BCS President’s Monthly Bulletin October 2013

Anniversaries

The Panama Canal was finally completed in October 1913. The 48 mile long canal connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and is a key element for international maritime trade. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, 85 ft above sea level. Gatun Lake was created to reduce the amount of work required for the canal. The current locks are 110 ft wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in 2015. 

France began work on the canal in 1881, but had to stop because of engineering problems and high mortality amongst the engineers building the dam due to disease. The United States later took over the project and took a decade to finally complete the canal in 1913. The first traffic through the canal was not until the following year in 1914. The new route allowed ships to reduce their journey times considerably and also avoided the often treacherous passage around Cape Horn.

The project must have been a nightmare for geographers and mapmakers alike as during the construction period, the ownership of the territory that is now the Panama Canal was first Colombian, then French, and then American. When Panama became independent in 1903, the new government authorized French businessman Philippe Bunau-Varilla, to negotiate a treaty with the United States. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal and provided for perpetual control of a zone five-miles wide on either side of the canal.

The division of Panama into two parts by the U.S. territory of the Canal Zone caused tension throughout the twentieth century. This tension flared in the 1960s, leading to anti-American riots. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty which agreed to return 60% of the Canal Zone to Panama in 1979, with the canal itself and remaining territory, known as the Canal Area, returned to Panama on December 31, 1999.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has named the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world. 

No prizes, but can you name the other six that were selected in 1994 to recognize the great engineering feats of the 20th century? Read on to the end of this bulletin to find out!

Senghenydd Mining Disaster

Britain’s worst ever mining disaster occurred on 14th October 1913 at the Universal Colliery at Senghenydd near Caerphilly in Glamorgan. A total of 439 miners and 1 rescuer died in an explosion and subsequent underground fire. The youngest victim was just 14 and thirty were aged under 18.

Nearly all of the families in the town were touched, in one way or another. And yet, despite the resulting enquiry finding numerous faults that could be laid at the door of the owners and managers, when compensation and fines were levied, they came to a derisive total of just £24.

The disaster first came to my attention in an article in GEOconnexion magazine in May this year, centered on the recent work by the local community to create and maintain a website to commemorate the disaster. Using a combination of modern and historic mapping they were able to show just how much of the community was directly affected by the disaster. Through a process of address matching based on OS Master Map, historic OS mapping and census records they were able to plot the properties that had lost someone in the tragedy. 
You can find more details at, http://your.caerphilly.gov.uk/abervalleyheritage/1913-pit-disaster

Sopwith Camel Aircrew

After two anniversaries from 100 years ago, there is one notable one from 50 years ago. Do you recognise this dapper young fellow? It is none other than our immediate Past President and Chair of Programme Committee, Peter Jolly.

Peter joined the Royal Air Force as an Officer Cadet on 8 Oct 1963 at RAF South Cerney. Peter has lasted longer than South Cerney, which closed as an RAF base in 1971, but is still an Army base housing 29 Postal Courier and Movement Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps. As he said in the text that accompanied the photo he sent me “the rest is history! Rather too much of it actually!”

Cartography in the News

A lot of the material for this bulletin comes from monitoring Twitter for a particularly interesting or novel comment or tweet on any manner of things cartographic. I usually make a short note on my ipad and then come back to it as the month goes on to incorporate the salient details. One of my notes this month was “cartoblography dark maps”. When I subsequently searched for this it came up with an article by Ordnance Survey’s Charley Glynn from June, so it’s one I must have missed first time round. He points out that we have become accustomed to viewing maps with a light or white background, most likely due to the fact that the medium being used for distribution would be white paper. It just doesn’t make economic sense to coat a piece of paper with dark ink. The examples of ‘dark maps’ on the website are certainly different and challenge some of our traditional views of maps and as Charley contends “There is something cool, aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching about dark maps.” Check out the website to see if you agree.

