Coastal Processes and Landforms: Teachers Notes

This is the one of three programmes produced by Pumpkin Interactive about coasts and coastal management. This programme is concerned with coastal pro-cesses and landforms found along the south Devon and Dorset coast. The other two are concerned with different aspects of coastal management;

· ‘Sustainable Coastal Management: Case Study Holderness’ addresses physical coastal protection

· ‘Managing the Dorset Coast’ looks at tourist pressures at Studland. Each of the three will suit GCSE and post-16 Geography courses, including AS, A2, Scottish Highers, IB and Pre-U.

This programme focuses upon a number of locations, including Hallsands in south Devon and the Purbeck coast in Dorset. Each is a stretch of coast from which come many examples of classic coastal study; Hallsands represents a coast under pressure from erosion, whist the Purbeck coast contains classic coastal geomorphology at Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Some comparative visits are made to Holderness so that students are able to compare processes at different locations. The question for each location is how far the coast can be managed effectively and sustainably.

The programme deals with the following aspects of coastal study:· The village of Hallsands, where erosion has presented the community with

dramatic consequences of erosion· Waves, and why wave study is critical to the study of coasts. Students are

introduced to a surfer, Windy Miller, as they see how wave study allows him to enjoy his sport.

· Erosion processes and landforms which draw upon coastal processes and the landforms produced in Devon, Holderness and Purbeck. This includes some brief material on Holderness, where cliff erosion is extreme.

· Deposition landforms from Sandbanks at Poole, in Dorset. · Managing a changing coastline, which takes students to the Slapton area

of south Devon, a few kilometres north of Hallsands. How should coasts be managed, and how far can coastal management be sustainable?

Teachers’ notes

There are three Teachers’ Guidance Sheets, providing guidance and back-ground information about:

· Using video resources in classrooms· The south Devon Coast and Jurassic Coast in Dorset, the background, and

issues that each faces. · Links between this programme and GCSE, AS and A2 specifications.

Teachers will find it especially helpful to read the background information about the coast (Teacher Guidance Page 2), which provides a geographical background to Dorset’s Jurassic Coast as well as the coast of South Devon. The notes will as-sist teachers in handling some of the follow-up activities.

The aims of the programme and its follow-up exercises are that students should:

· know about the location of these stretches of coast, and about their signi-ficance in terms of coastal processes and landforms;

· understand the link between geology, wave processes and landforms, as well as the nature of challenges presented by coastal erosion and by what means coasts should be managed;

· develop skills in analysing the impacts of erosion upon the coast; · be able to judge whether or not coasts need protection from erosion.

There are eight Resource Pages, numbered 1-8, and each indicates whether they are intended for teachers or students.

Bob Digby, Pumpkin InteractiveSeptember 2012

Contents

A Teacher Guidance:

Teachers’ Guidance 1 Using this DVD for active learning · This consists of ideas to help students learn effectively while watching the

programme. Teachers’ Guidance 2 Background to the south Devon and Dorset Coast

· This provides background information about the Jurassic coast and Stud-land.

Teachers’ Guidance 3 Exam course specification links · This shows how the programme matches different pre- and post-16 spe-

cifications.

B Resource Pages:

Teacher Resource Page 1 Why can’t Mary find her grandmother’s house?

• A mystery to help set the scene – an activity to be used before showing the programme.

Student Resource Page 2 Outline map of the South Devon and Dorset coast

• A map for use in teaching about the area and identifying key locations Student Resource Page 3 Notes from the programme

· A framework for student notes on the programme Student Resource Page 4 Knowing key terms from the programme

· Knowing the key terms · Odd one out

Student Resource Page 5 Understanding the programme · Understanding key terms and processes from the programme

Student Resource Page 6 Understanding wave power!· Understanding how waves break, and recognising wave features

Student Resource Page 7 How does the sea erode cliffs?· Flow charts and annotated diagrams to show cliff-foot and cliff-face pro-

cesses Student Resource Page 8 Cliff face erosion by rotational slip

· An exercise designed to clarify student understanding of sub-aerial pro-cesses

Teacher Resource Page 9 Role Play· A role play about whether the A379 should be moved inland.

