May 2025
May 30th: There are rivers in the sky, Elif Sharak
During the half term break I once again enjoyed lots of reading time and treated myself to Elif Shafak’s latest novel titled ‘There are Rivers in the Sky’. Having adored her previous book (and, as shared here, having found her writing about maps particularly thought-provoking), I was intrigued by the premise of this book that, as described on the blurb, ‘spans centuries and continents to tell the story of one lost poem, two great rivers and three remarkable lives- all connected by a single drop of water.’
Whilst prepared for a captivating narrative and masterful storytelling, the rich geographical thread interwoven throughout the book took me by surprise and only added to my 5-star rating! In addition, I couldn’t help but think of curriculum design and the quest for ‘curriculum-utopia’ as I devoured the pages of a story where different cultures and times are expertly united through the journey of a single raindrop.
First, the geography. The book follows a single drop of water working its way through the water cycle over hundreds of years and, periodically, results in paragraphs like these to describe this journey:
‘Dangling from the edge of the storm cloud is a single drop of rain- no bigger than a bean and lighter than a chickpea. For a while it quivers precariously- small, spherical, and scared. How frightening it is to observe the earth below opening like a lonely lotus flower. Not that this will be the first time: it has made the journey before- ascending to the sky, descending to terra firma and rising heavenwards again -and yet it still finds the fall terrifying. Remember that drop, inconsequential though it may be compared with the magnitude of the universe. Inside its miniature orb, it holds the secret of infinity, a story uniquely on its own. When it finally musters the courage, it leaps into the ether. It is failing now- faster, faster. Gravity always helps. From a height of 3080 feet it races down. Only three minutes until it reaches the ground.’ (p.5)
‘This tear, water from her own body, containing a trace of her DNA, was a snowflake once upon a time or a wisp of steam, perhaps here or many kilometres away, repeatedly mutating from liquid to solid to vapour back again, yet retaining its molecular essence. It remained hidden under the fossil-filled earth for tens if not thousands of years, climbed up to the skies and returned to earth in mist, fog, monsoon or hailstorm, perpetually displaced and relocated. Water is the consummate immigrant, trapped in transit, never able to settle.’ (p.78)
As I read, I was left pondering whether I should / could make the space to include more rich, descriptive writing into our curriculum. Whilst I’ve long been an advocate of using books in the classroom, these have rarely been fiction books. It’s something I’m going to explore but will want to ensure it’s done in a meaningful and purposeful way… watch this space…
So, why did I repeatedly think of curriculum whilst enjoying a fiction novel? Well, admittedly, the crafting of the ‘perfect’ KS3 geography curriculum is never far from my thoughts but as I read this book, I couldn’t help but find the similarities between Shafak’s approach to this book and what we seek to do in our curriculums.
The links made throughout the book really add to the narrative and thus your enjoyment of the book. Importantly, the links are regular, purposeful and genuine. More often than not, they are made explicit by the author meaning that they cannot go unnoticed or taken for granted. For example, at one point, the young boy sees a (influential) book in a different context. Shafak makes the significance of this clear to the reader by comparing the reappearance of the book to ‘a meandering river that winds its way alongside along and reappears just when he thought it had dried up’. This made me think of the links we draw between elements of our curriculum. Isn’t this what we try to do when we revisit and interweave knowledge and concepts? Don’t we aim for the knowledge to reappear just when it was at risk of being forgotten? Isn’t a good curriculum one where the links are regular, purposeful and genuine, just as they are in this book?
As is hopefully clear, having treated myself to this fictional novel, it ended up giving my lots of food for thought with regards to both the water cycle and curriculum whilst also being a 5-star read. I’d recommend it to all- geographers and non-geographers alike!
18th May: Is a river alive?
‘Our fate flows with rivers and always has’
As my Twitter feed suggests, recently I’ve been (once again) tweaking our rivers teaching at KS3. As I do so, I find myself refining definitions, tweaking the resources used, and being more explicit in my teaching than ever before. It was timely therefore to have a long train journey ahead with which to listen to the 5 episodes of ‘Is A River Alive?’ By Robert Macfarlane available for free on BBC Sounds.
These are an excellent listen and incredibly thought-provoking. Whilst I encourage everyone to find the time to listen to this short series, Episode 1 and 2 are those that I’ll be sharing with teachers within our Trust as a must listen!
