UGAAP Geothrillogy Events

The Urban Geology Activity Access Programme (UGAAP) is designed to raise the profile of geological activities, encouraging interest & participation across multi-cultural youth groups through workshops, excursions, laboratory & studio activities

In the past several years UGAAP Geothrillogy workshops, which began in West Norwood, have been delivered for a number of local groups, schools and organizations across London and other areas around the UK.

Regular weekend sessions were run for The Education Alliance Africa in Camberwell, Southwark borough; summer term-break sessions for ‘New Deal For Communities’ New Cross Gate Trust in Lewisham borough, as well as continued sessions, featured on Planet Science, in West Norwood, Lambeth borough.

UGAAP Geothrillogy was also delivered for the Bristol based Kuumba project, contributing to the Afrikan Science website launch which took place in the @Bristol centre.

Seminars run by DISC – Delivering Inclusion in Science Communication, led to collaborative work with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), running exhibits & workshops for National Science & Engineering Week in the local neighbourhood. See British Association for the Advancement of Science blog and NERC article 'Rap Gets Deep'

Exhibits & activities for science & engineering week

At the Black Environment Network annual conference contact was initiated with the Jurassic Coast Team who commissioned Geothrillogy material specifically for their  'Walk-Through-Time' ’theme.The body of work details the stratigraphy and structural evolution of this Southwest England World Heritage site. Using this material, along with the Geothrillogy CD and Geology U ’n’ Verse booklet, workshops were run at Woodroffe secondary school in Dorset.

This culminated with the pupils – Team Triassic, Team Jurassic & Team Cretaceous presenting to the public at the annual Lyme Regis Fossil Festival, waxing lyrical about Mesozoic tectonic events affecting Exmouth to Studland Bay!

Working with entomologist Dr Paul Waring, met through the Black Environment Network has led to Geothrillogy treatment also applied to lepidopteran evolution and joint outreach Mothing sessions for Hitherfield primary school pupils and other children in the neighbourhood in Lambeth. Further joint Lepidopteran Geothrillogy mothing sessions were run for local community group ‘Roots & Shoots’ in Southwark and there was also opportunity to present on the pertinence of Tibetan tectonics impacting on the proliferation of the noble fruit - Malus Pumila for their annual apple-day event!

UGAAP Geothrillogy was delivered further south in the UK on the Isle of Wight for the  Fossil Detectives TV series and featured in episode 8.  The workshop delivered to pupils at Sandown High school was filmed by the BBC/Open University as reported by IoW County Press.  During the shoreline fossil find session with geoscientist and programme presenter Hermione Cockburn echinoids and belemnites were examinied and filming completing with commentary on the coccolithophore fossil rich cliff face, a fade out to the lapping waves and a rendition of ‘Calcium Carbonate Chronicles’ geosong:

Occurring as plankton coccolithophores

Micro-balls of calcite disc plates

Making chalky strata with numerous pores

Reservoir zone calcium carbonate!

A talk on North Sea Oil will take place at 7pm, Tuesday 13^th November 2012,  at the Ravensbourne Geological Society at Beckenham Methodist Church Hall Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 5JE

UGAAP & Geothrillogy Genesis

Experience in petroleum exploration and a passion for geology coupled with the capacity for lyrical verse and a history in gospel singing has led to the development of a musical synopsis of geoscience - Geothrillogy,  novel & unique feature of Eknalos GeoTek’s Urban Geology Activity Access Programme (UGAAP)

The URBAN GEOLOGY ACTIVITY ACCESS PROGRAMME (UGAAP) has been created to address the under- representation of indigenous black & minority ethnic (BME) people studying & working in geosciences in the UK.

UGAAP  is designed to raise the profile of geological activities, encouraging interest & participation across multi-cultural youth groups through workshops, excursions, laboratory & studio activities

UGAAP presents & demonstrates the delight and rewarding prospects to be found across geoscience disciplines..

UGAAP includes ‘edutainment’ elements - geolyrics are specifically written to aid learning about the natural environment, resources & technological advances. 

UGAAP sessions culminate in presentations by participants – exhibiting their work & delivering accounts including geosongs that are specifically written to aid learning about the natural environment, resources & technological advances. 

UGAAP provides an introduction to geological pursuits in a fun & creative way, using and developing further the Geothrillogy multimedia tool.  See 'Strat's The Word'

UGAAP Origins & Niches

The Urban Geology Activity Access Programme (UGAAP) was inspired by influences & experiences gained as a geologist of Nigerian heritage, raised and educated in London.

A career in Oil & Gas began some 3 decades back in the early 80’s, employed by Sovereign Oil & Gas on North Sea exploration.  Geotechnical work dealt with prospect evaluation, drilling operations and company representation at the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA)

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Later, joining BP’s Exploration Technical Centre (XTC), work focused on geo-computing developments – the design & implementation of a relational geological database.

Next was work in structural geology for BP’s Exploration Frontiers International (XFI) regional asset teams – this included training course developments & delivery, basin modelling, generating palaeogeographical reconstructions, writing technology transfer procedural guides and structural geology video production.

Alongside this was a role chairing the ‘Women-in-BP’ network contributing to global management policy initiatives to promote equality and advance women’s careers. The network featured in ‘Glass Ceiling Breakers’ - a European Commission film.

Subsequent roles have included IT tuition for adult education; database & laboratory work for the Metropolitan Forensic Science Service; Municipal Environmental jobs for various council boroughs; Science, Technical, Engineering & Maths (STEM) Ambassador activities and Cultural Diversity Consultation & delivery for the London Engineering Project (LEP).

Work now comprises UGAAP Geothrillogy developments, basin analysis lectures for London South Bank University’s Petroleum Engineering MSc, panel assessment of Petroleum Systems presentations and providing field work support. 

North Sea Oil talk given for the Ravensbourne Geological Society November meeting at Beckenham Methodist Church Hall Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 5JE