None

'Food and Agriculture', `National and Country Parks' and `Conservation' sections of the Sciences Learning Resource Centre and access to the map collection in the Sciences Learning Resource Centre.

Key Internet sites, such as:
DEFRA UK, for England Rural Development Programme: http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/default.htm
Natural England ' for `landscape'-related material: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/
MAGIC (Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside) http://www.magic.gov.uk/

Minimum / Maximum
Brooks, A. and Agate, E. (for British Trust for Conservation Volunteers - BTCV) (2001) Water and
Wetlands: a Practical Handbook. BTCV, Wallingford (And other handbooks in this series)
Gilg, A. (1996) Countryside Planning: the First Half Century. Routledge, London
Green, B. (1996) Countryside Conservation: Land Ecology, Planning and Management. Taylor and
Francis, London
Hall, C.M and Page, S.J. (2006) The Geography of Tourism and Recreation. Routledge, London.
Tait, J. et al. (1988) Practical Conservation: Site Assessment and Management Planning. Hodder
and Stoughton, Sevenoaks. (And related handbooks in this series.)
Yarwood, R. and Bale, J. (eds) (2002) Countryside Conflicts. Geographical Association, London

Component 1: A two-hour examination [50 per cent of module marks], consisting of two, one-hour essay answers. The function of the exam is to test understanding of broad, theoretical and conceptual material from across the module. One of the essays will be in a `seen' format. [Learning outcomes 1-3, 5,6]

Component 2: A report of 1500 - 1750 words, with substantial illustrative support, on a specific issue, selected by the student [50 per cent]. This is to examine ability to locate and use key data sets and evidence, and to relate particular, local examples to broader theories and concepts. [Learning outcomes 1-4,7,8]

Additional Assessment Details:

The report (component 2) will be individually-chosen and produced.

Formative Assessment: At approximately the mid-point of the module, students will be issued with a pro-forma, for submission in about week 10. This will allow an indication of the suitability of their choice of subject and approach for the report (assessment component 2) and act as a check that appropriate data and literature sources have been identified.

Classroom-based learning approaches will be divided about equally between ten hours of lecture and ten hours of workshop discussion and/or other activities (which may include short map- or IT-based exercises, role-play, for example). A day field class in the local area will exemplify some of the issues raised in the module (8 hours).

During recent decades, the pace of change in the British countryside has accelerated, and the range of demands upon it has proliferated. Despite recent efforts to simplify rural delivery structures, these still challenge the understanding, not only of students of countryside management but, often, of countryside practitioners, consumers and residents themselves. For this reason, a central purpose of the module is to provide a critical understanding of the organisation of coherent countryside management policies together with an identification of, and suggested routes to, the resolution of `contested' claims to the countryside. We first offer a reminder of the major aspects of change over the past century, as a means of identifying key protagonists in the countryside debate. We then address interpretations of, and approaches to, the process of `management' of countryside resources and places, both conceptually and more specifically, through the use of examples and case studies (for example, of designated areas such as country parks and of particular environments such as the uplands or green spaces in the urban fringe). The issue of `access to countryside', by existing and less-traditional users, is an important, underlying theme of much of the module material. Our aim is to develop an understanding of both theoretical and applied aspects of countryside management, in the interests of broad, geographical understanding but also as an appropriate starting-point for potential countryside-related career paths of graduates.