Geography Field Trip
Geography Field Trip
Day One
Students will have the opportunity to gain an overview of the vast array of topics that Geevor can cover during a Geography Field Trip.
Geevor Tin Mine is a unique post industrial landscape. The site has remained a time capsule since the mine ceased production in 1990 offering a window to the social and economic impact of the closure on the local community. Students can examine how Cornwall’s geology was exploited over centuries up until the final days of Cornish Mining. They will also be able to examine how energy was produced for the vast array of machinery required and the resulting human and environmental cost.
Geography Field Trip
Day Two
Provides an opportunity to explore Geevor with a more specialised focus.
Social/economic – Geevor’s Dry is the locker room used by the miners when the mine was in operation. It has been maintained by former miners since the mine’s closure. As such it is a unique insight into the social and economic impact of a post industrial community. In addition to the buildings themselves the story is brought to life with photographs and oral histories providing an evocative case study for students.
Geology – the Processing Mill at Geevor provides a living example of how mineral properties can be exploited to extract metals. Heavy Media Separation, Crushing Machines, Froth Flotation Cells and Calciners all remain in situ as testimony to the work of industrial chemists and engineers who worked to extract less than one percent of precious metal contained in the rocks brought to surface.
Hard Rock Museum Examine the different types of rocks how they are formed and their characteristics
Environmental Impact – Students can explore a post industrial site and learn of the impact of mining on the local vegetation, fauna and animal life.
Sustainable and renewable energies – Energy production has always been a challenge to mine engineers and Geevor provides an opportunity to see how this problem has been approached from the age of the Industrial Revolution to the last days of Cornish Mining.
Geevor’s Processing Mill, Winder House, Electrical Substation and Water Wheel clearly illustrate this issue and can provide insight when speculating what problem humanity will have to overcome in future in order to provide sustainable and renewable energy.
Human Geography – Students will gain an insight of Geevor’s wider world connection to other sites. Aside from mineral production Geevor provides an important opportunity to examine how the local community and the mine operated in tandem. Students can explore how the mine was more than a place of work and how it shaped the physical and social landscapes of West Penwith from religion, sports, social activities and the very structure of the surrounding towns and villages themselves.