Restless Earth

Our schools programme looks like setting a record this year. We have already run two workshops, in Penarth and Godalming, with another 15 to come during the academic year. Over 60 schools have now attended a workshop and we are hopefully convincing the next generation of the importance of geography and cartography. Speaking to teachers it would appear that the numbers of students taking geography is on the increase again and our workshops are certainly at capacity at every school we go to.

We rely primarily on BCS members and RGS Ambassadors to deliver these workshops and whilst we have a good team assembled, it would be nice to involve more of our membership. With venues ranging from the Lake District to Devon, there must be one near you, so if you could come along and help out on the day we would love to see you there. Please email me at Peter.Jones991@mod.uk
We have also just updated our flyer to include a map of schools we have visited so please check it out to see where future opportunities may be. Latest Restless Earth Flyer.

You heard it here first!

Over the last month the Programme Committee has reviewed potential venues and has decided on a location for the BCS Symposium 2014. Our 50th Symposium will be held between 24th and 26th June at the Marwell Hotel, near Winchester – yes, it is on the same site as the Zoo! 
Easily accessible from the M3, Winchester Station and close to Southampton Airport, the venue comes highly recommended by BCS Members who have organised events there including Ordnance Survey and Esri. The programme theme and call for papers will be published shortly so please keep an eye on the website for further details.

Seven Wonders of the Modern World

In answer to the question I posed at the top of this bulletin, the other six are the Channel Tunnel, the CN Tower, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Itaipu Dam and the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works.

Pete Jones MBE, CGeog, FRGS

31st October 2013

Email: Peter.Jones991@mod.uk

Twitter: @geomapnut

BCS Presidents Report July/August

Dear Members

I thought it would be a good idea to have one report that covered both July and August as, unsurprisingly, we only have one event in August which is the Map Curators meeting in Leeds, 29-30 August. So Map Curators if you haven’t signed up already please do so.

On 13 July I was invited to the British Library for the launch of the Earth Platinum Atlas produced by Millennium House in Australia. It is the largest atlas in the world and just 31 copies will be produced. If you’d like to take a look (or buy one for $1000,000?) check out some images.

On 19 July there was a UK GEOForum meeting in London. The Forum has representatives from 14 associations/societies in geography and mapping industries and is an excellent group facilitating discussions of matters of the moment within the industry and co-operative ventures with organisations like the AGI, RGS and GA.

Indeed, there was a Better Mapping II event in London on 26 July which was organised in co-operation with the AGI and kindly hosted by our ‘initialsakes’, the British Computer Society. No problem with attendees, even just the day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony in London, with all 45 places filled. My thanks must go to our speakers: Peter Jones, Mary Spence, and Clare Seldon. Clare works for Steer Davies Gleave who are very supportive of these events – thank you too.

So after the Map Curators meeting at the end of August, we have a Council meeting on 6 September in London, and we hope to have a stand at the AGI Conference, 19-20 September at The East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.

Then we have our first 2 day Restless Earth Schools Workshop in Penarth, 26-27 September. Looking further ahead still and to give you a ‘heads-up’, the GIS SIG will meet in London on 24 October at our ‘initialsakes’ offices and our AGM/Lecture/Dinner event will be at the RAF Club on 31 October starting at 1700.

Finally, on a personal note, some of you will be aware that I retired from Esri on 30 June after 15 years. I spent my first 5 years working for Esri UK and the remainder for Esri Inc in Redlands. You can’t be President of an organisation such as BCS without the full support of your employer and Esri in Redlands couldn’t have been more helpful. Closer to home, Esri UK are Corporate Members of BCS and sponsors of our Symposium so thank you too.

Let’s hope we have some more sunshine and we can all enjoy the August break.

Best Wishes

Peter Jolly
President of The British Cartographic Society

BCS President's Report May 2012

When I was thinking about what I could include in this report my first thought was that not a lot has happened in May but actually it’s been quite busy. BCS was represented at the GEOData event in Dublin on 1 May and this was noteworthy as we are thinking of running a BCS Better Mapping event there later in the year. It could be an important area for attracting new members.

