Lesson video

Hello geographers.

My name's Mrs. Hormigo.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today.

I hope you're going to enjoy the lesson and learn lots.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson looks at economic activities in upland glaciated environments, what they're suited to and the impacts that they have.

And by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain these economic activities that occur in glaciated, upland areas and their impacts.

There are four key words for today's lesson, economic quarrying, forestry and biodiversity.

Economic are activities relating to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Quarrying is the process of extracting stone or other materials from a quarry.

Forestry is the science and practise of planting, managing and caring for forests and biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in a particular habitat.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

The first learning cycle looks at economic activities in glaciated areas, and the second considers the impacts of economic activities.

Let's get started with our first learning cycle.

Glaciated upland areas are landscapes shaped by glaciers during the last Ice Age.

In the UK, this includes the lake district, Snowdonia, and the Scottish highlands.

Glaciated uplands are characterised by steep slopes, rocky terrain, and thin acidic soils.

And these characteristics influence the type of activities that can take place.

Economic activities refer to the ways in which people generate an income and sustain livelihoods.

Looking at these two images of upland glaciated environments, what economic activities might occur here? Pause the video and have a discussion with the person next to you or as a class.

You might have noticed in the image on the left there are some sheep.

Sheep farming is quite common in upland areas and in the right hand image people skiing.

So tourism, well done.

Now looking at this extract of an OS map, can you identify any economic activities taking place in this area of Eryri National Park? You may have used the symbols to help you to identify Snowden Mountain Railway, which takes tourists to the summit of Mount Snowden and the visitor centre found there, which provides facilities for tourists to use.

Well done.

So the main economic activities in glaciated upland areas include tourism, farming, quarrying and forestry.

Quick true or false for you here, the climate relief and poor soils of glaciated upland environments mean they are too harsh for any economic activities.

Is that true or false and why? Pause the video and have a think.

Come back when you are ready.

You should have said false and your answer or your reason why might have looked something like this.

The steep slopes, rocky terrain and poor soil quality and sometimes harsh climate influence the type of economic activity, but they don't prevent it.

Well done, let's move on.

So tourism, the unique landscapes, the natural features and the outdoor recreation opportunities attract tourists and help to boost local economies.

You've got two images here, one of Lake Windermere in the Lake District showing an example of a boat trip, an activity that's aimed at tourists and Mount Snowden with a visitor centre at the summit.

Farming is primarily livestock farming, sheep farming as the terrain, soil and climate limit crop production.

Forestry, the steep inaccessible land can be used for timber production and woodland management and quarrying extracting valuable materials such as slate and granite for construction and industrial purposes.

Check for you now, which of these images represent economic activities that are commonly found in glaciated upland areas? Pause the video and make your decision.

You probably chose A and B.

A showing an example of tourism and B, quarrying.

first task for you now, can you complete this table listing A, the economic activities in glaciated upland areas, and B, the resources each activity relies upon.

Pause the video and come back when you've had a go at completing your table.

Your table might look something like this.

The economic activity tourism relies on natural and unique landscapes to attract people to the area.

Farming relies on land for grazing sheep mainly, forestry relies on timber resources and using that steep, inaccessible land for good purpose.

And quarrying relies on extracting rock and mineral deposits.

Well done if you had something similar.

Moving now to our second learning cycle.

What are the impacts of economic activities? There are both positive and negative impacts to all the economic activities in glaciated upland areas.

So all four of the main activities have positive and negative impacts.

Let's start with tourism.

It's a major economic activity.

Can you see any evidence in the OS map extract or the photo below to show that tourism is taking place? Pause the video and have a quick chat.

You might have noticed a car park or footpaths, well done.

So let's think about the economic benefits of tourism.

It provides employment.

People might work in the accommodation or hospitality or retail sector, providing for people visiting the area.

It promotes the conservation of unique landscapes.

In order to continue to attract people to the area, they need to protect and preserve the special environments that people want to see.

It requires investment in transport services that benefits tourists, but also local people and local businesses.

It promotes a greater awareness and protection of not just the natural landscape, but also the cultural and historical attractions and it supports the economy of the local area.

So it provides spending from tourists going into local businesses.

Now let's think about the negative impacts of tourism.

Footpath erosion.

Too many people trying to walk up the iconic mountain footpaths damages the fragile landscapes and increased traffic causes air pollution and congestion on some of the very narrow roads potentially found in these areas, which has an impact on the environment and local people and disturbance to wildlife, huge visitor numbers, people walking and cars has an impact on ecosystems. True or false now for you, tourism only contributes positively to glaciated upland areas.

Make your decision and think of a reason why.

Come back when you're ready.

I hope you said false and the reason you gave may have been similar to this.

