This is
sad news that professor Martin Haigh, former president of WASWAC, passed away.
Martin was born in 1950 in Caerleon, Wales in United
Kingdom.
In terms of career Martin
Haigh was Professor of Geography and University Teaching Fellow in the School
of Social Sciences and Law at Oxford Brookes University. Previously, he taught at the universities of Oklahoma
(1975-1976 as professor assistant at the Department for Geography) and at the
University of Chicago (1976-1979 as professor assistant at the Department for
Geography studies).
Most commonly found leading fieldwork groups through land
devastated by coal-mining, Martin's teaching combines muddy-boot experiential
learning with hands-on applied sustainability education and philosophy. An avid
developer of out-of-classroom learning experiences, Martin's signature
exercises include tree planting as a stimulant for ethical reflection upon personal
responsibilities, landscape assessment exercises that require learners to see
the world through the lens of a different culture or belief system, and
problem-solving exercises that try to marry technical environmental
interventions with the conflicting needs of local stakeholder communities.
Oxford Brookes University strongly endorsed the work its teachers do in the
community. Martin was a leader in this respect. For 13 years he was team leader
for biannual Earthwatch-funded field camps that empowered graduate adult
learners with the capacity to rebuild damaged lands. The field demonstration
sites he created have been used by generations of undergraduate and
postgraduate students.
Martin was Co-Editor of the Journal of Geography in Higher
Education (JGHE), which leads the world's Geography-discipline's drive toward
better learning and teaching, and which Martin helped steer toward exploration
of sustainability, internationalisation and global citizenship. On campus,
Martin helped embed course evaluation in the 1980s, then the cause of education
for sustainability for which he was awarded a University Teaching Fellowship in
2003. He helped lead the University's Centre for Internationalisation of the
Curriculum and Networking. His disciplines in teaching were Environmental Management,
Gaia Hipothesis, Geomorphology, Field Research, Ethical Geography, Curriculum
Theory, Education Theory, Teaching Methods, and Indian Religions.
From 1998 up to 2004 Martin was Deputy President of WASWAC
for Europe. In the same year (2004) he was elected president of the World Association
of Soil and Water Conservation. Because of illness, he was short time
president, from January to March 2005.
He established new movement in WASWAC – Headwater control/Land
use policy in Headwaters catchments: “Headwater control is a philosophy that
strives to link the perspectives of the applied scientist with the practicioner
and policy maker. It emphasise practical, field scale, action research and
integrated environmental management strategies that work within nature and with
local communities”.
There were several conferences organized regarding Headwater control (in Prague/Czech Republic 1992; in New Delhi/India 1995; in Bergen/Norwy
2005), as well as several papers/manuscripts/brochures/books.
Also, under his professorship and under WASWAC his
activities were connected to open coal spoils and technosoils. In this regard,
Martin’s works in Wales, Balkans and India were recognized wider.
Martin has made great contribution both for the science and
the association, we will deeply miss him.
Details please find in the first issue of HOT NEWS here:
http://www.waswac.org.cn/waswac/rootfiles/2022/03/30/1648441609940058-1648441609965097.pdf