Another successful Restless Earth Schools Workshop was held in Stoke-on-Trent on 9 May and some more of our members, who hadn’t been involved before, took part. We had a stand at the Esri UK one day Conference in London on 15 May and there was another GEOData event in Manchester on 17 of the month and on the 28^th  we had a UKCC meeting in London.

Recently I had a week in Redlands at the Esri HQ and Ken Field and Linda Beale very kindly hosted a party so that I could say ‘thank you’ to all my friends there who have helped me over the last 15 years – there are about 6 BCS members over there now. On Tuesday, 29^th I’m off to Dresden for the IMTA(EAME) Conference. There’ll be quite a few BCS members there too and, of course, the next ICA Conference is in Dresden in August 2013, our 50^th Anniversary year. We hope to share a stand there with Maney’s.

You’ll be interested to know that we are in the initial stages of re-branding BCS which we hope to have completed by the end of the year ready for 2013. Whatever happens it’s bound to be controversial, there’s bound to be lots of ‘huffing and puffing’ but we need to do it to help with our recruiting drive and give BCS a ‘fresh face’.

Our next big event is the BCS Symposium, 13-15 June. There is still time to book your place and I’m delighted to say that the numbers are up on last year. On Wednesday morning there will be a Restless Earth Workshop for schools in the area and the GIS SIG meets that afternoon. Just a further reminder, the exhibition opens at 5pm on Wednesday 13 June with a drinks reception and is followed by a talk from Claire Dobbin, Head Curator of London Transport Museum which promises to be fascinating. A very special ‘thank you’ to our Symposium sponsors for their support: Cadcorp, Esri UK, Leica Geosytems, Europa Technologies, Victoria Litho, Newgrove, Ordnance Survey, Star-Apic and Global Mapping.

After the Symposium there is a Better Mapping event in Leeds on 19 June and a Better Mapping 2 in London on 26 June followed by a BCS Council meeting in London on 28 June. This Council meeting will be preceded as usual by a Programme Committee meeting which this time will be focusing on the 2013 BCS 50^th Anniversary events. It’s only 7 months away.

Let’s hope this sunny weather continues.

Best Wishes

Peter Jolly

President of The British Cartographic Society

Guest Blog: From Kirkbie, Kendal to Sendai, Japan

Restless Earth Geography Workshop at Kirkbie Kendal School – Tuesday 21st February

On a dark, wet and wild morning the British Cartographic Society blew into Kirkbie Kendal School, Kendal. The recently broadcast drought in the Southeast of England seemed a distant memory as Cumbria delivered its famous rain!

During the Restless Earth workshop our GCSE pupils participated in a hazard mapping task based on the Japanese Tsunami 2011. They were able to work in groups each taking on a specific roles within the team; Humanitarian; Military; Search and rescue; Medical; Co-Ordinator roles.
The challenge was to use the maps to produce two hazard maps that would show where helicopters could land, where supplies could be delivered, which roads were accessible, the implication of the Fukushima nuclear power plant exclusion zone and where survivors could be taken.

The Restless Earth workshop enabled our pupils to actively engage with maps and use them for a purpose. It was inspirational to see our mixed ability pupils all engaging with contemporary content and exhibit a real sense of curiosity.

The current Ofsted Geography criteria states that an outstanding department must make , “…very effective use is made of ICT and Geographical Information Systems (where relevant) to promote learning and enable pupils to use data and information sources to search and select, organise and investigate and refine and present information skilfully and independently.” (www.ofsted.gov.uk , Jan 2012).

In the past this has often been difficult to meaningfully implement; the expensive nature of the software packages, difficultly accessing ICT in schools and linking it to the curriculum in a cohesive fashion rather than tacked on are often limiting factors. The BCS workshop allows departments deliver this element successfully.

