Geography - Introduction to Independent Investigation (draft)

For this fieldwork investigation I decided to look at how the coastal defences in Herne Bay - located along the coastline of Kent, approximately 10 kilometres north of Canterbury - affect local residents and visitors to the area, as well as whether they keep the seaside town safe. To achieve this, I chose to to carry out a questionnaire that targets a variety of different age groups in order to receive some good qualitative data, as well as measure sediment along the coast to determine the direction of longshore drift.

In the late January of 1953, a storm surge hit the coastline of Kent and caused lots of flooding. When interviewed by the BBC news, Herne Bay resident Doreen White stated "it gradually got rougher and windier and rougher and windier and the tide was coming up and up and up. It was obvious what was going to happen". When the storm surge hit the coastline it managed to breach the sea defences and flooded the town, destroying homes and killing livestock. The Kent coastline became victim yet again during mid-October in 1987, when it was hit by one of the strongest storms ever recorded to hit the United Kingdom. With this particular stretch of coastline having been so severely affected twice within 34 years, it is vitally important that residents feel safe and that tourists aren't discouraged from visiting the traditional seaside town. In order to ensure that the town and its people are being properly protected, Canterbury City Council were granted £2.8 million in 2018 in order to improve coastal defences. This included replacing groynes, repairing the sea wall and installing rock armour between the King's Hall pumping station and the Herne Bay Sailing Club. These groynes were made from Greenheart wood sourced from the South American country Guyana, and is the strongest wood that can be brought so it will be capable of withstanding the force of the sea. The timber was approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council, meaning that it came from a forest that is being managed sustainably.

While this research shows that measures are indeed being put in place to protect Herne Bay, there is no evidence to suggest how the general public feel about the coastal defences. While they are important, and it is crucial that they are well-maintained, public perception is valuable in determining success as if people are feeling unsafe then they will be more likely to move away from or not visit the area, which would affect its economy. Whilst researching the town, I didn't see any data linked to the social impacts of coastal defences, which I see as being a gap in pre-existing knowledge of this topic as it can be used as a supporting factor in the argument as to why expensive hard engineering is oftentimes necessary. I aimed to fill in this gap by learning the general ideas held by both residents and tourists to the area, and Herne Bay is the optimum location for this investigation as it not only has a wide range of defences that have recently been updated, but it is accessible to me as it is just an hour and a half away from where I live by car.

Before travelling to Herne Bay, I decided to reach out to some of the area's residents through their local Facebook groups. This allowed me to gather feedback from people living there as to what they think about the coastal defences that have been put in place. One resident told me that he was concerned that Neptune's Arm - a breakwater installed to the east of the Herne Bay pier - had been built the wrong way around. This comment interested me, so I decided to make this a sub-question in my investigation. Alongside this, I investigated my main query: how the coastal defences impact humans in Herne Bay. This included looking at accessibility to the beach for buggies or wheelchair users, how local businesses are affected, quality of life, health and safety, the perceptions of people in regard to the defences and impacts on the quality of life and general look of the location.

Studies like this are important as often when coastal defences are studied, the impact that they have on the people who live and work near them isn't taken into account. They can make beaches inaccessible to wheelchair and buggy users and pose as a health and safety hazard, as well as potentially deterring tourists from visiting the area if they detract from the landscape's natural beauty. This investigation also requires very little equipment, making it easier to carry out for people who are unable to carry it. Most physical geography investigations require large pieces of equipment such as measuring poles that some geographers may not have the space to transport to their investigation sites, so by doing this investigation I am making it easier for it to be repeated by others in different locations.

