About the Society
Need to know
The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is the UK’s learned society for geography and professional body for geographers. We are also a membership organisation and a registered charity.
The Society was founded in 1830 to advance geographical science and this remains our core purpose. We achieve this through supporting geographical research, education, and fieldwork and expeditions, as well as by advocating on behalf of the discipline and promoting geography to public audiences.
We value our independence as well as the breadth of our activities that support the understanding of the world’s people, places and environments. Everyone with an enthusiasm for geography, travel and exploration is welcome to join.
A message
From the Director
We have been working to improve your experience with an all-new membership database. I’d like to thank the Society’s staff for the work they’ve put in over the last year to making this vital improvement in our infrastructure happen – it’s been a real team effort. The benefits to you and the Society will be substantial.
For example, our Monday night lecture and event booking process will now be much simpler, and we are better able to send you news and information on the topics you’re interested in.
This is the first step in our infrastructure improvements planned for this year. In mid-October, our new website is due to go live. The new site will bring many benefits, including clearer, quicker navigation.
These changes mean that you will need to reset your password to login to the website using the ‘reset password’ button on the login page before being able to access any member-only content. If you have any problems you can email webmaster@rgs.org for help.
While the ‘digital plumbing’ is important we know it is what comes out of the tap that matters most to you. The Monday night lectures, Be inspired talks and many other events are all live-streamed and available in the archive, and in broadcast quality. This gives you your own Society media channel. Do keep telling us about speakers you want to hear or themes you want us to pursue.
Image credit: James Tye
Society
News
Council elections
Congratulations to our new Council members who were elected at the Society’s Annual General Meeting in June: Professor Beth Greenhough (Councillor: Research and Higher Education), Stephen Jones (Vice President: Expeditions and Fieldwork), Ashley Parry Jones (Vice President: Professional), Matt Pycroft (Vice President: Membership), David Scott (Honorary Treasurer). Our new committee members are: Dr Rachel Carr (Committee member: Expeditions and Fieldwork Committee), Professor Siwan Davies (Committee member: Research and Higher Education Committee), Professor Stephen Legg (Chair of Annual Conference 2024: Research and Higher Education Committee).
Recent honours
The King’s Birthday Honours recognised Professor Rama Thirunamachandran OBE DL FRGS, Vice Chancellor and Principal of Canterbury Christ Church University; Charles Mayhew OBE, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tusk Trust; and David Shreeve MBE FRGS, Co-Founder and Director, Conservation Foundation and Environmental Adviser, Archbishops’ Council, Church of England.
Congratulations to Louise Heathwaite, University of Lancaster; Simon Lewis, University College London and University of Leeds; and Myles Allen, University of Oxford on their election as Fellows of the Royal Society.
Congratulations also to Georgina Endfield and Louise Amoore on being elected Fellows of the British Academy and to Corresponding Fellow Ruth DeFries.
Image credit: Nando Machado
Platinum prints
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first summitting of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953, the Society has released a small number of fine art platinum prints from the expedition. These museum-grade prints are hand-made to order and are available to purchase from our print store.
Image credit: Tenzing Norgay on the summit of Chukhung Peak by John Hurt © RGS-IBG
Everest model conservation
Conservation of our Everest model was undertaken by specialist restorers in June. To better showcase this piece of mountaineering history we have relocated the model into the Education Centre and provided interpretation on its significance.
Earth Photo 2023 tour
The Earth Photo 2023 exhibition will be shown at five Forestry England sites until 28 January, and displayed at several other venues across England and China.
Image credit: Wooden Diamonds 03 by Filippo Ferraro
New corporate support
Our newest Corporate Benefactor, the Inflexion Foundation, is supporting our work to widen access to geography and to engage public audiences with key environmental and sustainability topics.
Education
News
Fieldwork in schools
Fieldwork is essential to geography and supports pupils to develop their geographical skills and knowledge in the real world. Three years on from the start of the first lockdown, we set out to understand whether geographers are returning to the field by commissioning Teacher Tapp to include this question in their daily survey of 9,000 teachers: ‘Since COVID is your geography department doing more or less fieldwork?’.
