Kitty Taylor

After a compelling talk by Dan Raven-Ellison at the University of Exeter, I’ve been thinking deeply about how we understand, and teach, geography. As a geographer, explorer, and founder of several pioneering campaigns, Dan encouraged us to see the landscape not just as something to observe, but something to reimagine.

His video “100 Seconds of the UK” was particularly striking. In just over a minute, we are shown how land in the UK is zoned: residential, industrial, agricultural, and more. What quickly becomes clear is how little space is truly accessible green space, especially in urban environments. It’s a reminder that land use is not neutral; it reflects social, economic, and political priorities. Geography, then, is not just about place…it’s about power.

Equally inspiring was his discussion of Slow Ways, a project that maps walking routes between places across the UK. It’s a deeply geographic project, connecting people and places, but it’s also profoundly creative. Rooted in a mission to reconnect people with the landscape, it’s a quiet revolution in accessibility and sustainability. It suggests that geography isn’t just something we study, but something we do, a lived experience shaped by the choices we make about how to move and interact with our environment. This form of geography resists passivity. It’s about doing, experiencing, and reimagining the world.

Dan’s section on National Park Cities, places where people, nature, and culture are interwoven, is bold and visionary. The example of Chattanooga, with its urban biodiversity on the rise, offers hope that cities can be both lived-in and wild. He posed a simple yet powerful question: “Why not?”

That question stuck with me. It’s a deeply geographical one, inviting us to challenge the status quo of spatial planning, land use, and environmental justice. Geography helps us understand how places are organised, but more importantly, it empowers us to imagine how they could be transformed. What if cities were designed with nature at the heart? What if every journey was walkable, every neighbourhood biodiverse? Why not?

This is where creative geographies come in, and where I see real potential for secondary education. When we allow students to explore geography creatively, through mapping projects, multimedia storytelling, speculative urban design, or local fieldwork, we’re not just teaching content. We’re nurturing critical thinking, empathy, curiosity, and innovation. These are the skills that shape global citizens, individuals who don’t just understand the world but are equipped to change it.

Exploring geography creatively helps students see themselves as part of wider systems: environmental, social, cultural, and encourages them to ask bold questions. Why not redesign our cities? Why not walk instead of drive? Why not think differently?

Slow Ways could offer a powerful tool for teaching creative geographies in schools by transforming the abstract concept of connectivity into a lived experience. Through mapping, route-planning, and local exploration, students can engage with their physical environment in meaningful, imaginative ways. They can analyse how and why places are connected (or not), reimagine routes through a sustainability lens, and even contribute to the national Slow Ways network. This hands-on, inquiry-led approach supports geographical skills like spatial analysis and fieldwork, while also nurturing creativity, empathy, and a stronger sense of place, key ingredients in developing globally aware, locally active citizens.