Overview of the project – Bridging the gap between education and future careers at Primary Level 

This article has been written by Becket Primary School in the UK! Thank you for allowing us to share your experiences with our sponsor The Greenhatch Group:

“At Becket we believe that our children should have every opportunity to see what’s ‘out there’ to promote positive possibilities for the future. We also want to enhance our curriculum to highlight the relevance of their learning. To show children that learning matters and can be applied in the outside world. We want to foster that intrinsic motivation to learn, for the children to want to better themselves and know there is a purpose to their learning. 

These “outside-in” experiences are priceless. In one morning session, we covered a range of skills that are needed for the future work place. The ‘hands on’ activities of using and respecting expensive equipment to measure our field not only exposed the children to a career in surveying but how the maths skills they learn in school are applied in ‘real life’ jobs. 

After talking with Lee Mousley and Sam Lewis from the Greenhatch Group we discovered that we had similar aims for the children in our community. Greenhatch are a part of a project which reaches out to schools to ‘get kids in to survey’.

I was really impressed with how Mr Lewis spoke about The Greenhatch Group. He reflected that as a company they wanted to ‘do better’ for the communities around them and that the company is not all about profiteering.  It was a chance for them to give back to the community as well as a chance to promote their profession. In terms of The Greenhatch Group company’s gains – there isn’t really a lot in it for them as business, but I think I am safe to say how Mr Lewis felt when he left, he gained a lot from the experience of working with the children”.

Structure of the morning visit. 

Mr Lewis introduced himself to the class and spoke about what surveying is and how it related to the children’s lives – building of houses, schools etc. This was particularly of interest to the children as we are expecting our new school to be built on the field in the near future. Mr Lewis spoke about the collaboration of surveyors, architects and builders to bring projects like ours to fruition. The children were taken out onto the field to start their first activity – measuring using a total station. 

Activity 1 – field work

To recap millimetres, centimetre and metres – Children were shown a metre stick and asked questions to check understanding with regards to units of measure. They were then asked to estimate the length of the field. We, of course, had some rather interesting answers! Then the children were asked to run across the field counting one stride as a metre and then come back and have a think about their original answer. The children quickly changed their minds and made more informed estimations. 

The children then each had a go at using the total station to measure the field accurately. They dressed up in the appropriate safety clothing (hard hats at the ready!) and worked in pairs to use the total station. They were amazed that the machine locked on to and followed the prism around the field giving different measurements. Each time they were estimating and using their mathematical understanding of measurement to make sensible estimates. 

Activity 2 – heading back to the office

Mr Lewis had prepared a booklet of activities for the children to complete. Each page had a mathematical objective. 

• Spotting shapes in the London skyline- exploring 2D and 3D shape
• Spotting how many triangles there were in an image and discussing how the triangle is the strongest shape. Vocabulary like ‘structure’ ‘stability’ and ‘strength’ were used. 
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• Completing a drawing of a house on graph paper – exploring symmtery, shape and accuracy
• A crossword of all the vocabulary that was used over the session – total station-scanner-disto-prism-pogo- tripod
• Measuring a footprint of a house accurately – exploring accurate measuring in a different way, ruler work and converting mm to cm etc.. 

The children were each given a Greenhatch ruler which they were thrilled about! They were given the rest of the booklet to take home which had some spot the difference activities, word searches and colouring sheets. 

Mr Lewis spoke to the children with ease and it was clear that they were really interested and engaged in what he was saying. Having two female trainees with Mr Lewis also provided our girls with excellent role models.  Mr Lewis also spoke about lifting aspirations for females in a male dominated work place. This led to a discussion the following day with the class about are there any jobs that are just for men/women? 

It was a very successful visit and when Mr Lewis asked what the children wanted to do when they grow up, the usual answer of ‘Youtuber’ was not to be heard! I can say with confidence that aspirations were lifted! 

Great to hear of a positive outcome from outreach! Email us if you’ve a story you’d like featured on get Kids into Survey… Or have a look at our Brand Ambassador network who all volunteer to help in schools as above.

Introducing Greenhatch ‘s character Tribus and his friends!

The team at Greenhatch are a role model in industry, often attending College and University career fairs, which have now developed into working with local primary schools.

Shortly their personalised Homework Project will be available to download through the website (keep an eye on our socials)

Tribus – Land Surveyor

Triborg – Engineering Surveyor

Triair – Drone Surveyor

Trillion – Utility Surveyor

Triton – Hydro Surveyor

We LOVE Tribus and friends, we hope that you do too!

