Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Graeme Swindles, Head of Geography, Archaeology and Paleoecology at Queen’s University Belfast. In this Interview, we discuss Graeme’s journey to become Head of Geography, life as a Geography Professor, as well his current, exciting research projects. We also touch on some of the modules Graeme teaches throughout the BSc in Geography and MSc in Climate Change here at QUB.
Q1. Firstly, can you tell us about your journey and how you became Head of Geography at Queen’s?
Yes, no problem. That’s quite a good one! You know, originally, I never wanted to go into this area. I always wanted to be an Airline Pilot. I went to Flight Training School back in the day, and I learned how to fly light planes. But of course, I always had an interest in the Natural Environment and Planet Earth. When I was a boy, my dad was a Naturalist. He was an Engineer during the week, but on weekends, he loved going for walks in the Belfast Hills and going up to the Glens of Antrim. I remember as a wee boy, going up to the Glens with him and being very interested in why rocks were different colours, why there were lakes and rivers in some places and not others, what peat bogs were and these sorts of geographical things. So, I always had an interest in the natural world.
However, when I started thinking about University, I originally wanted to Study Physics because I still wanted to be a Pilot at this stage. But then I did exceptionally well in A-Level Geography, and I changed my mind. I thought, you know what, I’m going to do Geography because I’m far more interested in it and I thought Physics might be a bit boring, unless you’re doing Quantum Physics or something funky like that. So, I went on to study Geography at the University of Durham. Whilst I was studying there, I became really interested in climate change and the planet’s responses to climate change (past, present and future). I then did my dissertation on Holocene sea-level change in County Antrim. I took lots of core samples up in the Glens of Antrim and used that to reconstruct how the coastline had changed in response to higher and lower sea levels in the past. This was quite exciting because nobody had really found that succession before, so it was a real process of discovery, which was fascinating. It involved both fieldwork and laboratory work, I absolutely loved it. Although I did my dissertation at the University of Durham, Professor Helen Roe from QUB acted as sort of a co-supervisor for me, because she knows all about sea-level change in NI!
Then, Dr Alastair Ruffell from QUB called me up one day and told me that they had these PhDs available in Queen’s and asked if I would be interested in any of them. Alastair was Postgraduate Research Co-ordinator at the time, and I was only 23 or something like that. So, it’s a long time ago now. They offered me a PhD, looking at Peatlands in Northern Ireland, in terms of hydrological change and climate. So, I then applied for it and got it, and Helen Roe was my PhD supervisor. The path was then set, I was no longer going to be a Pilot, but a Physical Geographer instead-which set me on a whole different course.
After I completed my PhD at Queen’s, I worked for Belfast City Council as an Environmental Scientist. I worked on air pollution monitoring- which was great, but I just felt that it got a bit boring after a while and that academia was calling me back.
So, I then applied for a Lectureship at the University of Bradford, which I got, and I worked there for 3 years. I was then offered a job at the University of Leeds, where I worked for 10 years. I worked as a Lecturer and then as a Reader. And then a Professorship at Queen’s came up and I thought I’d just apply for it and see what happens, but then I got it! You know, I never thought I was going to come home to NI. I always thought I was away for life over in England. But I got the position and my family, and I wanted a bit of a change. So, we went for it. Shortly after that, Diarmid Finnegan stepped down as Head of Geography and asked if I would be interested in doing it. I then became Head of Geography, Archaeology and Paleoecology, which I’m loving. We’ve got such a great family of staff in geography, a great bunch of students and every day, there is always something positive that happens in both Geography and ArcPal.
Yeah so, failed Airline Pilot to Geography Professor- which is funny because 2 of my former students are now Airline Pilots- one works for EasyJet and the other one works for British Airways. I don’t think I'd ever want to be a Pilot now though; I wouldn’t trust myself!!
Q2. What would you say is your favourite thing about being a Geography Professor at Queen’s?
I have to say, my favourite thing is talking to the students, and I know it sounds cliché, but I love to hear the differences in opinion, the different ideas students have, and you all make me laugh. There’s great comradery and banter. I love that we have that, because I’ve been to other institutions where it feels like there is a wall between Professors and Students and that they are quite different from each other. But I feel that were not like that, and it feels like we all work together. I really love my research, but my favourite thing is meeting and talking to the students, it’s what I most enjoy.