The results show that 40% of respondents are offering less fieldwork. If nationally representative this could mean ~1,500 secondary schools have reduced their time in the field. There was also a trend for this reduction to be more pronounced in smaller schools and those serving more deprived areas. There are many reasons for this decline, spanning cost, teachers’ capacity and expertise, and the need for supportive senior leadership teams. Rebuilding fieldwork will require additional support for geography teachers, greater commitment from school leaders and additional action from our subject’s key educational stakeholders.
We have recently updated our free online support for fieldwork.
Image credit: RGS-IBG
Ask the geographer podcasts
Our award-winning podcasts bring the latest geographical research to classrooms from a host of experts.
To supplement our free-to-listen podcasts, we also have accompanying materials for School Members. Listeners can now gain an insight into a global movement to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases with David McNair; and globalism and ‘carbon colonialism’ with Dr Laurie Parsons.
Competitions for schools
Apply now for this year’s school competitions. The Rex Walford Award is for trainee teachers or teachers who have just started their careers, recognising the best scheme of work, set of teaching resources and/or lesson plans developed on the same theme as Young Geographer of the Year.
We welcome innovative and effective approaches to engaging pupils with the competition question and would also be interested to see examples of pupils’ work that has resulted from the lessons. This year’s theme is A blueprint for the future and asks for innovative ideas and forward-thinking recommendations which address today’s biggest challenges.
Our 2023 School Essay Competition, organised in partnership with the Financial Times, invites students to submit well evidenced answers to the question: What risks are associated with climate change and what should we be doing about it?
Each competition closes for entries on Monday 2 October.
From the field
News
RGS Explore festival
This year’s Explore festival celebrates exploration, field science and travel with purpose across eight days of events and workshops between 30 October and 6 November. It aims to enrich perspectives on travel and exploration by looking at exploration through the lens of art, history, science, geography, and philosophy. The festival features the Explore symposium, a weekend which brings together a broad range of expedition professionals, field scientists, and independent travellers – offering guidance and knowledge to anyone planning their own expeditions and fieldwork projects.
Grant programme projects
With the generous support of our donors and reviewers, over £153,000 of funding has been allocated this year to support 59 field research projects in 35 countries, across six continents.
Our grants support the advancement of geographical science, and provide the opportunity for practical experience. Recent projects include Louisa Brain’s (Queen Mary University of London) work in Kenya exploring how people navigate im/mobilities while living in and around floodplains, and Sasha Kosanic’s transdisciplinary project looking to understand the needs and demands of people with disabilities for various benefits of nature.
Application deadlines for the 2024 grants programme begin in November 2023.
Image credit: Louisa Brain
Research and higher education
News
New book publisher
The Society has recently signed a contract to publish the RGS-IBG book series with LSE Press from January 2024. The move to LSE Press was precipitated by the rapidly changing landscape around book publishing, and particularly the need to be able to provide a high-quality Open Access option so that authors can fulfil the requirements of their funders. LSE Press are a specialist Open Access publisher, and the book series will become entirely Open Access. Alongside the key benefits of being associated with a university press, this will enable a wider readership. LSE Press and the Society have committed to offering financial and practical support to authors to ensure that the ability to pay for Open Access is not a barrier to publication in the series.
Teaching and learning support
The Society’s Geography and Education Research Group is organising a programme of events to support higher education teaching and learning. A selection of resources are also available on the Society’s website, including a New to teaching geography guide. The guide offers a practical starting point for this process for graduate teaching assistants, teaching fellows and demonstrators. Upcoming events will include a New to teaching workshop at the Society in late October, a Postgraduate insights webinar, and a series of online talks on geography pedagogy.
Image credit: Ricardo Resende/Unsplash
Annual International Conference 2023
The Society’s largest ever Annual International Conference will take place between Wednesday 30 August and Friday 1 September, with over 2,000 delegates joining us in person and online for more than 400 sessions.
This year’s conference addresses the theme Climate changed geographies, with over 1,800 presentations on topics ranging from decarbonisation and energy policy to migration, risk and disaster, to new digital approaches and low-carbon transport technologies, taking in housing crises, water access, food networks, and much more along the way.
Image credit: Nando Machado
Professional
News
Accreditation guide
We have published an accreditation guide for geospatial professionals, giving an introduction to professional recognition across different domains, recognising there is no one-size-fits-all professional journey.
Location data will generate significant economic, social and environmental value globally, and collaboration between skilled professionals from a wide range of backgrounds working across many sectors is key to unlocking this value.
