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  6. BI25FB: The Living Landscape

BI25FB: THE LIVING LANDSCAPE (2024-2025)

Last modified: 20 Jun 2025 15:06


Course Overview

‘The Living Landscape’ is a field course (7 days) based at Strathdon, Scotland. The intention is to enhance students’ understanding of living component of the environment at a meaningful scale. ‘The Living Landscape’ is intended to help students to understand species distributions in a wider geographical and historical context. We believe that, in observing and interpreting the ‘big picture’, students will gain a better appreciation of the past, present and possible future of a living environment.

Dates for 2024/25: 31/5/25 - 6/6/25

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 2
Term Second Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Martin Barker

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The structure of the course is as follows. (Note that for each day’s activities ‘Capturing your investigation’ involves making field notes and having formative discussions with peers and staff):

Day 1: The landscape as a concept:

  1. Field work safety. Group work, Observing and recording.
  2. Understanding the landscape: clues.
  3. Project 1: investigate a simple idea involving the living landscape. This exercise focuses on students’ ability to observe, interpret and explain phenomena in the landscape. We encourage a ‘forensic’ approach to observations, in which ‘clues’ are used as a starting point for further enquiry. The influence of light, water, nutrients, slope, wind. Evidence of animals (including browsing, tracks, scat). ‘Reading’ a tree.
  4. Capturing your investigation.

Day 2: Identifying components of the landscape:

  1. Reading the living landscape: clues.
  2. Identifying defining species and other components:
    a. Birds, mammals, invertebrates.
    b. Plants, fungi, lichen, mosses.
    c. Soil.
  3. Project 2: investigate a simple idea involving identification. Options could include creating: simple identification key, checklist of species, National Vegetation Classification (NVC) assessment, soil classification. Identifying ‘natural’ vs. ‘managed’ aspects of the landscape. Use of indicator species.
  4. Capturing your investigation.

Day 3: The spatial dimension:

  1. Mapping the landscape.
  2. Exploring gradients in the landscape: slopes, ecotones.
  3. Project 3: investigate a simple idea involving space. Examples could include investigations of: critical zone in vertical profile, patchy distributions of living material and the physical environment, slope gradients and associated distributions of biotic and abiotic elements, effects of aspect, sun and shade, mapping (biotic and/or abiotic elements). Size and shape of parcels of land.
  4. Capturing your investigation.

Day 4: The temporal dimension:

  1. The changing landscape: past, present and future.
  2. Project 4: investigate a simple idea involving time. Examples could include investigations involving: succession, recovery after disturbance, phenology. Estimating growth rates (e.g., lichens, trees).
  3. Capturing your investigation.

Day 5. Project day:

  1. Individual/group projects based on Days 1—4.
  2. Formative exercises in observing, recording, presenting and interpreting chosen topic.

Day 6: Project presentations:

  1. Morning: preparations.
  2. Afternoon: presentations.

Associated Costs

DescriptionValue
Students are required to contribute to the cost of accommodation and transport.120.0000

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 21st September 2026 for Term 1 and Full Year courses and 8th January 2027 for Term 2 courses.

Summative Assessments

Field Trip Log

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 60
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Field trip log:
-submitted up to one week after the end of the course.
-written feedback given within 2 weeks of submission.

Field trip log (60%). Observations and interpretations from the course captured in a field note book.
Criteria for this assessment will be:

  1. Clarity, accessibility (20%)
  2. Information capture (20%)
  3. Authenticity, reflection (20%)
  4. Quality of science (20%)
  5. Enquiry and development (20%)
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseTo make a basic and meaningful interpretation of a landscape.
ConceptualAnalyseTo identify key elements of a landscape.
ProceduralApplyTo work effectively with others during fieldwork and in follow-up work.
ProceduralCreateTo capture fieldwork observations and interpretations of the landscape in a field notebook.
ProceduralRememberTo work safely and effectively in fieldwork.

Group/Individual presentations

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Group/Individual presentations (40%). Short (10 min) oral presentation to class, with Q&A

-verbal feedback in class
-written feedback given within 2 weeks of the end of the course.

Criteria for this assessment will be:

  1. Relevant, important theme (20%)
  2. Clarity, structure, coherence (20%)
  3. Breadth of science.
  4. Depth of science.
  5. Delivery, flow, engagement.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseTo make a basic and meaningful interpretation of a landscape.
ConceptualAnalyseTo explain an investigation of the landscape in a class presentation.
ConceptualAnalyseTo identify key elements of a landscape.
ProceduralApplyTo work effectively with others during fieldwork and in follow-up work.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Resubmission of failed elements

Assessment Type Summative Weighting
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Resit failed element, grade from a passed element will be carried forward.

If resitting presentation: it will be an individual presentation (unless others in group are doing resit). On campus (synchronous) and/or recorded submission (asynchronous).

Written feedback given within 2 weeks of the resit.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseTo identify key elements of a landscape.
ConceptualAnalyseTo make a basic and meaningful interpretation of a landscape.
ConceptualAnalyseTo explain an investigation of the landscape in a class presentation.
ProceduralApplyTo work effectively with others during fieldwork and in follow-up work.
ProceduralRememberTo work safely and effectively in fieldwork.
ProceduralCreateTo capture fieldwork observations and interpretations of the landscape in a field notebook.
 

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