To jump-start the process of such a massive undertaking, the project working group led by Associate Professor Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, held a workshop focusing on collecting ideas for potential LFLs close to Bergen from all field-based disciplines represented at the department.

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The organizers furthermore encouraged discussions on the conceptual framework for the LFL-database i.e., how it ought to be put together to ensure ease of use for both lecturers and students. The workshop, that happened last Thursday on the 14th of March, was a huge success and had 17 participants, 11 of them professors.

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In preparing for the workshop the hosts had created examples of potential LFLs. For example, assistant professor Kenneth Mangersnes showcased glaciological and geological sites around Hardbakkedalen (see second photo below), a side valley connected to Isdalen. He highlighted how these can be put together to create self-guided field trips for students. Each site has an associated questionnaire designed to help students navigate the intricacies of landform interpretation. The future of this project involves applying for seed funding from iEarth to hire students to process the data, and eventually form the Vestland portion of the database. The framework and experiences from this pilot study will hopefully spur on and fuel similar initiatives at the other iEarth branches to elevate this project to a national scale and improve field-based teaching and learning in the Earth sciences across the country.

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