Dutch biogeologists and the Junior College Utrecht have developed a Biogeology educational program for Dutch highschool students. The program will address the evolution of ocean and terrestrial life and the way it is linked to the silica cycle. The program titled ‘Living Earth’ is developed for the highschool course ‘Nature, Living and Technique' (Natuur, Leven en Techniek), in which subjects on the interface of biology, physics, physical geography, chemistry and mathematics are the center of attention.

Testing phase

On 9 November about 30 highschool students from 5 and 6 VWO visited Utrecht University to test the Biogeology program. They followed lectures and made assignments. Other schools will test the course before it will be officially implemented in highschool educational programs.

Scientists

Marieke Lammers, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jelle Reumer, Caroline Slomp, Wilma Wessels and Henk Brinkhuis of Utrecht University contributed to the course in cooperation with Marloes Kloosterboer-van Hoeve of the Junior College Utrecht. The Darwin Center for Biogeosciences partly funded this project.