Teachers Guidance Page 1. Using this DVD for active learning

Watching a TV programme can often be interpreted by students as a passive ex-perience. Jane Ferretti (2009) has followed Margaret Roberts’ research (1986) on the attention given to narration rather than pictures on a DVD. Asked to make notes, students usually make notes on what is said and not what they see. Yet, surely the purpose of programmes such as this is for students to be able to see places which they may be unlikely to visit. The strategies below are therefore de-signed to help students to engage with the programme in order to make sense.

1 Describing · Select scenes (e.g. scenes at the start of the programme showing Gay

Martin at Hallsands) and ask students to describe in detail – e.g. ‘20 words to describe what is happening’.

· Ask students to describe a scene and to devise a script (e.g. for the scenes involving Dave and Gareth measuring the beach and analysing results). This is especially effective if done without sound.

· Reverse the process; ask students to predict what pictures are being shown, and details about these, by listening to the narration but with the screen picture turned off. This could be done for scenes showing coastal landforms at Durdle Door and the Old Harry Rocks.

2 Understanding· Before a clip, (e.g. the scenes at Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door and the Old

Harry Rocks) give students specific things to look for. This is especially ef-fective if you ask the class to think about how waves have affected the coast – ‘what landforms do you think you’ll see?’, ‘do you think these land-forms might change in future?’.

· Freeze-frame scenes and discuss students' understanding of what is being shown.

· Give students comprehension questions – but beware that they may be listening to the narration, with eyes down, rather than watching the pic-ture. If you choose this strategy, watch the class carefully to ensure that they are watching, and give them time afterwards to make any notes that you want.

3 Listening · Give students a list of key words to listen out for (see Student Resource

Page 4), and then identify their meaning.· Ask students to identify key words or phrases, and define these, based on

the narration. Some ideas for these are given in Student Resource Pages 4 and 5.

4 Creative follow-up · Role-play Interviews. Here, students work in interview pairs. One acts as

a journalist, devising questions for the second, who acts as the person be-ing interviewed e.g. a journalist investigating coastal management at Slapton and whether coastal management is just a way of throwing good

money after bad. A 5-minute interview with interested parties follows which can either be done privately in pairs or by ‘hot seating’ in front of the class. Students then feed back about the interviews. A role play is shown on Teacher Guidance Page 8.

· Information Gap. You need two rooms for this. Half the class watches part of the programme without sound, while the other hears it without pic-tures. Each then discusses what they think will be in the script (one group), and shown as pictures (the second group). Students then return to class, pair up, discuss the situation and characters, and put together sounds and pictures. The teacher then shows the complete part of the pro-gramme.

· Fractured scenes. Write parts of the dialogue (included in this DVD) on strips of paper; place these in random order in envelopes, and ask stu-dents to re-sequence. Or, distribute strips randomly among students, and ask them to describe the scene in which their script occurs.

Further reading· Ferretti, Jane (2009) ‘Effective use of visual resources in the classroom’

in ‘Teaching Geography’, Autumn 2009 · Roberts, Margaret (1986) ‘Using video’ in ‘The Geography Teachers’

Handbook’, Geographical Association

Teachers Guidance Page 2. Background to the South Devon & Dorset Coast

The South Devon and Dorset coast is well known as one of the UK’s most beauti-ful areas of coastline. With unique landforms and geology, coastal features of both erosion (e.g. Durdle Door, near Lulworth, and the Old Harry Rocks near Swanage) and deposition (e.g. the coastal bar at Slapton) and nature reserves rich in flora and fauna, it is no surprise that the East Devon and Dorset section has become the UK’s first coastal World Heritage Coast, as designated by the United Nations, to recognise its global significance.

Its geology is varied, and has a significant impact on landforms and scenery. Most rock types in Dorset were formed during the Jurassic period; hence the name ‘Jurassic Coast’ which is often used. Those of Devon were formed in an earlier geological period known, not surprisingly, as the Devonian. Both stretches are often cited as classic examples of a coast where geology helps to determine coastal formations of headlands and bays, formed in Dorset from, respectively, resistant chalk and Purbeck Limestone (forming steep cliffs, and coastal features such as stacks and arches) and less resistant clays and sands (forming bays). These alternate in bands, so that sometimes they lie parallel to coast (concord-ant coasts, as at Lulworth Cove), and sometimes at right angles to the coast (dis-cordant coasts, as along the coast between Old Harry Rocks, Swanage and Poole Harbour.

