Looking for info on local area

angeldaisy

I'm wondering if anyone can help me out, I'm a 1st year geog student and currently doing an essay on the geography in my local area, I'm interested in looking at agriculture, landforms, biosphere, historical and rural structures.
Most of the info I'm okay with finding out about, but was wondering if there is a website that can help me out with landforms and or historical geography in my local area, which is the parish of Fedamore in Limerick?
Is there likely to be information available in the local library and if so what am I looking for?
Hope someone can help me out?

enda1

Your community council seems to have a descent enough website.

Maybe you'd be better posting on your regional forum though.

angeldaisy

enda1 wrote: »

Your community council seems to have a descent enough website.

Maybe you'd be better posting on your regional forum though.

I've done that already, and I'm currently going through the website. I was just wondering if there were anymore specific sites.

El Siglo

angeldaisy wrote: »

I'm wondering if anyone can help me out, I'm a 1st year geog student and currently doing an essay on the geography in my local area, I'm interested in looking at agriculture, landforms, biosphere, historical and rural structures. Most of the info I'm okay with finding out about, but was wondering if there is a website that can help me out with landforms and or historical geography in my local area, which is the parish of Fedamore in Limerick? Is there likely to be information available in the local library and if so what am I looking for? Hope someone can help me out?

Agriculture, landforms (not sure what you mean by that, please elaborate) can somewhat be found on the EPA map viewer website. I only know the UCD and TCD libraries, but I know UCD Richview library has the archaeological survey books for each county, that'll cover most historical features. "Biosphere" I take it you mean biodiversity? These can also be found in the libraries I've mentioned, there might be a biodiversity action plan (I think) produced by the county council in your area, so that may be useful. It might also be good to look at the county development plan, the SEA (strategic environmental assessment) will have a good outline of the area you want to look at in regards to biodiversity etc... There should be some information at the local library, perhaps someone might have a thesis written that might be related to your local area, they're good sources of information. I know the map libraries in UCD and TCD will have a load of data on your site as well, I'd enquire if you're in one of these places. The OSI have the 1st and 2nd edition 6" and 25" maps online, these are good for looking at pre-famine and post-famine changes. If you get a hold of the maps they did in the 1920s, 1950s and present, these are available also in the UCD and TCD map libraries. Apart from that, you should have enough there. I'd also get a copy of "Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape" by Fred Aalen et al. (1997), it's a pretty decent book and one that'll be worth mentioning (i.e. it's one of those books, like Frank Mitchell's "Reading the Irish Landscape", they're kind of iconic in this kind of thing).

angeldaisy

Thank you so much El Siglo for your help. I will have a look at all that info. I am assuming that when the essay talks of landforms that it means, hills, woods, valleys etc.. for the biosphere we are looking at soils and vegetation, most of the area is grassland, so shouldn't be too difficult?
I managed to look at an old map yesterday and am hoping to access the city library (I'm in Limerick) to look at others.
Thanks again

El Siglo

angeldaisy wrote: »

Thank you so much El Siglo for your help. I will have a look at all that info. I am assuming that when the essay talks of landforms that it means, hills, woods, valleys etc.. for the biosphere we are looking at soils and vegetation, most of the area is grassland, so shouldn't be too difficult?
I managed to look at an old map yesterday and am hoping to access the city library (I'm in Limerick) to look at others.
Thanks again

Landforms as I take it would be the geomorphology of the area, rivers, mountains etc... I suppose biosphere would include vegetation alright, shouldn't be too hard. I'd also suggest that if you're down at your field site, bring a wee garden trowel and a camera, and as most geographers say do a bit of "ground truthing", go to a few sites (ask permission), take a few soil samples and take pictures of them. It'll look good that you actually did a bit of fieldwork. Again, check with health and safety and go through your departmental fieldwork guide.

SeaFields

El Siglo wrote: »

I'd also suggest that if you're down at your field site, bring a wee garden trowel and a camera, and as most geographers say do a bit of "ground truthing", go to a few sites (ask permission), take a few soil samples and take pictures of them. It'll look good that you actually did a bit of fieldwork. Again, check with health and safety and go through your departmental fieldwork guide.

Jeebus! Gotta disagree with you on this one el sligo.

For a first year essay, fieldwork isn't required and wouldnt be expected. Is must be about 1500 words op? Its a bit confusing as to which exactly you are looking at from the list you gave specifically.

Use an OSI map. Stick tracing paper over it and outline a border. Then do a map up of the area highlighting what you are writing about i.e. if its historical structures (ringforts, castles) map them with an individual symbol. You'll soon have a map of the entire area and all the sites your interested in with patterns of distribution etc. Wont take more than a couple of hours.

For soils there's a book on the soils of Ireland and for the life of me I cant think of the name or author. I have the name of it at home and send a PM if you still need it over the weekend.

El Siglo

SeaFields wrote: »

Jeebus! Gotta disagree with you on this one el sligo.

For a first year essay, fieldwork isn't required and wouldnt be expected. Is must be about 1500 words op? Its a bit confusing as to which exactly you are looking at from the list you gave specifically.

Use an OSI map. Stick tracing paper over it and outline a border. Then do a map up of the area highlighting what you are writing about i.e. if its historical structures (ringforts, castles) map them with an individual symbol. You'll soon have a map of the entire area and all the sites your interested in with patterns of distribution etc. Wont take more than a couple of hours.

For soils there's a book on the soils of Ireland and for the life of me I cant think of the name or author. I have the name of it at home and send a PM if you still need it over the weekend.

I'm a sedimentologist, so I love me bit of field work!

There's a book by Cruickshank on the soils of Northern Ireland, now I know that's not Limerick but I wouldn't say it's much far off and it'll probably have some good chapters in it on soils in general terms. Ireland is actually one of the hardest places to core in believe it or not!:pac:

SeaFields

Actually just remembered the name of that book on soils...

Soil Associations of Ireland and their land use potential by Gardiner (1980).

Should be plenty of reference to Limerick.

(Oh God I am a nerd to be able to remember that after all this time )

angeldaisy

SeaFields wrote: »

Jeebus! Gotta disagree with you on this one el sligo.

For a first year essay, fieldwork isn't required and wouldnt be expected. Is must be about 1500 words op? Its a bit confusing as to which exactly you are looking at from the list you gave specifically.

Use an OSI map. Stick tracing paper over it and outline a border. Then do a map up of the area highlighting what you are writing about i.e. if its historical structures (ringforts, castles) map them with an individual symbol. You'll soon have a map of the entire area and all the sites your interested in with patterns of distribution etc. Wont take more than a couple of hours.

For soils there's a book on the soils of Ireland and for the life of me I cant think of the name or author. I have the name of it at home and send a PM if you still need it over the weekend.

ta for the info, the essay is 2000 words and I need to include 5 core geographical themes. I guess its because its fairly new to me and I hope to continue with it next year that I want to do the best I can. I'm only starting the research now as its not due til end march. I just wasn't sure where to start looking for some of the info!

El Siglo

Op, this might also be of use to you.

angeldaisy

El Siglo wrote: »

Op, this might also be of use to you.

thanks for that, funnily enough I'm on their website at the moment and was just looking at this. its a great help having people who can share their knowledge and obvious passion for the subject. Cheers!

SeaFields

angeldaisy wrote: »

ta for the info, the essay is 2000 words and I need to include 5 core geographical themes. I guess its because its fairly new to me and I hope to continue with it next year that I want to do the best I can. I'm only starting the research now as its not due til end march. I just wasn't sure where to start looking for some of the info!

No bother. Just consider the above two in bold. 2000 words less a couple of hundred words of an introduction and conclusion leaves 300-350 words per geographical theme. Keep that in mind for the amount of reading you are doing for it - no point researching enough to do a 8000 word essay when a quarter of the time will do.

Good luck