FOLLOW Tribus and Friends on instagram!

Introducing Daniel Brimmo from Lagos region in Nigeria!

Where did you study?

I studied Surveying & Geoinformatics at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area?

The general requirements to become a surveyor in Nigeria as set forth by the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON) is as follows:

1. A bachelor degree in surveying or geomatics.
2. Completion of the mandatory one-year National Youth Service corps Programme.
3. Application for and completion of two years of pupillage/mentorship under a surveyor who has been in practice for at least five years.
4. Registration for the professional examinations organized by the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON)
5. Submission of a survey folio with a log book(s), sitting for the written papers and attending an oral interview before an examination panel.
6. Scoring at least fifty per cent (pass mark) in all the written papers and folio defense.
7. Attending the induction ceremony where the practicing seal is issued to successful candidates and an oath of service is taken before the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON).

Entry Qualifications for Cadres:

1. Pre-Technicians: O’Level with credit Score in English Language, Mathematics, Physics/Geography and any other two subjects.
2. Technicians: ND (Surveying, Photogrammetry, R/Sensing/Carto/Hydro) from SURCON accredited and recognized Institutions.
3. Technologists: HND (Surveying, Photogrammetry, R/Sensing/Carto/Hydro) from SURCON accredited and recognized Institutions.
4. Pupil Surveyors: B.Sc – (Surv), B.Tech(Surv) HND+PGD/PD(Surv)/OR Cognate courses – B.Sc(Maths), B.Sc(Computer Science), Photogrammetry, R/Sensing, Carto, Hydro + PD/PDS or PGD + M.Sc(S/G).

• Young Surveyors Network, Lagos State Branch
• Society of Petroleum Engineers
• World Safety Organization
• Chartered Institute of Project Management

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador?

Being a Get Kids into Surveying (GKiS) Brand Ambassador will present me a unique opportunity to contribute to the promotion and awareness of surveying among young individuals engaging with students, educators, and the public, showcasing the diverse and exciting field of geospatial profession. I would like to join other GKiS Brand Ambassadors to share in their passion for surveying and geospatial sciences, inspiring the next generation of professionals, fostering interest and curiosity in the geospatial realm.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry?

It’s crucial for kids to learn about surveying and the broader geospatial industry for several reasons. Firstly, this knowledge exposes them to a unique career path that combines history, law, mathematics, and indoor/outdoor work. Surveying offers diverse opportunities in different fields, fostering a multidisciplinary skillset. Furthermore, understanding surveying can help kids appreciate the role of this profession in major projects and global development. Surveyors work on remarkable projects and often travel worldwide for their careers, showcasing the exciting prospects within the industry. Additionally, introducing children to the geospatial industry promotes awareness of STEM fields, inspiring them to explore these vital areas.

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS?

As an ambassador for Get Kids into Survey (GKiS), my main role would be to promote and raise awareness about surveying among young people. This involves collaborating with organizations, schools, and communities to introduce students to the world of surveying as a potential career. I would participate in careers fairs, school classrooms, and conferences to present surveying in an engaging manner, showcasing its importance in various industries. Additionally, I would utilize GKiS resources such as educational presentations, comic books, and posters to inspire and educate students about surveying with a goal to ignite curiosity and interest among young minds and encourage them to consider surveying as a rewarding and impactful career path. By implementing these actions, I look forward to creating a strong foundation for fostering interest and nurturing young talent in the industry.

Introducing Amr Nabil from Alexandria , Egypt:

Where did you study? Alexandria , Egypt (Alexandria university)

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area? You must be have 4 years studying in survey 

How did you get into surveying? It was my choice when I was in high school

How long have you been in the industry? 15 years 

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? Hydrospital 

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? I want to let the next generation know how important it is to be a surveyor and how the world needs them in order to function properly.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? Because nothing in the world would work properly without a surveyor (town and cities, utilities, etc)

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? Help in any way that I can

What are your hobbies? Drawing and basketball 

Introducing Grady Rowley from Saskatchewan, Canada!

Where did you study?

Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Geomatics from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)

Bachelor’s Degree of Education from the University of Regina

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area? You must have completed a program that has been accredited by the Canadian Board of Examiners for Professional Surveyors (CBEPS) or you must have challenged and passed all 13 of the exams administered by CBEPS. With a valid Certificate of Completion from CBEPS, a prospective student can then article under an existing member from the provincial Land Surveyors’ association. In Saskatchewan, there are 4 additional professional exams to write, alongside an oral defence/ interview regarding two survey projects you must complete.