Notes, thoughts and reflections from Episode 1:
The episode starts with a big idea: if we agree/ accept / confirm that a river is alive, then this is an idea that changes the world.
Macfarlane suggests that most of us, as young children, know a river to be alive; we are explorers who see a river teeming with life and yet as we entered adulthood, we forget this, or it is slowly ‘deleted’ from within us.
Macfarlane suggests that if we find it hard to picture a river as alive, then we should first try picturing a dying or dead river. At this suggestion, I found myself nodding along: Macfarlane is right that this much easier to do. I quickly picture dead fish lying belly up, riverbanks covered in plastic and other waste and I am reminded of the stench of sewage that I’ve sometimes experienced at the River Chess.
Every river in England and Wales is now slowly dying.
In our culture and the way we talk and think about rivers they have become one-dimensional flows of water; stripped of their spirit and reduced to imitate brut matter.
Rivers are seen as service providers. We take it for granted that fresh water can be owned, privatisation and sold: reduce to a liquid asset. We’ve lost our love language for rivers.
In English, we ‘it’ the natural landscape- we ‘it’ rivers, tree, mountains, oceans. A mood of address this reduces them to the status of ‘stuff’ and distinguishes them from human persons.
What would change if we all referred to rivers ‘who’ flow? And forests ‘who’ grow?
Macfarlane explains shifting baseline syndrome but then goes on to explain how this can work in reverse- and we might call this ‘lifting baseline syndrome’.
If given a chance, rivers heal themselves with remarkable speed.
Around the world there are acts and proposals to give rivers rights and to recognise them as a legal person. The rights of a river include the right to flow unpolluted and undammed to the sea.
Notes, thoughts and reflections from Episode 2:
Los Cedros Forest is discussed as an example of geography of hope – it would make an excellent case study for exploring hopeful geography.
This episode focuses on the Los Cedros forest in Ecuador where the River of the Cedars flows. A landmark judgement in 2008 protected this forest and recognised its rights- resulting in the rejection of advances by mining companies to exploit the resources this forest.
Listening to this episode reminded me of my recent curriculum thinking around geographies of hope as a thread through our curriculum (more on that elsewhere), inspired by the work of David Alcock and the recent TES article by Mark Enser.
Cloud forests- form at higher altitudes than rainforests
Typically between 3000 and 8000ft above sea level
So, they are cooler than rainforests- altitude and coolness co-create the cloud (the mist that cloaks such forests year-round).
Rivers and cloud forest cannot be separated for each authors the other.
A cloud forest is a river maker owing to the condensation that rolls and drips from the leaves of the flora to the forest floor.
This gentle, constant run-off is known as fog drop- it allows cloud forests to maintain the flow of their streams and rivers even in dry periods. So, they cannot be separated.
Amongst the most biodiverse habitats in the world.
Less than half of 1% of the earth’s land surface, they are home to ~15% of known species.
Cloud forests of the Tropical Andes = most diverse. But, being lost to logging, farming, building and mining
Notes, thoughts and reflections from Episode 3, 4 & 5
Episode 3 starts with facts and figures on the disastrous state of the rivers in Chennai, India.
Macfarlane details the impact of draining the floodplain for building and the resultant brutal cycle of flood and drought that the city is locked into. Brings the most harm to the city’s poorest.
The mains water is switched off in parts of the city from April to July- affecting the poorest the most.
But then the winter sees excess water with incredible destructive power
In the 2015 floods, hundreds of people drowned, millions were flooded.
As in Episode 2, this is a fascinating case study of a river and the impact it has on wide-ranging communities.
Fascinating discussion of how, and why, the existence of a creek in Chennai was ignored in a coastal zone management plan map and the ‘no river, no problem’ attitude of the local government.
An excellent example of the interdependence / interconnections at the heart of geography- the impact of mapping / the physical landscape on government and management which then fundamentally impacts the lives of people.
Episode 4 and 5 provide 2 further case studies of the power of a river being recognised as alive.
In the context of hydroelectric power in Quebec, Macfarlane describes reservoirs as the graves of rivers.
Discusses the impact of hydroelectric power in Quebec and the reservoirs necessary for this power. Interdependence / interconnections at the heart of geography- the impact of governance and management on the lives of people.
So, having listened to these episodes, I am left with plenty of food for thought about how we teach and engage with rivers both in the classroom and on fieldwork, some new subject knowledge about cloud forests and plenty of case studies to explore further. Oh, and yet another book to add to my list…