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Promoting geodiversity awareness and understanding
One of the greatest threats to Norfolk's geodiversity is a lack of understanding of its importance as a fundamental resource. We need to promote public awareness of our Earth heritage as widely as possible.
This work involves publishing information about Norfolk’s geodiversity, the Action Plan and other initiatives for geodiversity. It includes educational work and tourism focused on Norfolk’s Earth heritage, and also contributes to regional action for geodiversity.
'Breaking New Ground'
This HLF-funded Landscape Partnership programme is spending £2.2 million on landscape and heritage projects in the Brecks region of Norfolk and Suffolk. The NGP is contributing four projects:
The Brecks Earth Heritage Trail
Introducing people to the wealth of geodiversity features in the Brecks through an informal network of 18 publicly-accessible points of interest, supported by Web information, a publicity leaflet, EPUB book and hard-copy print-outs, and downloadable smartphone apps.
‘Upon this Rock’ Church Stones in the Brecks Day School
Church building stones in the Brecks are a sample of locally available geological materials, whether indigenous flint, chalk clunch, far-travelled ‘erratic’ rocks brought to the area during the Ice Age, or local brickearth. This Day School will communicate the geological heritage dimension present in churches and church yards in the area to BNG project participants, also to local people and visitors. It will support related BNG projects.
‘Geological Landscapes – the Brecks for Land Managers’ Workshop & Day School
The geodiversity of the Brecks is easily overlooked. However the character of the area’s landscape is dependent on its distinctive but poorly understood Earth heritage. The guardians of this heritage and their advisers are the people whose daily business shapes the Brecks.
This Workshop & Day School will enable land managers, advisers and ecological consultants to read and understand the basic elements of geodiversity on their land, and in doing so enable them to value and appropriately to conserve such features. It will take the form of introductory presentations and workshop discussions followed by field visits to examples of land management benefiting geodiversity.
‘Communicating the Ice Age Brecks’ Day Schools
The geodiversity of the Brecks underpins many of the area’s rich heritage of landscape, biodiversity and cultural features. This sequence of three Day Schools will communicate the Ice Age heritage of the area (its landforms, geology, Palaeolithic archaeology, fossil biodiversity) to BNG project participants, also to local people and visitors.
Find out more about other 'Breaking New Ground' projects here.
Trails
Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail, Norwich
The Trail introduces the geological history of the Heath and over two centuries of quarrying, and links with biodiversity. 18 points of interest are waymarked with 12 numbered posts, and a colour leaflet and 25 web pages have been published. The points of interest can be visited in any order.
Click here to go to the Norwich City Council's web pages for the Trail.
Download a web version of the Trail leaflet by clicking the blue arrow icon below.
Click here to go to the Norwich City Council's web pages for the Trail.
Download a web version of the Trail leaflet by clicking the PDF icon below.
Download an article from 'Earth Heritage' magazine (42, Summer 2014) by clicking on the PDF icon below.
Education
Norfolk has many sites where fieldwork related to the Geography and Science curriculums can be carried out. Evidence for coastal processes, lowland glaciation and climate change are particularly well represented.
Please contact us for more information about resources to develop your teaching.
Places to Visit
Click here to visit the interactive Geo-East map to discover a wealth of interesting geological sites and landscape features in Norfolk and nearby counties. Also, a list of interesting Chalk sites to discover in Norfolk.
Publications
In 2010, the NGP published 'Norfolk's Earth Heritage - Valuing our geodiversity'. This is a landmark publication (74 pages with many colour photos), giving a summary of the county's Earth heritage and explaining the need to conserve it. Follow the embedded link to buy a copy or download a PDF version.
Events
NGP partners have helped organise events as part of Geo-East's Chalk East project work, explaining the importance of the Cretaceous Chalk to the region's landscape, economy and culture.
In 2009 and 2010 the Geological Society of Norfolk and the Norfolk Museum Service teamed up to run two chalk awareness events at The Forum, Norwich.
Explaining chalk fossils at The Forum, June 2009.
Photo Tim Holt-Wilson
Firing the kiln at Whitlingham (day two), Sept 2010.
Photo Russell Yeomans
In 2010, the Geological Society of Norfolk teamed up with the Whitlingham Trust and the Natural Building Company to stage a lime burning demonstration, a walk and lecture at Whitlingham Country Park. This is a historic chalk quarrying and lime burning area. Download a lime burning factsheet and an event report by clicking on the PDF links below.
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