Q3. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of your job?
I would say the most challenging thing about being head of Geography and ArcPal is the sheer amount of bureaucracy and paperwork, it’s quite dull and boring. The most challenging thing about being a Geography Lecturer in general, is being on top of the game. In the sense that, the planet is constantly changing so rapidly. So, I must keep updating my lectures every year, which creates a lot of work.
Q4. What sort of modules do you teach throughout the BSc in Geography and MSc in Climate Change?
I have a research grant at the minute, which relieves me of some teaching. So, I don’t teach as much as I normally do at present. However, the main module I do still teach is, GGY3095 ‘Environmental Catastrophes.’ I also contribute to GGY2058 ‘Global Environmental Change’ and the Mallorca Field Course as well. However, my main module is ‘Environmental Catastrophes’ which is about natural catastrophes but also how these natural catastrophes are now becoming anthropogenic as well.
Within the MSc in Climate Change, I’m leading a module called GGY7008 ‘Mitigating Climate Change.’ One of my areas of expertise are nature-based climate solutions to Climate Change. So, looking at the ways in which we can draw down carbon for example, by restoring peatlands that act as natural sinks for carbon. I’m also leading a field trip to Peatlands Park and a few lab classes as well. This new Climate Change MSc is so exciting. I can’t wait to get stuck into it. Climate change is the number 1 issue with our planet and there is nothing more important. It’s a biting issue now. We’ve seen the fires in North America and Hawaii. Even our weather here in NI has been crazy- the very hot June we had, followed by the terrible heavy rain and now we’re getting hot again. We’re feeling the effects of climate change very strongly and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that it is accelerating. Climate change is something that Geographers should really be involved in and not ignore. I include human geographers in that too, because with climate change, we’re going to see mass migration, economic collapse, flooded cities. It involves the human world, not just the natural world.
Q5. Were you ever Human Geography orientated, or did you always prefer Physical Geography?
Well, I studied both in my undergraduate degree at Durham. In first year, I did half and half and then in second year, I did mostly physical. However, I still did a couple Human Geography modules, but I made a real mess of them! Dr Satish Kumar from QUB, would not be impressed, but I got quite a low mark in my Development Studies module! However, I did a module called ‘Global Climate Change’ and I think I got like 90% on it. So, I thought, hang on a minute, I think I am Physical Geographer and then I specialised in that field.
However, I did enjoy my Human Geography modules and I am certainly, one of the people who thinks Geography must have its two sides. I feel like in some Universities, there is a split, even rivalry between Physical and Human Geography but at Queen’s, we don’t have that. We’re all one big family, which is fabulous and how it should be. The problems we face in the World are both scientific and human things.
Q6. Can you tell us more about the research you're currently focusing on?
I have a research grant at the minute from the Leverhulme Trust, which is all about how global peatlands are releasing pollution in response to climate change. So, I am currently looking at contaminate release from peatlands.
We all know peatlands have been sucking in lots of carbon for thousands of years, but they’ve also been sucking in lots of the pollution we make as well, from heavy metals, such as, cadmium, lead and metalloids such as arsenic.
The problem is that with climate change, those peatlands start to dry out and you’re going to get more decomposition of the peat. And say if you have a fire that goes through that, all that stuff that’s been locked underground is going to be released, like a pollution bomb waiting to happen and it is, happening.
And so, with this project, what we’re trying to do is take samples from peatlands all around the world and do lab-based experiments where we are manipulating things to try and see how this is all working and how it is going to pan out.
So, we’ve got samples from all sorts of places such as, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Canadian High Arctic, as well as some European countries and South and Central American countries too. So, for this research project, I’ve been doing fieldwork in some amazing places.
However, there are some challenges. For example, we’ve had some close calls with bears in the Arctic!! Working in the Peruvian Amazon has also been quite challenging because of the deadly snakes. But in the Amazon, the one thing that scares me more than the snakes, are the people. Sometimes, some of the villagers can be aggressive and threatening. They sometimes demand more money than we have, and we have given a lot of money and gifts to try to appease the locals. But it is so difficult for the villagers too. There are some oil companies exploiting their areas as well and some of the villagers don’t know the difference between us and them. They don’t realise that I’m a scientist on a research grant and not a part of a big oil company or prospecting company looking for minerals.