South Devon

The focus for the early part of this programme is Hallsands, a tiny village in South Devon which is a replacement settlement for one lost in storms of 1917.

Waves and surfers

The second part of the programme uses surfing as a means of helping students to understand how waves develop and can affect the form of a coastline.

Erosion and Landforms

Erosion processes and landforms which draw upon coastal processes and the landforms produced from Devon, Holderness and Purbeck.

Deposition landforms The issues presented by mobile sand movement created by prevailing winds are shown at Sandbanks, part of Poole, in Dorset.

Managing a changing coastlineThe Slapton Ley area of South Devon, a few kilometres north of Hallsands. This part explores how should coasts be managed, and whether coastal management strategies should be sustainable. A role play is provided with Teacher Resource Page 8 about a real-life debate taking place, which concerns whether the A379

should be moved inland in order to cope with the threat of sustained action by the sea which regularly floods and erodes it.

Teacher Guidance Page 3. Exam course specification links

The following list shows how this programme links to various parts of GCSE and AS/A2 specifications

1. Pre-16

AQA GCSE Geography A* Unit 1 Section B - The Coastal Zone

AQA GCSE Geography B* Unit 1 - The Coastal Environment

Edexcel GCSE Geography A* Unit 2 Section A - Coastal landscapes

Edexcel GCSE Geography B* Unit 1 Section B - Coastal Change and Conflict

Edexcel iGCSE * Section A, Topic 2 - Coastal Environments

OCR GCSE Geography B* Theme 1 - Rivers and Coasts

WJEC GCSE Geography A* Theme 7- Our Changing Coastline

WJEC GCSE Geography B* Theme 2 - Coastal Processes and Coastal Management

2. Post-16

AQA A level Geography* Unit 1 AS Coastal Environments

Edexcel A level Geography* Unit 2 AS Crowded Coasts

OCR A level Geography* Unit 1 AS Coastal environments

WJEC A level Geography* Unit G3 A2 Theme 2 Coastal Landforms and their Management

IB Geography* Oceans and their coastal margins

Pre-U Geography* Paper 2 Coastal Environments

Teacher Resource Page 1 Why can’t Mary find her grandmother’s house?

This lesson is suitable as an introduction to the programme – before you show any of it!

· It is focused on the village of Hallsands (see photo above) in South Devon.· You probably need about 30-40 minutes for the activity and follow-up,

though you could develop the follow-up into a full piece of written work if you wish

· It has been designed for students aged 12-16.

Preparation for this lesson · Photocopy, laminate and cut up enough of the statements below for your

class; you should allow 1 set between two students. · Place each complete set of statements into envelopes, and place them on

desks ready for students at the start of the lesson. · At the end of the activity, ask students to place all statements carefully

back into the envelopes, so that you can re-use them.

Running the mystery · Organise students into pairs. · Explain to the students that they are going to solve a mystery; why can’t

Mary McCoy find her grandmother’s house?

· Explain that, in the envelopes, they have clues that they should try to use to explain what happened. In pairs, they should sort the clues to come up with a story and full explanation.

· Do not tell them how to do it, or give them guidance; students think in dif-ferent ways. Some will automatically come up with a linear sequence, whilst others may group them. The purpose is to make sense.

Following up the mystery1. Debrief students as follows:

· Where did the mystery occur? What was this place like? · What was the sequence of events? · What happened to the village? Why did it happen? · Was there just a single cause? · Were natural or human causes mainly to blame?

2. Ask students to do one of two things:Either

a) Write an email of about 300 words from Mary to her family back in Ad-elaide to explain what’s happened to Hallsands and why;

Orb) Produce a storyboard for a TV programme (such as ‘Panorama’) about the

events of 1917. Decide the sequence of scenes, who you would want to in-terview and what questions you would like to ask them, and what bigger questions you think need to be asked about this and similar events in-volving the sea.