The way in which the BCS workshop was planned and delivered allowed all our pupils to gain skills and in many cases has been a highlight of this academic year for pupils and staff. Pupil feedback included; “You can think about if you were in that situation what you would do. It also helps you take on a revision but in a different way.”
“I enjoyed solving the problem (e.g. where would the hospital go?) but it did get a little confusing as there were so many things to take in to consideration!!”
“I enjoyed learning more about maps and practising map skills. I also liked the way everyone had their own task to complete.”
“The teamwork, I really enjoyed looking at maps and feeling like we were actually planning it all.” Although we did have one pupil comment that it would have helped if the maps of Japan had not been in Japanese!

It was delightful to see different geography communities collide – the sharing of skills from the British Cartographic Society, the support of the Geographical Association ambassadors, Geography teachers being supported in embedding skills and the opportunity to see pupils engage with new concepts. It was genuinely an exciting experience and we hope that collaborations such as this continue to be an area supported by the BCS and the GA.

Fiona Derbyshire, Head of Geography, Kirkbie Kendal School

Find out more about The BCS Resltess Earth Workshops http://www.cartography.org.uk/schools

BCS President’s Report September 2011

As is usual September began with a flourish. 


The UKCC met in York on Monday 5 September. The main topics raised were: first, the ICC in Paris - David Forrest gave a report on the work of the General Assembly and all had an opportunity to comment on the organisation of the event.  The UK won 2 awards, Best Thematic Map – Ken Field and Best Educational Cartographic Product (Digital) – HarperCollins. Second, there were reports from Commission chairs and vice-chairs and lastly, there was an initial discussion on the UKCC Review. A draft paper has been circulated to Council for comment by 30 September prior to a second draft. In future, details of the UKCC’s work and ICA events, commission reports etc will be posted on the BCS website for all to see. Work on this has already begun.

The following day the Council also met at the same venue. This was a routine meeting covering membership and finance, the UKCC Review, Committee and SIG reports. There was also a discussion about having a lunchtime event for Fellows in the spring next year and that discussion is on-going.
On Wednesday the Map Curator’s Group met and I understand had a very successful meeting. My thanks go to Ann Sutherland, April Carlucci, Anne Taylor and Paula Williams for running and organising the event.

We, BCS, have a stand at the AGI Geocommunity ’11 conference in Nottingham 21-22 September. This will be another opportunity to encourage attendees to join BCS. Over the last 12 months membership has increased significantly, up to 657 compared with 615 at the same time last year and, as a result, in part, the financial position of the Society has strengthened. As well as new members from the UK we have new members from Chile, Nigeria, USA and Australia.

FREE attendance for Year 10s

On Monday, 26 September, the BCS team led by Peter Jones, will be presenting the ‘Restless Earth’ package to the year 10 students at Lampton School, Hounslow, in the morning and about 70 students from other schools in the area in the afternoon. It should be a great day.

The following day the UK GEOForum meets at Canary Wharf to discuss matters of mutual interest to the 15 member societies. These meetings are always useful as we can discuss and debate the common concerns.

Next, the cut-off date for submission of articles for the Winter edition of Maplines is 13 October so please make sure that if you have a contribution to make that Lynda Bailey and her team get the information and photographs etc on time. I should also tell you that Martin Lubikowski has taken over as the chairman of the Publications Committee. Our thanks go to Peter Collier for the work he did as Martin’s predecessor.

November 1 is an important date for your diary. There will be a curry lunch in the RAF Club followed by the GIS SIG. The SIG is open to everyone and is entitled, ‘GIS and Schematic Mapping’. These maps are particularly popular in the transport industry and at the end of the sessions we should know more about their uses, advantages and limitations so please do come and join in. There will also be a report of the recent ICC in Paris by David Forrest which again should be of interest to all. Then it will be time for the AGM at which the election results for Council for the coming year will be announced. Roger Hore will be sending out all the necessary paper work shortly. All booking details are on the BCS website.

So, a busy time for all but very worthwhile.

Best Wishes

Peter Jolly
BCS President

Guest Blog - Greetings from a sunny Paris

Following a very successful workshop on User Issues in Geospatial Public Transport Information on Friday & Saturday, the first part of the ICA General Assembly took place on Sunday. This is a somewhat drawn out affair, but necessary to go through the required business and allow national delegates from all the member countries to provide their input.