A more local place that I’m doing research at present is Cranny Bogs, outside Fintona in Co. Tyrone. Those peatlands have been restored and so we’re looking at the microbes to see how well they are recovering.
I have 4 PhD students as well as 2 Post-Doctoral Research Assistants, which is great because being head of both Geography and ArcPal can be very time consuming, so it’s good to have a team that can help with my research.
Q7. Would you say you’re more interested now in research as opposed to teaching?
I would say I’m half and half. They’re very different things. With teaching, if you go in and give a good class, it’s a real buzz. However, research can be a long, sometimes painful, slow process because you must do the fieldwork, the lab work, the data analysis and the writing. And so, it can be a bit more draining than teaching. If you’re a reasonably good teacher, you can get an easy win. You give a good lecture, and you feel on top of the world. But research can go either way. Your paper or grant application can get rejected, which can put you into a bit of a downer. But yes, as I said, research and teaching are very different from each other. Research is a long, slow burn and when it goes right, it’s a real drug, it's great! On the other hand, teaching is also great because if you do a good lecture, it’s a real tonic as well.
The other great thing about teaching is interacting with the students, having a bit of a laugh. I’ve also seen some fabulous pieces of work, which makes teaching quite rewarding. You know, the top end at Queen’s is far better than the top end I’ve seen at other Universities I've taught in before. So, I would say I’m 50/50 with teaching and research. I like them both equally in different ways.
Q8. Finally, what would you say to the people who refute climate change?
I would say look around you and think about what’s happening. One of the places where you can see climate change happening the clearest is in high latitudes/Arctic regions. If you live somewhere mid latitude, you don’t necessarily feel the effects of climate change that strongly. But when you go to the high latitudes, you do.
Another thing I would say to those people who refute climate change is, why would all these scientists make this up? Do you think it’s for research money? Ha, as if!! It really isn't.
There are so many records out there that show us that climate change is happening. And we can even see it here in Northern Ireland. The weather patterns are just so different now. I was born in 1980 and when I was a kid, you used to have these summers, they were awful. They had this low level of drizzle that went on for 3 months. But now, it’s so much more aggressive. We see these periods of torrential rainfall followed by periods of drought, then followed by another period of torrential rainfall. It’s one extreme to the other and the changes are quite incredible. The evidence is clear; weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and the cryosphere is in a terrible state. We’re losing our glaciers, all over the planet.
Some people have suggested that climate change is all about the sun and that it’s a natural phenomenon. But the patterns we see in terms of climate change don’t match what’s happening with solar variability.
It's funny because when I first started my career, I wasn’t a climate sceptic or anything like that, but I was still open minded about climate change. I thought, yes, climate change is here. We are at least part of the driver of it. Is it a problem? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But it’s when I started working on the Arctic in 2010, when I moved my research into more high-latitude stuff, that I realised the sheer magnitude of climate change.
There are also lots of uncertainties surrounding climate change as well. There’s lots we don’t know about. Say for example, the soil climate carbon feedback which is the idea that if we heat up the soils, they decompose more, the carbon gets released and there’s so many aspects to this that we have such little understanding of, that could potentially drive us into extreme climate change.
From the work I've been doing up in the Scandinavian Arctic, I can see that the rates of acceleration of permafrost thaw and carbon release is far faster than we ever thought. And I think it’s human nature that if we don’t see something ourselves, we don’t necessarily believe it. There is also this awful flaw in all of us that we think ‘oh it will never happen to me.’ I suppose it’s our coping mechanism.
But one thing I've realised, is how deeply concerned some of the Geography and ArcPal students are about the future of the planet, which makes me feel proud as a lecturer. I’m delighted to see that students do care about their planet because it will be you and your children as well as your grandchildren who will be suffering the consequences.
If anyone wants to meet with Graeme in person or on Teams, please email him at g.swindles@qub.ac.uk.
