Our upcoming events include the latest education webinar on Teaching Geospatial Analysis, and Inspiring People talks, and you can catch up with some great articles on our online blog. Plus we share RSGS Medallists and Fellows so far in 2024.
Education Webinar: Teaching Geospatial Analysis
Join us for our fourth webinar in the series on aspects of educational reform. This webinar will consider the skills, implications, applications and job opportunities in the increasing use of geospatial technology. With speakers including Bruce Gittings from the University of Edinburgh, and Ashley Stewart from Location Data Scotland and Optimat.
How do you capture images of a place that is already so well photographed as Scotland? Award-winning landscape and aerial photographer Shahbaz Majeed, whose images have been displayed all over the world, including on Scottish banknotes, takes us on a spectacular visual journey to show Scotland from a different perspective. From well-known locations to magical spots that have to be sought out, he presents a wide selection of images whilst sharing some of the memorable tales behind his work.
In Two Weeks Mark Evans Kirkcaldy (18th March), Edinburgh (20th March- afternoon) and Glasgow (20th March- evening)
Mark Evans shares the story of Harry St John Philby’s pioneering 1917 journey across Arabia, and his own recent Heart of Arabia expedition with Philby’s Saudi Arabian granddaughter, retracing Philby’s footsteps from east to west across Arabia, on foot, by camel and by 4x4.
Earlier this year, HRH The Princess Royal conferred RSGS Honorary Fellowships on Elaine Blaxter (top left), Senior Librarian at the University of Strathclyde’s Andersonian Library; Thomas MacDonell (top right), former Director of Conservation for Wildland at Glenfeshie Estate in the Cairngorms; Dr Vanessa Collingridge (bottom left), award-winning broadcaster, best-selling author, prize-winning academic and leadership coach; and Nick Millea (bottom right), Map Librarian at the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
RSGS Medals and Fellowships
We were delighted to present several more awards recently including:
The RSGS Geddes Environment Medal to Elizabeth Mrema (left) for championing environmental conservation, and for her dedication to supporting our natural world. Since 2023, Elizabeth Mrema has been Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and she was the Executive Secretary of the much-lauded Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Montreal in 2022.
RSGS Honorary Fellowship to adventurer Sue Stockdale at her Inspiring People talk in Galashiels, in recognition of her achievements in exploration and her commitment to inspire others. For over 30 years Sue Stockdale has travelled across the world on her adventures, bringing back stories to inspire people to be curious, explore the world, connect with others and maximise their potential.
RSGS Honorary Fellowship to David Langworth for his invaluable contributions to the RSGS Borders Group for many years. A retired cartographer with a keen love of the world, David held the role of Chair of the Borders Group for over 15 years, hosting, presenting and promoting speakers for the Inspiring People talks programme.
Blog Update
We continue to make weekly additions to our blog, covering a range of interesting topics and news about our work. Recent posts include:
Archibald Menzies and the tree that would puzzle a monkey. The monkey puzzle tree thrives on the volcanic slopes of the Andes. A C19th horticulturist commented that its strangely spiked branches were “enough to puzzle a monkey,” and the name stuck. But the name of the man who brought this tree to Britain is not quite so well remembered.
All 28 eggs in one COP basket. A global problem like climate change needs a global solution and global agreement; it needs everybody pulling in roughly the same direction. The COP process has always been glacially slow and to some degree flawed, but it’s the only process we have, and we have come to over-expect and over-rely on it.
Freya Stark, RSGS Mungo Park Medallist 1935. Freya Stark was only four years old when she ran away from home. With careful forethought, she packed a mackintosh, a toothbrush and a couple of pennies before setting off in the direction of Plymouth.