Voting does not take place at this first part of the GA – that takes place in the second session on Friday when the new president & executive will be elected, commissions voted and the location of the 2015 conference and general assembly decided. There are 2 bids for 2015 – Washington and Rio. The US presentation and brochure was more polished and more directly relevant; the Brazilian presentation and information focuses much more on the tourist appeal. Based on objective criteria, Washington wins hand down, but who wouldn’t want to go to Rio! Friday’s outcome will be interesting.

David Fairbairn

The other significant issue to report is that the UK had to withdraw the nomination of David Fairbairn as Secretary-General for a second four year term. David is very disappointed by this turn of events, but a new head of department made it clear he would get no support and would be expected to devote his time elsewhere. Given these circumstances there was no option but to withdraw. 

Fortunately a nomination has been received from Hungary as this is not a post that could be left unfilled.

Your National Delegate to ICC2011,

David Forrest PhD FBCart.S 

School of Geographical & Earth Sciences 

University of Glasgow

BCS Symposium 2011 - The Power of the Image DAY 2

Day 2 talks now available on the BCS website at Presentations

The first session - Speciality Mapping helped to highlight the research being carried out by not only universities but our very own Ordnance Survey as well, into non-visual or vision deficiency in location based products.

The imaginative ways highlighted really gave us something to think about how our maps are perceived by these users, and how we can integrate our mapping with these researched methods to assist users, and open up location navigation to a wider audience.

Workshop sessions then followed including Cartographic Surgery with Global Mapping, Understanding INSPIRE with AGI and RSW Geomatics, Making Sense of Statistics on Maps with Giles Darkes,  Create your own 3D city model without sticky-back plastic with Autodesk, and a Visit to Macclesfield Silk Museum.
A great lunch was sponsored by some of our supporting corporate members including Autodesk, Bentley, Cadcorp, ESRI, Europa Technologies, Ordnance Survey, Victoria Litho, GISPro, Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson, STAR-APIC, Global Mapping, Newgrove Consultants and Steer Davies Gleave.

At 2pm the second talks session of the day started endeavouring to answer Where are we now?.
Both Europa Technologies and Steer Davies Gleave presented slides to provoke us in thinking about the new open data available and how we can use it to create cartographic products for our users. Encouraging more integration with media files and new technology was a key theme. Dr David Fairbairn, from ICA, then summarised how the ICA have developed commissions and workshops to carry out research work and indicated concrete results from the efforts of cartographers around the world in advancing the discipline.

A busy day of lectures and workshops was then concluded with The Helen Wallis lecture, this year given by Peter Barber (Head of British Library Map Collections, and curator of the British Library's fascinating exhibition Magnificent Maps) on The Map as Symbol.
From depictions on coins and medals right through to grand world maps in royal palaces, a map has appeared on objects from very early beginnings to act a status symbol - just take a look at the size of  Charles II's The Klencke Atlas opposite. Pictured here with Peter.

Curator of Magnificent Maps - Power, Propaganda and Art

Reaching out to Schools

After some fantastic comments from the participants that came to the workshop in 2010, the BCS are running the Schools Workshop on the Wednesday morning of the next BCS Symposium in June for Year 10 students.

Restless Earth - Mapping Natural Disasters - FREE Workshop for Year 10 Students on Wednesday 8th June 2011
For more info and to apply for places : http://www.cartography.org.uk/schools
Parkside School attended in 2010 - see their write up here

With mapping becoming a part of everyday life, we should be encouraging the next generation to use it in more useful ways and showing them how beneficial such resources can be. The 2010 workshop focussed on the Haiti Earthquake Disaster and unfortunately with more flooding, and extreme weather events occurring all over the world then these natural disasters require more and more resources and sometimes in even more remote locations.
Check out this link and pan around  to see how comparison between past and present imagery is being used to see the devastating effect of the Queensland floods http://www.nearmap.com/?ll=-27.472769,153.001559&z=21&t=k&nmd=20110113