How did you get into surveying? I was fortunate enough to know a husband and wife who were both Professional Land Surveyors; they were the ones that started me on this path.

How long have you been in the industry? I have been in the industry since 2014.

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? I am currently a member of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors’ Association.

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? Aside from being a Professional Land Surveyor, I am also a Licensed Educator. As such, I spend a lot of time in schools and having access to the GKiS resources allows me to spread the gospel of survey to other educators.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? Aspects of the Geospatial industry are dying. It is vital for kids to know that this is an option for them in the future, but it is also important for them to know how the absence of these professionals may impact their future life.

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? I am going to continue to educate kids, teens, and adults about Land Surveying and the Geospatial industry as a whole. Again my access to the school system means that I have ample opportunities to provide demos and information.

What are your hobbies? I really enjoy music and singing andI like to play all types of instruments (i.e. Banjo, Guitar, Piano). Also I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t into video games.

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? The logo for my company is a bull, in part because the local area that I service is heavily dominated by ranching, but also because I am trying to pay respects to my professional predecessors who relied on astronomic information for establishing direction. So, perhaps some sort of minotaur looking thing would be the way to go for a GKiS character.

What resource would you like to see next from GKiS? I’d love to work with GKiS to help create lessons for teachers that would satisfy curriculum needs in different jurisdictions. 

Anything else you want to add that you think our audience (surveyors, teachers, parents) would be interested in? The geospatial industry can quite literally take you anywhere in the world so I hope that Surveyors, through collaboration, can elevate the profession back into the upper echelon of society where it belongs.

Introducing Levelling Equipment Services our latest sponsors! Check out their latest Homework Project ‘Construction Under Control‘

Company Name – Levelling Equipment Services Ltd.

Location – Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.

Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey? – We recognise there is a significant skill shortage of geospatial professionals within the AEC industry. This has resulted in an unfair expectation being placed on recent graduates of engineering or construction management degrees, to fill this gap. This inevitably has resulted in poor project coordination and in-turn costly rework and schedule delays. We believe the career opportunities for geospatial professionals is limitless, especially in the data driven world which we see today.

What do you do? At LES we sell, hire and services surveying equipment and construction tools, but more importantly, we build long lasting relationships with our clients as we become trusted advisors as we consult them on their geospatial requirements and considerations. My personal role within LES, is to tackle coordination issues or challenges with my clients and advise them not only on the right hardware and software to use, but also the right methodology.

How long have you been in the survey industry? I have been in the survey industry for the last 8 years

How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? By pure luck, and also my mam. If she didn’t find the Geomatics course in Bolton street DIT, I probably would have ended up in some sort of engineering degree. I always had an affinity for construction as my Dad runs his own construction company.

Favourite piece of kit and why? I absolutely love the Leica MS60. In my eyes, it is the pinnacle of precision, productivity and flexibility. 

Favourite Survey technique and why? Traverse adjustments and network analysis. I personally love the challenge of taking raw observations, interrogating that data, and adjusting that data until you find the most optimal solution.

Your website

How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? LES-ly the Lion cub represents how young we are as on organisation, but also our hunger to grow in the coming years.

Introducing Jesse White from Beaverton, Oregon in the USA:

Where did you study?

I started learning surveying in the United States Navy as an Engineering Aid in the Seabees (NMCB-74).  They gave me a great foundation of fundamentals of surveying and the opportunities to learn as much as I wanted to.  Beyond your technical school, where you learn and hone the minimum skills needed for battalion, they offer continued education classes in surveying and drafting giving me the opportunity to really excel.

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area?

I live in the state of Oregon, and there are three main pathways to become a licensed surveyor of the state.  All pathways require you to pass the Fundamentals of Surveying, Principals and Practices of Surveying, and the State Specific Exam.  Pathway one is achieve a 4-year degree in Land Surveying (or engineering degree) from an accredited program and four years of experience.  Pathway two is to achieve an accredited two-year Land Surveying and six years of experience.  Pathway three is to work hard and get 12 years of qualifying experience.

How did you get into surveying?

The summer between Highschool and College, I was working for my grandfather building a golf course in southern California and I remember one day seeing the surveyor laying out, what I know now to the be the gridlines, the building and when I went over to talk to him about what he was doing he actually stopped and took the time to talk to some 18 year old kid about surveying and how cool it is.  From there I know that along with civil engineering this is something that I wanted to do.  I then decided to join the military and due to having parents and friends in the military I already know about some of the jobs that they offered.   I went into the Navy recruiter’s office and said that I wanted to become an Engineering Aid so I could be a surveyor and that’s all that I wanted to do.

