ENVG111GEOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

Fieldtrip to Burwood

Our group discussed our options for the location of our study and it was decided that the place to go would be Burwood. This was as all members of the group originate from various areas in the Sydney area such as the Northern Beaches, North Shore, South-Western suburbs of Sydney and Port Macquarie. So it was decided that Burwood would be a good location.

Cities and movements

Aboard the M90 bus from Strathfield station to Burwood.

Bob and Nick waiting for their meals at a Korean/Japanese restaurant on Burwood Rd, Burwood.

Emily, Tom, Jack and Nick waiting for their meals.

Emily and Nick showing off what they had ordered.

Bob , Jack and Tom showing off their delicious choices

Interview with Fu Chan

• On our travel to Burwood we attended a fun fair in Burwood Park, where we spoke to a man called Fu Chan. Fu was originally from China but now resides in the Sydney suburb of Westmead. He was willing to speak to us and answer our questions.

Reasons of migrating

We asked Fu what made him consider moving to Australia?• Fu’s reasons where;• He strongly emphasised that the one child policy

in China was his main reason of wanting to move.• He explained life is tough in China and that there

aren’t too many opportunities there as in compared to Australia.

• Life in Australia has a much higher standard compared to his homeland of China.

The transition

We then asked Fu if the transition of migrating to Australia was difficult compared to living in China;• Fu stated the transition wasn’t that hard but it

was really challenging in the beginning.

Fu moved to Australia 4 years ago. He said the first 2 years where hard. These where his reasons;• No work and it was hard to get into the workforce

due to not having adequate training.• There was no financial support from the

government.

The transition

Fu said that these things helped him through the first few years of migration.• Community, family and religious support.• That he had savings to support himself.

However after the first 2 years Fu stated that it was much easier as there was;• Government assistance to help him study

The result

Fu has now lived in Australia for 4 years and has found a job in a power station. He said his whole family is now living here with him in Australia. He now has 2 children and overall he said he is very happy with the situation he is in now.

Production and consumption

• This will be explained in the prezi link• http://prezi.com/wcq17zvyz-6p/enve111-geo-

challenge-pt-3/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Water footprint Task

• Bob and Emily where assigned to the task of finding how to reduce their water footprints these were their findings.

• Bob and Emily found it challenging to reduce their water footprint

• This task really opened their eyes to just how much water we consume in an average week

• The water footprint for some items, such as beef and chocolate, shocked them both.

• Developing strategies to lower their personal water footprint was the easy part of the task, it was the implementation that was challenging.

Findings from their research

Emily's water reduction strategies

• The strategies Emily came up with as a result of reading through the information on the website were:

• 6-10 minute showers.• Washing dishes once a day in the sink, no running

water.• No meat.• No chocolate.• 1 load of laundry for the week.• Less dairy.• 1 cup of tea a day.

Bobs water reduction strategies

• Bob committed to:• Lowering his meat consumption from 6kg to 2kg. • Reducing his dairy consumption.• 1 cup of coffee a day instead of 2.• 5 minute showers.• Turning the tap off while brushing teeth and

shaving.• Reducing dishwasher time from 20 minutes to 15

minutes.• Reducing time taken when watering the garden to

5 minutes.

Water reduction reflectionIn hindsight Emily stated • She should have reduced her meat and

chocolate consumption instead of attempting to stop consuming them entirely.

• It was much too difficult for her to suddenly cut meat from my diet completely, this was the same with chocolate.

• Reducing her shower time was also very challenging, but said she was pleased that she was able to reduce her shower time from 20 minutes to an average of 12 minutes a day.

Bob found it was easy:• to get into the habit of turning off the tap while he

brushed his teeth and shaved,• but similar to Emily’s experience he had trouble

decreasing his shower time,• saying that “Getting in and out of the shower is difficult as

it requires a lot of focus, it is easy to get distracted in the shower”.

• We both found that reducing out water consumption was something that took a lot of thought and focus, it was easy to forgot that you were not suppose to do something or eat something

Water reduction reflection

• We agree that this task has:• Made us much more conscious of our personal

water consumption and water footprint• We will continue to question some of our food

choices, lifestyle decisions and water usage as a result.

• One of the more important things we learnt was that one doesn’t necessarily have to make big changes to make a difference, all of the small water saving activities add up to make a difference.

Water reduction reflection

Musical genre

• Jacks task was to pick a musical genre and research the topic he chose Rock and Roll

The origins of Rock and Roll?

• Rock and Roll started and evolved in the U.S.A during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

• It is essentially from a mixture of blues, country music, jazz and gospel music where it got its unique and popular sound from.

• Though all components of rock and roll could be heard in blues records of the 1920s and country records of the 1930s.

• Did not attain its name until in the 1950s.

The specific artist you listened to?

• The Foreign Objects

How is Rock and roll connected to global change?

• Rock ‘n’ Roll music has been a very big influence to global change through its way it gave people a voice and showed them passion and ferocity they had not seen before then.

• Far more than a mere musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language

• In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music.

Reflection

As a group we reflected on our experiences throughout the process of completing this assignment.

• We all agreed that it had been difficult due to the common difficulties involved with group work – clashing class and work schedules and differing opinions.

• Though, there seemed to be a lot more pressure for this assignment as the group outing required social interaction, as well as the usual academic interaction required for most other University group assessments.

• In the end we found the group outing to be our favorite task because of the social aspect.

• A couple of us had been to Burwood before, but for some of us it was a totally new experience,

• Jack found it especially confronting not having had much interaction with a number of the cultural groups that reside in Burwood.

Reflection

• We all tried food that we had never eaten, and though some wouldn’t order their meal again,

• Emily really enjoyed her sushi and has developed quite a taste for it as a result.

• Another positive of the group assessment was the assistance it provided for the course in general. It has been within our group that we have found support and assistance with understanding the course content, parts of which can be difficult to wrap ones mind around.

• Fresh from year 12, Bob and Nick found it especially helpful to have some experienced University students to give them advice.

• Tom said the experience was very enlightening especially as he had never tried Korean food before and was quite pleased with how it tasted. Toward the end of the trip he said also enjoyed the social aspect of the group work and especially interacting and interviewing Fu as he could see how things where from his perspective.