This project contributed to the ongoing review by our member counties of their Local Geological Sites and allowed us to expand the data held to include soil descriptions. Following a 3-day training course, personnel across seven counties carried out a field assessment of the current condition of 160 aggregate sites, together with a review of any Quaternary features present and the collection of soils data. Against all odds, with fieldwork severely interrupted by the nationwide snowfall in January 2010, this work was completed, and 28 management plans were written for sites with particular potential for educational use. Recording forms and guidance notes for the field recording of soils and Quaternary deposits were developed and can be downloaded from the Resources section of this website.
The three-day training course at the start of the project was a great success, introducing local geologists, used to looking at rocks, to the softer materials on top! A classroom day at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester included lectures and workshop sessions on soils and Quaternary deposits. This was followed by two field days, the first involving a visit to a sand and gravel quarry and a soils exercise on the college farm. The second day was spent high in a Cotswolds valley examining soils and Quaternary deposits there. The photographs of the event speak for themselves. Thanks go to our expert tutors, Dr John Conway, Ian Fenwick and Dr Nick Chidlaw.
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