Tourism can have negative impacts on the environment and people in the area, for example, increased congestion, footpath erosion and disturbance of wildlife.

Well done.

Farming in glaciated upland areas is often limited by poor soil quality and steep terrain, makes it very difficult for arable farming to take place.

Sheep farming is very common and this shows an example of the Herdwick sheep in the Lake District.

Arable farming, although difficult, is possible in the valleys and this is because the soils are more fertile and they're deeper because of glacial deposition, they're more sheltered from some of the harsher weather.

The rivers provide a reliable source of water and as the land is flatter and more accessible, it's easier to cultivate and to manage.

Farming produces food and resources such as lamb and wool.

It also supports local traditions and rural livelihoods but it also offers diversification opportunities.

So different ways to use their farms or their farmland to make money.

For example, people might provide farm stays, turn some of the fields or the areas into campsites and have local produce sales.

The negative impacts of farming, overgrazing, soil erosion and loss of vegetation because too many sheep are found in an area or for too long a period of time, biodiversity can be reduced.

The plant and animal species may be limited in grazed areas and agricultural runoff may pollute nearby rivers and lakes affecting food chains or ecosystems further afield.

Forestry is where trees are grown for timber production, which provides jobs and resources.

And this shows an area of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in Scotland where large areas are used for forestry.

The benefits to this is that timber production is providing coniferous trees that can be used in construction, paper and furniture.

For recreational purposes, it encourages the development of walking trails, cycle paths, and adventure parks in managed forests, which attracts tourists, which can support the local economy, and it provides a renewable fuel source.

Using wood for biomass energy is a much better way of producing energy.

However, the negative impacts of forestry are planting monocultures.

So by growing just one species of tree, you're going to reduce the biodiversity that would've been found in the natural ecosystem.

Deforestation has huge impacts.

We can increase soil erosion and water runoff, which has knock on effects and large scale plantations, which are not natural to that area.

Also, the landscapes and can disrupt ecosystems, affecting habitats and food supply.

So glaciated upland areas are made up of hard resistant rock that can be quarried and crushed for use in the construction industry.

There's three examples here of a slate quarry in Snowdonia, a limestone quarry in North Yorkshire, and an example of gravel and sand being extracted from glacial deposits.

By quarrying in these different ways in glaciated areas, we are providing raw materials for construction and infrastructure projects, which is essential for those industries.

It also provides employment in mining, transportation and processing, and it supports local and national economies through exports generating income.

Some historical quarries are recognised as UNESCO World Health Heritage sites, which attracts tourists and funding.

However, the negative impacts of quarrying can be quite severe.

The damage to the landscape will destroy habitat, so removing the vegetation and then extracting into the rock can cause huge disruption.

Noise and dust pollution can affect nearby communities, so local people as well as tourists and wildlife and heavy lorries transporting materials has huge impact on road damage and traffic issues and quarries, once they've finish being used, can be quite a scar on the landscape.

Here's a check for you now, can you decide which of these impacts of economic activities in glaciated upland areas are positive and which are negative? Pause the video, read them through and come back when you've made your decisions.

Hopefully your table looks something like this.

Noise, dust and dust pollution from quarrying is a negative impact.

Pollution of rivers due to agricultural runoff is a negative impact.

Providing raw materials for businesses is however positive.

Deforestation has a negative impact, as does loss of biodiversity, but creation of jobs is a positive impact and forestry provides renewable energy and tourism promotes the conservation of natural landscapes.

We must always consider the balance between the positive and the negative impacts.

Task B for you now, can you explain the impact of one economic activity in glaciated upland areas? So choose one of the four that we've looked at and explain the impact.

Alex has a good point here.

I must consider positive and negative impact in my answer.

That's important because it doesn't specify which one to focus on.

Pause the video and have a go.

Your answer for this might include tourism in glaciated upland areas provide significant economic benefits by creating jobs and generating income for local businesses.

It encourages conservation of the environment as the unique landscape and natural environment attracts the tourists.

However, it can lead to environmental damage such as footpath erosion, litter and wildlife disturbance, as well as traffic congestion and increased air pollution.

So you can see in that answer we've chosen tourism as our economic activity and there's balance to the answer.

There are some positive and some negative impacts, well done with yours.

I'm sure it was as good as this, if not better.

Summary now for you.

Glaciated upland areas are characterised by steep slopes, rocky terrain, thin soils, which influence the type of activities that can take place.

But remember, it doesn't prevent them.

Tourism, farming, quarrying and forestry are the main economic activities in these areas and these activities are all essential for the economy of these areas, providing jobs, supporting traditions, and generating income by using the natural resources and landscapes, however, they can have negative impacts on people and the environment.

Well done, I hope you now feel more confident in the type of economic activities we find in glaciated upland areas and both the positive and negative impacts they can have.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.