Cards for photocopying, laminating and cutting up

660,000 tonnes of sand and gravel were removed from the sea bed

between 1897-1901

A new village of Hallsands was built higher up the cliff after 1918

Between 1897-1901, the naval dock-yard at Plymouth was being exten-

ded

By midnight four houses had been destroyed

By the end of the 27th, only one house was left

Hallsands faces east to the English Channel, sheltered from westerly

storms by Start Point

Hallsands is in south Devon In total, 29 houses were destroyed

Mary has read her great grand-mother’s diaries about the house in

Hallsands where she lived

Mary is on holiday tracing her family roots and wants to find her great

grandmother’s house

Mary McCoy lives in Adelaide in Aus-tralia

Mary’s great grandmother left Halls-ands for Australia in 1900

Most storms usually come from the south-west from which the village

was well protected

On 26 January 1917 a huge easterly storm blew down the English Chan-

nel

Research since shows that this sand and gravel was deposited thousands

of years ago during the Ice Ages

The navy assumed that any material they took would be replaced natur-

ally by more out at sea

The navy dredged sand and gravel for building material from the sea bed further north along the coast

from Hallsand

The ruins of a very few houses still stand

The sand and shingle along the coast is not being replaced

The sea crashed into the houses, flooding them

The tide was exceptionally high on 26 January 1917 and the sea surged

over the pebble ridge

Hallsands was protected by a large natural pebble ridge in 1917

There had been 128 people living in Hallsands in south Devon. Most fam-

ilies earned a living from fishing.

Twelve hours later at midday on 27th, the next high tide destroyed

more houses

Student Resource Page 2 . Outline map of the south Devon and Dorset coast

Student Resource Page 3. Notes from the programme Use this framework as an A3 sheet to make brief notes on the programme using a) the pictures, b) the commentary. Pictures Commentary

Part 1

Introduction

Part 2

Forces of Change

• The Power of Waves

• Windy's Per-fect Waves

• Constructive & Destructive Waves

• Factors Affect-ing WavesPart 3

Forces of Change – Erosion: Pro-cesses and Landforms Part 4

Forces of Change – De-position: Causes and Landforms

Part 5

Managing a Changing Coastline: Case Study Slapton Ley

Student Resource Page 4. Knowing key terms from the programme Define these terms:

1 General 1. abrasion2. bastion3. cliff undercut-

ting 4. cliff-face pro-

cesses 5. cliff-foot pro-

cesses6. concordant

coastline7. corrasion

8. corrosion 9. deposition10.differential

erosion 11.discordant

coastline 12.erosion13.geology 14.groynes 15.hydraulic action16.littoral cell

17.longshore drift 18.offshore sand

bar19.rock structure 20.rotational slip 21.sediment cell22.shingle23.spring tide24.sub-aerial pro-

cesses25.transportation

2 Coastal landforms and features 1. arch 2. barrier beach 3. bar4. bay5. cave6. cliff

7. coastal bar 8. headland9. spit 10.stack11.stump 12.tombolo

13.wave-cut plat-form (also known as shoreline plat-form)

3 Waves 1. backwash 2. constructive

waves 3. destructive

waves4. fetch

5. plunging waves 6. prevailing winds7. refracted waves 8. swash9. swell10.swell period

11.wave crest 12.wave frequency 13.wavelength

Odd one out

In pairs, discuss and explain which of the following is the ‘odd one out’. In each case, explain what makes the ‘odd one’ different from the rest.

1 abrasion, hydraulic action, longshore drift 2 fetch, swash, swell 3 constructive waves, swell period, wavelength4 cliff, geology, rock structure 5 arch, barrier beach, cave

6 cave, stack, wave-cut platform 7 cliff, coastal bar, spit8 littoral cell, longshore drift, offshore sand bar9 rotational slip, cliff undercutting, abrasion 10 groyne, beach, cave.

Student Resource Page 5. Understanding the programme Explain the following from the programme:

A Wind and waves

1. Why is Hallsands always affected worse by easterly than by westerly storms?

2. Why does it take a combination of wind strength, time and distance to pro-duce large waves?

3. Explain the connection between the terms ‘swell’ and ‘fetch’.4. What is meant by the term ‘prevailing south westerly winds’? 5. How do prevailing south westerly winds affect where the best surf is found

in the UK? 6. Where are the best ‘low frequency waves that are exactly what Surfers like

Windy want’ produced in the UK? Why? 7. Explain why surfers’ ideal waves do less damage to property than storm

waves.8. Why are ‘the best places to learn surf nearly always on gently sloping

beaches’? 9. Distinguish between ‘constructive’ and ‘destructive’ waves.

B Erosion: Processes and Landforms

10.Describe how erosion differs along the Holderness coast from that of south Devon.

