activity and sustainable management through theories / case studies covered in
class or from research. This gives them some comparative material to “bench mark” their
findings against when reaching their conclusions based on the evidence for the specific
areas studied at this scale.
Students must also be able to speculate about the future scenario at these specific sites
based on their current findings. Are things going well at present - if not why not, what needs
to change? Is the current situation sustainable, what new challenges/pressures will the
future bring? These are questions they cannot answer now but will be based on their
understanding of the current situation and they will be able to see the outcomes in these
locations in their lifetime over the next twenty years for example.
Useful web-links
www.field-studies-council.org/urbaneco/
Background on a variety of urban ecosystems. Urban ecosystems, Field Studies Council
(FSC)
www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/urban_ecosystem
Range of information / videos on urban ecosystems
http://www.saps.org.uk/secondary/teaching-resources/127-ecology-practical-distribution-ofspecies-and-fieldwork-sampling
Science and plants for schools-species distribution and ID information
http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/36D53A02-A9B4-4DD8-81668B9FD4B55484/0/Woodlandecosystemsandtheirmanagement.pdf
Woodland ecosystems and their management-rgs
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/
Countryside info-woodlands and biodiversity