The short guide has been produced in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors, Association for Geographic Information, Chartered Institute for IT, and Institution of Royal Engineers.
Image credit: Geospatial Commission
Professional Geography Ambassadors
Advocating for your profession is an excellent way to showcase your geographical knowledge and skills while demonstrating geography’s relevance. You can provide a benefit to geographers at school, university and the workplace by sharing your insights and expertise.
Professional outreach is recognised by many employers and professional accreditations, including Chartered Geographer, as a form of continuing professional development.
Read our guide to find out more about helping others understand the relevance of geographical topics and skills in the workplace; options for study and apprenticeships; and the range of opportunities available to geographers.
Events
Highlights
Event highlights
With the welcome return of our Monday night lectures, we will see the many facets of the discipline brought to life this autumn through remarkable stories of personal journeys, thoughtful examinations of history and vital discussions on the impacts of climate change. Join us each week with your guest to enjoy drinks in the Map Room and continue the conversations after the talk. All Monday night lectures are also livestreamed via our website so you can watch them wherever you are.
Two of our Monday night lectures also form part of this year’s RGS Explore festival, an eight-day celebration of fieldwork, expeditions and travel with purpose, which will expand your understanding of contemporary and historical exploration.
Our regional committees have planned a wide variety of talks, covering the lasting legacy of Everest, the challenges of population changes, connections between Ordnance Survey drawing methods and contouring, and many more inspiring ideas in a venue near you.
This term also presents many opportunities to connect with other members, including at our new member welcome tours where recent joiners are encouraged to visit the Society in London and discover more about the history of the Society, who we are today and how to make the most of their membership.
Image credit: Ewan Harvey
Earth Photo highlights
Following nature’s example
Each year Earth Photo brings together talented visual and moving image creators from around the world to reveal the narratives behind the pictures, encouraging conversations about our world, its peoples, environments, and the changing climate.
This year’s judging panel, made up of experts from the fields of photography, film, geography and the environment, selected 128 photos and videos by 55 photographers and filmmakers to be exhibited. From this shortlist, eight outstanding entries were recognised for their excellence in showcasing issues affecting the climate and life on our planet.
Alongside overall winner Michal Siarek’s work War Babies, Claire Hewitt was recognised in the Climate of Change category for her series Everything in the Forest is the Forest.
“In 2019, I read a government report stating that loneliness and isolation were increasing in rural Britain. In contrast, I learnt that trees thrive in sentient, connected communities” explained Claire. “I asked, what can we learn from the forest’s unity?”
Fungi. Image credit: Claire Hewitt
Claire gained access to a group of 12 oak trees at The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, which studies the impact of climate change on woodland and trees. She used various techniques to record small fragments of the lives of the 180-year-old oaks, including making 24 wooden pin-hole cameras, oak leaf lumen prints, visualisations of root networks and soil chromatography.
Claire found that, in the subterranean world, they connect their roots with fungal networks to extensively communicate, adapt and share nutrients. Taking these lessons further, during lockdown she connected with people who were lonely or isolated in rural areas and shared photographic skills through monthly online workshop, mirroring the supportive behaviour of the oaks.
12-day acorn germination. Image credit: Claire Hewitt
This year’s competition also saw the introduction of the David Wolf Kaye Future Potential Awards. Mae Macadam and Jana Bednarova, photographer and filmmaker respectively, were awarded a cash prize towards the cost of their next project, and mentoring by industry leaders.
Visit our website to find out where you can see the exhibition in-person or visit the Earth Photo website to browse the full shortlist and award winners online.
Medals and awards
Meet the 2023 Founder’s Medal recipient
Andrew Mitchell, founder of the Global Canopy Programme, was awarded one of the Society’s prestigious Royal Medals for his contribution to protecting tropical rainforests and combating climate change.
Could you describe what you do?
I started out as a zoologist hugging trees and orangutans, but I found I couldn’t save them that way. So now I hug asset managers and bankers. Seeing the rollback of nature across the world made me sad and angry at the same time. I concluded that we needed to make the ‘eco’ in economy more visible.
I now advise the finance sector on environmental risk in their portfolios and try to persuade politicians to move the world towards a more nature positive economy.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?