11.Explain why there are these differences. 12.Explain why there is differential erosion along Dorset’s Purbeck coast. 13.How can differential erosion lead to a) concordant, b) discordant coast-

lines? 14.Why do cliffs, caves and stacks only form along coastlines where the rock

type is resistant?

C Deposition and beach landforms

15.Explain how prevailing SW winds and longshore drift produce erosion at Sandbanks.

16.In what ways are groynes intended to solve the problem of beach erosion at Sandbanks?

17.Explain how groynes can have huge impacts on other parts of a stretch of coast.

18.How has the concept of ‘sediment cells’ helped us to understand coast-lines more clearly?

19.How might an understanding of sediment cells have prevented the de-struction of Hallsands?

D Managing a Changing Coastline: Case Study Slapton Ley

20.Why is the main road between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth under threat? Does it matter?

21.What impact does a combination of rising sea levels, longshore drift, severe storms, and high tides have upon this road, and where?

22.Outline the arguments in favour of and against the following strategies for managing these four problems here:a) let it erodeb) move a whole section of the road inlandc) sheet-pile the whole length of the roadd) install new bastions along this stretch of coast.

23.In what ways is cost-benefit analysis likely to affect which of these is most likely to be adopted by the council?

Student Resource Page 6. Understanding wave power!

The sequence of a breaking wave

1 Below is a list of stages in the breaking of a wave. These have been mixed up. In pairs, place them in the correct order, from wave formation to a wave breaking: A. friction from the sea bed slows the bottom part of the wave B. front of the wave becomes steeperC. height of the wave increases D. open ocean E. small circular movements in the water F. upper parts of the wave travel faster than the base G. water is pushed upH. wave approaches the coastI. wave falls forward and breaks

2. Show these stages in diagrams

3. Annotate as many of these stages on the photo above.

Student Resource Page 7. How does the sea erode cliffs?

1. Sort these statements into two sequences (one for abrasion, one for hy-draulic action) to show how cliff-foot erosion takes place.

2. Draw a series of 2-3 diagrams, using every statement to label them, to show how cliff-foot erosion takes place.

cliff collapses hydraulic action wave retreats

air is trapped inside cracks

cliff is undercut rocks thrown with waves against base of

cliff

rock shatters wave reaches base of cliff

an overhang develops

Corrasion (also known as abrasion)

explosion of air wave advances

How and why do cliffs slump?

1. Sort these terms into a sequence to show the effects of sub-aerial pro-cesses on cliffs.

2. Draw a series of 2-3 diagrams, using every statement to label them, to show how sub-aerial processes produce cliff slumping and cliff retreat.

Rainwater soaks into cliff

Underlying clay be-comes wet and slip-

pery

Cliff slumps, sliding on the wet slip plane

Water levels build up Clays and soil dry out and crack in summer

Weight of cliff in-creases

Starts raining Cliff can’t support its own weight

Cliff retreats

Student Resource Page 8 Cliff face erosion by rota-tional slip

Please see PDF 'Student Resource Page 8' for the exercise.

Teacher Resource Page 9. A role play about Slapton Ley

Lesson 1 Set the scene

This role play is to decide the fate of the main A379 at Slapton Ley. The road links Kingsbridge and Dartmouth in south Devon. It has been badly affected by coastal erosion, and is likely to involve the local and county council in consider-able expense. A more permanent solution is sought. There are four possibilities on offer:

a) Do nothing; let the road erodeb) Move a whole section of the road inlandc) sheet-pile the whole length of the roadd) install new bastions along this stretch of coast.

For this lesson, you will need · A copy of each role. There are nine roles in total. · A copy of the role preparation sheet to help students prepare their

presentation. Before the role play, you will need to have shown the full programme.

Prepare the roles

Before the lesson, consider how you will allocate the nine roles. Rather than ran-dom distribution, you need to decide in advance upon groups that you select, since some differentiation may be required. Numbers suggested are for a class of 30; you can adjust numbers according to your class. You will need 3+ students per role. You need to decide –

a) Are students capable of the role? The role of Devon County Council is possibly the most demanding, since a questioning ability and ability to think on their feet is essential. At the end they will decide which policy to adopt. This is an opportunity to differentiate by ability. Least able students may be best suited to roles of shopkeepers or local villagers, for example. Students with an interest in Science will make good representatives for the local Wildlife Trust.

b) What is the role of each group member in the preparation stage, and in the role play itself? Will each group member have to speak? Will each person have a role in advance, so that there is a division of labour? The role of Devon County Council will be different, since it involves preparing questions and perhaps interviewing each group in advance of the role play to get an idea of feelings, and how they might prepare questions.

