This blog is written by Hazel Beaumont, one of our coordinators for Geoscience for the Future. Over the winter break, she spent a lot of time walking and even found the source of the River Severn! Here she talks of outreach, hope and looks ahead to 2026!
We can’t believe it! We are turning 6 (already!) and what a wild ride it has been, with over 80 amazing geoscience stories published from some amazing contributors. And there are some exciting stories to come- during the next year we’re hoping to present some extremely cool blogs from the National University of Comahue, Argentina!
You may know that as well as sharing the amazing stories from the geoscientific community, we aim to promote outreach as much as possible! Over the last year the Geoscience for the Future team were out and about in the community.
We managed to visit: 13-year-olds in Torquay talking about volcanoes; 7-year-olds in Bristol to talk about the different rock types and a COP panel discussing myth busting about CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage).
Volcanoes made by 13-year-old students, with lava hazard map on the left and the volcano made from clay on the right.
Personally, I love doing outreach and find it so rewarding- watching people begin to understand a part of a process within the geological world is just so beautiful. I imagine anyone reading this who has taught or teaches will understand the feeling I mean. Outreach helps us to inspire students; it can provide pathways to further education and university and builds a wider community which can ultimately lead to resource sharing and beautiful collaborations.
We like to start each year with a hopeful message (see Natasha’s from 2025 here) and I’d like to do the same here. What am I hopeful about in geosciences? I am hopeful for the change that our subject is bringing- the change in the technologies being used to fight the climate crisis, and the developing understanding we have of the natural processes to help combat environmental pollution.
This initiative has helped shape my view of the world, has helped me to understand that while we are going through so many changes both inside and outside of academia, the work being done is pushing the boundaries of what we know.
My teaching also brings me hope- watching the students in front of me learn and understand the limits of the resources we have on our planet, understanding how water is recycled through rock aquifer systems, understanding geological time and how long it takes for minerals to form; watching this understanding brings me pure joy.
So, geoscience community – while we understand you are more time-pressured than ever – over 2026 we’ll still be hunting for brilliant stories, sharing outreach whenever we can and celebrating those little flashes of hope that remind us why geoscience is truly amazing 😊
Here’s to 2026 and the hope that 2026 can bring into our lives, xx
Feature image reference: Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash