Founding Members
Professor Derek France
University of Chester
Derek is Emeritus Professor of Pedagogy in Geographical Sciences at the University of Chester. He worked at the University for more than 30 years and is a National Teaching Fellow. He was also a recipient of an Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence alongside the EFL team in 2018.
Professor Julian Park
University of Reading
Julian is Professor of Agricultural Systems in the Department of Sustainable Land Management at the University of Reading. His research focuses on sustainable, resilient and high-performing agricultural systems, including food-loss reduction, agri-voltaics, farm sustainability assessment and technology adoption.
He is a National Teaching Fellow, Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and recipient of a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence. His educational interests include experiential learning, fieldwork education and enhancing the student learning experience.
Professor Brian Whalley
University of Sheffield / Queens University Belfast
Brian is a retired academic associated with the University of Sheffield and Queen’s University Belfast. His research interests include geomorphology, mountain and glacial environments, geoheritage and information technology.
His educational work focuses on improving student experiences by linking laboratory and fieldwork learning. At Queen’s University Belfast, he contributed to the development of geoskills and continues to support the use of technology in field-based education.
Core EFL Team
Associate Professor Alice Mauchline
University of Reading
Alice is Associate Professor of Agricultural Ecology and Education at the University of Reading. Her research focuses on the participatory development of sustainable farming approaches and on-farm trials supporting the adoption of agricultural technologies and innovations.
Her pedagogic interests include sustainable and equitable fieldwork teaching and learning, and the use of citizen-science approaches in research and teaching.
Associate Professor Katharine Welsh
Academic Innovation
Katharine is Associate Professor of Academic Innovation and University Innovation Fellow at the University of Chester. She leads strategic educational change projects and supports the enhancement of academic practice.
Her research interests include technology-enhanced learning in fieldwork environments, catchment-scale flood modelling, community flood resilience and the use of gamification to support sustainable lifestyles.
Professor Lesley Batty
University of Birmingham
Lesley is Professor of Environmental Science Education at the University of Birmingham. Her teaching focuses on inclusivity and employability, and she was awarded Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2023.
She co-edited Teaching Fieldwork in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and has a particular interest in environmental science education, industrial sites and inclusive fieldwork.
Dr Trevor Collins
Open University
Trevor is Senior Research Fellow in Educational Technology at the Open University’s School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences.
He developed mobile and web technologies for Open University field courses, including remote access to inaccessible field sites for students with disabilities. He also led the development of interactive web broadcasting for laboratory and fieldwork learning at scale.
Dr Julia Cooke
Open University
Julia is Senior Lecturer in Ecology at the Open University. She is a plant ecologist whose research uses plant traits to examine ecological strategies, with particular interest in plant silicon.
She teaches across undergraduate levels and specialises in innovative, student-led approaches to fieldwork and learning. She joined the EFL team in 2020.
Earlier Team Members
Dr Anthony Cliffe
University of Chester
Alex Lerczak
student partner
Dr Victoria PowelL
maternity-cover team member
In 2018, the EFL team received an Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence and a Spotlight Award recognising the transformational impact of their multi-institutional and multidisciplinary collaboration on attitudes towards technology-enhanced fieldwork learning.