Sampling method	Why this was effective	Problems and weaknesses	Risks and ethics
Stone measurements along the beach, by the breakwater “Neptune’s Arm”. Starting from the base of the breakwater, I measured the “a”, “b” and “c” axis of fifty stones from three locations – each location being 200 metres apart – and categorised them by using Power’s roundness index as well as recording their sphericity.	By measuring stones in three locations, each being 200 metres apart, along the stretch of beach that the breakwater aims to protect, I was able to gain an understanding as to which direction longshore drift was occurring. Sediment should gradually get smaller and more rounded following the direction of the waves as the sea erodes it through attrition and abrasion whilst transporting it along the coast. By understanding which direction the longshore drift was occurring in based on sediment size and shape, I was able to find out whether or not the breakwater had been built the wrong way around.	If beach nourishment had recently occurred along this stretch of coast then my results would be anomalous and inconclusive. I can, however, rule this out as the sediment along the beach visibly changed in size at each location. If stones had been added onto the beach then they wouldn’t have had such a visible change in characteristics. Because only fifty stones were measured in each of the three locations, this sampling is very small-scale compared to the amount of sediment on the beach. However, this helps to build an image as to what can be expected along the rest of the coastline. In order to reduce the likeliness of inaccurate results, I used digital callipers. This ensured that all measurements are accurate, thus making my data more reliable.	There is always the risk of obtaining biased results when sampling, so in order to ensure that the stones that I measured were random I sent my family members to select fifty stones from each of my sampling locations as they didn’t know what results I was looking for within the investigation. As well as that, there are health and safety risks surrounding sampling on the beach. I made sure to wear comfortable footwear that I would be able to walk across stones in all day without hurting myself, and I made sure to wear sun cream and sunglasses so as not to get burned or damage my eyes.
Environmental quality survey along the Central Parade, 1000 metres east and west of the base of Neptune’s Arm. The factors that I was looking at included paving and road quality, litter, dereliction, street furniture, traffic safety, and maintenance.	There were more coastal defences to the east of my starting point as that area had more tourist attractions, so by looking at the quality of the environment to both the east and the west I was able to gain an understanding as to whether or not the areas away from the starting point were well maintained.	Environmental quality surveys rely upon the judgement of whoever is carrying out the investigation. What one person might consider to be poor maintenance, another person trying to replicate this investigation may see to be mediocre. This qualitative data colleting method is opinion-based, meaning that it is possible to get different results while recreating this investigation.	Whilst I was carrying out this sampling method, I took some photos. Some people may not want to be in photographs, especially if they will be used in my investigation. In order to protect identities, I made sure to censor the faces of members of the public and any number plates on vehicles that may be visible in any of my images.
Questionnaires along the seafront. I spoke to a variety of both tourists and residents from various age groups in order to look for trends in responses.	By using closed questions, with just two open questions to allow for elaboration, I was able to gather a good idea as to what the general public along the Herne Bay seafront thought about the coastal defences. I went to the coast on a sunny Sunday, meaning that there were lots of people out and about that were willing to stop and speak to me.	I collected just over fifty questionnaires, which compared to the population of the seaside town isn’t a lot. However, a lot of people had the same responses to my questions so this helped to build up a general idea as to what other people in the area might think or say.	Some people may not have been willing to speak to me, and had this been the case then I would have left them alone and moved on to talk to somebody else. However, everybody in Herne Bay was very friendly and willing to help me so I was very fortunate. I made sure to wear my college identification pass and introduce myself as a geography student before asking questions to inform people that I wasn’t trying to sell anything to them and to let them know how their answers would be used. I made sure that my family was nearby to ensure my own personal safety, and I didn’t take any personal information to ensure anonymity for the people I spoke to.
Annotated photos were taken along the beach to add to my evidence, as well as to point out any areas of interest.	By taking photos and annotating them, I am creating a visual aid that means that my images can be compared to any new ones taken should anybody wish to recreate this investigation in the future. It also means that I am able to point out any interesting things that can add to the fieldwork. For example, I took photos of the ground at each of the locations where I measured stones so that I can compare the visual differences in sediment size. I also took photos of coastal defences, beach access and points of interest whilst completing my environmental quality survey.	Some of my photos had to be discarded as the lighting made it difficult to see what was being highlighted, which I didn’t see until I was out of direct sunlight. Annotated photos can be difficult to gather as lighting and weather can alter the appearance of the area, meaning that no two pictures will ever be completely the same.	Lots of people aren’t happy about being in other people’s photographs – especially against their knowledge – so I made sure to blur out any visible faces and ensure that vehicle registration plates were censored as well. This means that the identity of the people around me is protected, ensuring complete anonymity.
Talking to Herne Bay residents on a local Facebook group. By introducing myself as a geography student and asking how people felt about the coastal defences, I was able to hear some interesting ideas from people who live in the town itself – thus being most affected – which helped to gain an understanding as to how they are perceived.	This was helpful as it allowed me to gain an understanding as to how residents felt about the coastal defences before I travelled to Herne Bay. This also helped me to develop my sub-question regarding Neptune’s Arm reportedly being built the wrong way around – a concern that was also mentioned to me in my questionnaires.	Not every Herne Bay resident would be a part of their local Facebook group, and only a handful of people responded to me. This means that the answers that I received only counted for a very small percentage of the overall population.	In order to protect the identities of the people who spoke to me about their local area, I told them that their names wouldn’t be published in my investigation.

Bibliography:

• BBC News. (2013). Flood of 1953: Memories from Kent. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-21262231. Last accessed 13th September 2019.
• A, Russell. The Great Storm of 16 October 1987. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8976000/8976297.stm. Last accessed 13th September 2019.
• Canterbury Newsroom. (2018). £2.8 million sea defence work for Herne Bay. Available: https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/2-8-million-sea-defence-work-for-herne-bay/. Last accessed 13th September 2019.