Managing coastal environments

Introduction

We begin this unit by looking at an estuary, a place where sea, land and sky meet. We have chosen a particular estuary: the Blackwater estuary on the Essex coast in eastern England. Although the Blackwater has its own unique characteristics, it is used here as a setting, a device for approaching the study of environments. Like any other estuary, the Blackwater brings together a diverse range of processes, elements and issues that constitute the environment. It offers us a way into thinking about how to approach the study of environments and why environmental questions are so pressing. By drawing on a variety of examples from the estuary we intend to convey how broad the study of environments can be; rather than focusing on a particular issue, this unit is an introduction to the study of environments.

This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course Environment (U216). [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]