In addition, you will need a chairing role to manage the agenda during the role-play itself, to invite questions and keep order. You can do this yourself – or why not invite in a sixth form mentor to do this? Especially important too is the need to allow students time in which to prepare their role.

The nine roles are –

1. Devon County Council. They are the decision-makers since it falls to them to decide what to do about the stretch of road. The beach is very close to the road in places. Devon County Council have said that where the damage is repairable, they will repair that damage. If it becomes too regular and too significant, it becomes too un-economic to do so.

2. Environment Agency. They need to have an understanding of why the problem of coastal erosion exists there in the first place. They will need to explain this to the meeting.

3. Coastal engineers 1. This group supports the policy to do nothing and to let the road erode. They need to understand impacts of this policy. They will need to be able to explain to everyone present how and why they sup-port this.

4. Coastal engineers 2. This group supports the policy to move a whole section of the road inland away from the villages. They need to under-stand impacts of this policy. They will need to be able to explain to every-one present how and why they support this.

5. Coastal engineers 3. This group supports the policy to sheet-pile the whole length of the road. They need to understand impacts of this policy. They will need to be able to explain to everyone present how and why they support this.

6. Coastal engineers 4. This group supports the policy to install new bas-tions along this stretch of coast. They need to understand impacts of this policy. They will need to be able to explain to everyone present how and why they support this.

7. Local villagers. The villagers of Torcross, Slapton, Blackhorton and Strete, who are likely to see their shops decline if the road is permanently moved.

8. Local shopkeepers. The shops in Torcross, Slapton, Blackhorton and Strete, will suffer and be likely to close if the road is permanently moved.

9. Local Parish councillors from the villages affected.

Provide pupils with a copy of their role card, which will help them to consider who they are, and to identify how they feel about the issue. They will need time to prepare some of the detail. In addition, you might want to allow time for alliances to develop – e.g. between the villagers and Parish Councillors.

Lesson 2 The role play

The following is the time allocation for a one hour lesson. Within it, about 10 minutes should be allowed for debriefing, followed by a homework or lesson fol-low-up in which students can write an evaluation of what happened. The written evaluation allows pupils to reflect on their learning about the issue, what happened in the role-play, and how they feel about it.

Public Meeting

Should the A379 be permanently moved inland?

Agenda

1. Welcome and introduction of each party by the Chair (1 minute)2. The eight groups are invited to present their case to Devon County Council –

no more than two minutes each, with one minute to allow for two questions from the Council members. (8 x 3 minutes = 24 minutes): in order

3. Open questions are allowed between each of the groups and Devon County Council. The Chair must promote fair play during this part of the meeting. (10 minutes)

4. The Chair briefly sums up each role (1 minute)5. The Chair asks Devon County Council members to leave the room, and con-

sider their verdict for no more than 5 minutes. (5 minutes)While the Council members are out of the room, the Chair takes over, asking what verdict they think the judges will reach, and why. This is an important part of the role-play and should be conducted with students still in role.

6. Devon County Council members return and deliver their verdict which of the four policies they wish to accept, and their reasons. (5 minutes)

7. The teacher debriefs the role play (10 minutes – see below)

3. Debriefing the role play

Debrief is a vital stage for role-play and should not be rushed. Its purpose is to allow pupils to reflect on what they have learnt. The teacher should allow pupils to reflect in open but structured discussion in which rules of debate are kept to. A full debrief should take about 15-20 minutes.

Possible questions for exploration –a) how did each group feel about the verdict delivered by Devon County

Council? b) Which case won the day, and why?c) Which group’s role was strongest during the role-play? Did this help to win

the case?d) Which roles do the Devon County Council members feel were carried

out well? Why?e) Were these actually the strongest cases, or were they cleverly played by

those in role?

f) Did anyone find themselves arguing for something they didn’t believe in? What was this like? Why?

g) Did anyone change their beliefs during the role play? Why?h) Do you think that this is like the real enquiry that would take place in areas

such as Slapton? What would have been similar? What would have been different?

