David Edwards - guest public speaker providing 
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Public guest speaker biography

My geographical and environmental education background

Current

I am a university tutor on sustainability and renewable energy, and natural hazards. I am also an earth science field studies guide for the Bay of Naples volcanic area (including Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius) and Iceland. I combine this with freelance public speaking and lecturing around the world.

Experience

David Edwards - public speaker giving talks to schools and clubs on travel and adventure I have been a professional mountain walks leader and have climbed and backpacked in Britain, Canada, USA, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, the Italian Dolomites and the Alps. I graduated from Edinburgh University in geology and worked as an expedition science leader in Botswana and the Yukon, and as a field studies tutor teaching geology and geography.

As the university expeditions advisor for the Royal Geographical Society I advised countless expeditions, helping to ensure they raised funds, were safe, and achieved their objectives. While there, I fell off a mountain in winter and self rescued with broken legs. I wrote an expedition planning guide for the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and the latest edition is available via my expedition planning page.

I have worked as a ranger in the Grand Canyon National Park, and on a biodiversity survey of Montserrat as the volcanic eruptions started. I was the Director of Studies for Edinburgh University’s Global Environmental Change international summer school and have produced environmental resources for the National Trust for Scotland.

I was for many years a lecturer in environmental sustainability for the University of Glasgow and tutored for the University of the West of Scotland at their Dumfries Campus. I have had many articles published in national journals and have contributed to Radio 4's Excess Baggage travel programme. In 2010 I was part of an expedition in the Pacific conducting seafloor research, and in 2013 participated in a Geological Society of America expedition to Antarctica. In 2021 I was an official observer at the COP26 in Glasgow.

Affiliations

David Edwards - public speaker giving talks to schools and clubs on travel and adventure I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for my public communication of geographical subjects.





"We have had many excellent speakers come to our U3A and David is undoubtedly one of the best. David has a great talent for engaging the audience from the start with vivid and often humorous story telling which together with beautiful photography illustrates his adventures and experiences so well. His lecture entitled Surviving Montserrat describes the unique experience of a geologist unexpectedly being there for the eruption and the amazing events that followed. We will definitely have David back and look forward to one of his many other talks."
Elizabeth Formstone, Barnard Castle U3A

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