I feel that my greatest achievement has been to help put rainforests on the map in the context of climate change. Back in 2005, in the UN climate negotiations, few understood the importance of curbing emissions from burning rainforests worldwide. A huge effort by canopy scientists I worked with and Global Canopy’s Little REDD Book changed that. Today, the idea of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change is commonplace, but back then it wasn’t. We catalysed this more geographical approach to rainforests, seeing them as infrastructure of immense value, like giant eco-utilities, keeping the Earth safe.
Is there a particularly memorable project you have worked on?
My most memorable project was climbing up into the rainforest roof on ropes and building aerial walkways up there. Back in the early 1980s, this was an unknown frontier. My fellow canopy researchers later used hot air balloons, canopy cranes and even a giant airship to carry a sky raft into the treetops. We discovered more life up there than anywhere else on Earth. Working with physical scientists, we began to understand how this critical interface between life in the atmosphere recycled oxygen, seeded rain and kept the land surface cool. Rainforests were not so much the lungs of the Earth, but its beating heart.
Why do you think geography is important?
I believe geography is super important because it brings it all together in a way that no other discipline does. We are faced with multiple environmental challenges across oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, and these issues are connected to development, society and politics. Geographers can tackle all of these and can integrate thinking, too. But geographers need to translate research-speak into a language that decision makers can understand, and especially financial decision makers.
What would you say to those earlier in their careers wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Well, for those wanting to start out on my kind of pathway, I would say first, get a good degree that trains you to assemble knowledge and sort out the wood from the trees. Next, get out there, spend time in the wilderness, meet interesting animals, landscapes and cultures. That gives you experience of how the world works. It will help to define your path. And once you’ve decided upon it, never give up. Ever.
Discovering Antarctica
The world’s last great wilderness
Promoting and reinforcing the relevance and benefits of geography in education is one of our most valuable tools for advancing the discipline. The Society continually seeks new ways to inspire pupils by showcasing a wide range of rewarding careers and nurturing a curiosity about the world that can last a lifetime.
Throughout 2023, the Education team have been updating the award-winning website Discovering Antarctica. First launched in 2006 as an education resource for schools by the Society, in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the website has now been updated with new terminology, fresh images, and made more relevant with up-to-date data.
The work focused on the Challenges section of the website, with text updates and the introduction of new interactive learning tools. Across the breadth of the project there was also a sharp focus on greater representation of diversity within the website’s imagery, allowing a larger proportion of children to see themselves within polar science. Featured case studies have also been enhanced.
Image credit: NASA Goddard CGI Lab
A new climate change section has been added, which introduces how climate change is affecting the different scientific disciplines and what the future has in store for the continent. The section contains a wealth of resources, including ‘Antarctic voices’ from the British Antarctic Survey, all of whom are climate scientists, speaking about how global warming is affecting the region. Students can meet marine biologist Dr Huw Griffiths who discusses giant Antarctic sea spiders, witness Dr Diana Vladimirova working in her ice chemistry lab, or listen to Dr Tom Bracegirdle’s warning that his research shows “we are going to see lots of surprises in the Antarctic climate system, we’re going to see things we haven’t expected, particularly for extreme events.”
Dr Bethan Davies, from the University of Newcastle, has written two resources to complement the new text, images, and audio-visual content. Both are challenging and thought-provoking exercises. The aim is to enable pupils to dig a little deeper into the data and explore future possibilities for the continent.
Image credit: Huw Griffiths/British Antarctic Survey
Additionally, website functionality has been improved to make it easier to navigate. The site runs faster, with more content and a new search function.
With this wealth of expert knowledge and the latest scientific data Discovering Antarctica will support teachers to inspire pupils with discoveries and spark the ambition to combat challenges that could affect us all.
Image credit: US Air Force
Give the gift of membership
Support student geographers
There has never been a better or more important time to study geography.
As a member you know that geography helps you to make sense of the world around you. It’s hands on, relevant, and can create great prospects.
You can help inspire the next generation of problem-solvers and curious minds with a gift that takes their passion for the world around them further.
Gift Student Membership to a geographer starting a new term of GCSE, A Level or university study and see their potential grow. Student Membership connects geographers to the wider community, enhances their learning and keeps them informed about the discipline.
Whatever their passion for the world, membership supports students at all stages to develop personally and advance academically, reaching a bright future of further study or rewarding careers ahead.
Visit our website to learn more about the benefits of Student Membership and purchase your gift today.