Courses and Field Trips

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ALL COURSES AND FIELDTRIPS FOR 2022, INCLUDING THOSE FOR GEOWEEK WILL BE DISPLAYED SHORTLY

All walks are full days (10am to 4pm) unless noted above and costs vary, but U18’s go free. A minimum of 5 is needed for the walks to take place.

Saturday May 7 2022 Start time:10am - 4pm Free of charge

GREAT ASBY SCAR – LIMESTONE PAVEMENTS, FOSSILS & THUNDERSTONES

Led jointly with David Evans of the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership to whom bookings should be made: david-evans@fld.org.uk

BOOKING ESSENTIAL - Contact geologist STEPHEN MOTT, via the form on this website

Further details will be provided when you book

SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Stephen Mott undertook undergraduate study at Hatfield College , Durham University where he took a B.Sc in geology. At that time, the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Durham had a very strong reputation nationally and internationally. Stephen was taught by some of the most influential scientists of the time whose reputations were well established. He studied Carboniferous stratigraphy and palaeontology with Dr GAL (Tony) Johnson whose enthusiasm for the uplands of the north of England encouraged Stephen's embryonic love for the Pennine geology, flora and fauna. Stephen's undergraduate dissertation was on the Carboniferous rocks of Rombalds Moor, between Ilkley and Baildon, Yorkshire and before he had completed the write-up, he had been invited to lecture on the work at a Bradford Naturalists' Society winter meeting which was held at the University of Bradford. Stephen was also taught by Professor (later Sir) G Malcolm Brown FRS, and Professor Sir Kingsley Dunham FRS whose pioneering work on the genesis of the North Pennine Ore field still holds authority. In matters of geophysics and plate tectonics he was inspired by the rapid fire lectures from Professor Martin H P Bott FRS. Stephen's great love and enthusiasm for the Tertiary (palaeogene) Volcanic District of Scotland came from the quietly spoken enthusiam of Ulsterman Dr C Henry Emeleus with his dry sense of humour and his love of O gauge model railways. There were others, of course, equally influential in structural geology, sedimentology and other areas, of course. The department was perhaps fortunate in that almost all of its academic staff were not simply world-renowned in their field of research, but good teachers too. Such a combination is all too rare in university education. Field excursions for the undergraduate courses were held in the UK. Northern England, Southern Scotland, West Wales and North-west Scotland. Nowadays field excursions take place outside the UK.

Tony Johnson once remarked to Stephen on a field excursion - "you 'll end up being one of the last great naturalists". Choosing to ignore the word "great" as a wind-up, Stephen asked "What do you mean by the word 'last'". Tony's answer has proved to be prescient. "People will become too specialised to be all rounders - too specialist to be proper naturalists, so that they will lose sight of the whole story and how things work together".

Stephen has tried to be a true naturalist. And those joining his courses and field trips should find this to be so.