4. Follow-up work

A written evaluation of the role-play could take place here, using the following framework of questions –

a) What was the role-play about? How did the issue arise?b) Whom did it involve? Why were these people involved? How did each per-

son feel about proposals for the road?c) What was your role? Were you for or against? Describe your role. How

good was your case? Was it an easy case to prepare? Why?d) How good were other cases put forward at the meeting? What made them

good? Who made the strongest case? Were these easy cases to prepare? Why?

e) How did you feel about the decision made by Devon County Council? Why? Why do you think they made this decision?

f) What did you find you learnt during the role-play? Why?g) Did you change your views about whether the road should be moved dur-

ing the role-play? Why?h) How do you now feel about what should happen to the road? i) How far do you think that coastal erosion should always lead to greater

coastal protection?

Role cardsDistribute these to the groups you have arranged.

Devon County Council

You will listen to all the arguments, ask questions, and at the end will recom-mend whether the A379 should be moved, and which of the four policies you prefer. Before the role play, you need to know that Devon prides itself on being one of the lowest cost councils in the UK. It does not want to see Coun-cil Tax bills increase without good reason.

Environment Agency

You are responsible for the quality of the coast in this area. You need to have an understanding of why the problem of coastal erosion exists here in the first place. You will need to explain this to the meeting. Prepare some powerpoint slides to explain clearly what is happen-ing to this stretch of road.

Coastal engineers 1

You support the policy to do nothing and to let the road erode. You need to understand impacts of this policy and what others will think. You need to ex-plain to everyone present at the meet-ing how and why you support this. This option is cheapest but it has most im-pact on local people, so you need to ex-plain this and be prepared to take some flack!

Coastal engineers 2

You support the policy to move a whole section of the road inland, away from villages. People at the meeting need to understand impacts of this policy and it’s your job to explain how and why you support this. It is the most expens-ive option, likely to cost upwards of £30 million, payable out of Council income (40%) and central government money (60%).

Coastal engineers 3

You support the policy to install sheet-piling along the whole length of the road which is affected by erosion. You need to understand the impacts of this policy and what it will mean while the road is completely dug up and strengthened. You will explain to every-one present how and why you support this. It will cost £10 million, payable out of Council income (40%) and govern-ment money (60%). The piling will last about 30 years.

Coastal engineers 4

You support the policy to install new bastions along the beach on this stretch of coast. You need to understand what this involves doing, with pictures to show people, and what impacts there might be of this policy. You will explain to everyone present how and why you support this. It will cost £4 million, pay-able out of Council income (40%) and government money (60%), but will need to be maintained at a cost of £250 000 every year for life.

Local village residents

You are villagers from Torcross, Slapton, Blackhorton and Strete, who are likely to see their shops and services (e.g. buses) decline if the road is perman-ently moved. Because the villages are small, they depend upon tourists and passing trade to stay open. You need to decide which of the four policies you most want, and put your case to the meeting.

Local village businesses

You own the shops and services (e.g. post office) in Torcross, Slapton, Black-horton and Strete, and will see your shops and services (e.g. buses) decline if the road is permanently moved. Be-cause the villages are small, you de-pend upon tourists and passing trade to stay open. You need to decide which of the four policies you want, and let the meeting know.

Local Parish councillors

You represent local villagers and businesses in the four villages affected (Tor-cross, Slapton, Blackhorton and Strete). There are elections coming up next year and you’re keen to be re-elected. Which strategy will you vote for at the meeting? Who will you look to for most support?

Useful WebsitesSlapton Ley Field Centrewww.field-studies-council.orgwww.slnnr.org.uk/education-visits/slapton-line-education-resources.aspx (online resources)

Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum www.kingsbridgemuseum.org.uk

Waves Surf Schoolwww.wavessurfschool.co.uk

Big Saltywww.bigsalty.co.uk

Channel Coastal Observatorywww.channelcoast.org

The National Oceanographic Centrewww.noc.soton.ac.uk

The National Trust www.nationaltrust.org.uk

East Riding of Yorkshire Councilwww.eastriding.gov.uk

Environment Agency Geomaticswww.geomatics-group.co.uk

Slapton Line Partnershipwww.slaptonline.org

South Hams District Council &West Devon Borough Councilwww.westdevon.gov.uk