If you are not a surveyor, what do you do?

I think that if I wasn’t a surveyor I would have become a civil engineer.  I actually went to Oregon State University for civil engineering, but it became too costly for me and I had an opportunity to take a job surveying on a huge project and I took the opportunity.

How long have you been in the industry?

I started my surveying career roughly in the beginning on 2001.  So I have been doing this for about 23 years and I love every bit of it.

Are you part of any associations or organizations you would like us to mention?

I am part of our state surveyors organization, Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO), a member of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), a member of American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon (ACEC Oregon), and the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS).

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador?

There is nothing more important to the profession that focusing on our next generation of surveyors.  I would not have gotten to where I am at today had it not been for the great mentors that I have had.  I used to coach 12-under football, both outdoor and arena, and the reward that you get when you see the joy in a child’s eyes when they finally accomplished their goals.  I want to create roughly the same environment to give the opportunity for young individuals to find that love and passion for surveying as well.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry?

Maps! We all need to know how to get somewhere and today we take for granted that we can just pull out that little piece of plastic and electronic parts out of our pockets. 

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS?

My goal as an ambassador is to spread awareness of the Land Surveying & Geomatics profession to all, especially the future generations.  Today with outside influences, STEM industries are being lost in the wake and we need to get back to a point where professions like surveying are at the forefront. 

What are your hobbies?

One of the hobbies that I find myself doing the most is taking pictures with either my camera, phone, or flying one of my drones.  The world is a beautiful place and we need to get out there more to just admire it. 

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be?

Everyone who knows me knew my dog.  She (Augie) was a boxer and I wouldn’t go anywhere without her.  She would go to work with me, to the store, and out to eat.  If she wasn’t allowed in then we wouldn’t go there.  Some places even knew her more than me. My previous dog (Duke) was a boxer too, and he would go to work with me and even wear a survey vest.  So I would have to say that it would be a boxer dog.

What resource would you like to see next from GKiS?

I think that something that we might want to look more into is making video with kids surveying and posting them on the website.

Anything else you want to add that you think our audience (surveyors, teachers, parents) would be interested in?

This is from my website www.360landsurv.com under the educational tab.

I was once asked by one of my mentors, “What is the one thing in this world that no one can take away from you?”  I came up with all sorts of answers before he let me know that “the one thing in this world that no one can take away from you, is the knowledge that you’ve obtained!”  It was this seamlessly innocent question that changed my life.  From that point forward I started taking in information that would help me excel in whatever I was doing and in turn passing on the information that I have gained to others. 

Some people say that learning and studying is a chore and tend to shy away from it.  I don’t know about you, but I grew up with one simple song that was always stuck in my head, “I don’t want to grow up, cause I’m a Toys “R” Us kid!”  Some of the first toys you get as a child are educational toys, like putting the pegs in the hole or finding out what sounds all the animals on Old Macdonald’s farm make.  I don’t see why that joy and fun has to end just because we are getting older.  The only difference between then and now is the different toys we get to play with.

The STEM field is a great place to learn and play with cool toys. If you are a student, teacher, or parent interested in learning more about land surveying and the cool things that we get to do, check out the educational links below or reach out to me to set up a Survey STEM demo day at your school or other event.

Introducing Edward Atoche from Lima, Peru:

Where did you study? National University of San Marcos

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area? The requirements to be a surveyor in Peru are the following:

                           – Obtain a professional degree in an institute certified by SUNEDU.

                           – The professional surveying career lasts from 2 to 3 years.

How did you get into surveying? I am a geographer engineer specializing in geomatics, when I started my professional practice my cousin who is a cartographer gave me the opportunity to work with him, it was a rewarding and wonderful experience that helped me and encouraged me to continue working in topography, geodesy and photogrammetry.

If you are not a surveyor, what do you do? To teaching on topography issues and also sales of topographic equipment.

How long have you been in the industry? More than 15 years working in topography.

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? For more than 8 years I work in my company EA SURVEY where I provide topography, geodesy and photogrammetry services, as well as training for topography students.

I am also a member of the chapter of engineer geographers in the college of engineers of Peru.

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? Because it seems to me a great initiative to make the surveying career known to children and young people, I always wanted to participate in this type of project and spread this interesting profession related to technology and innovation.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? Because it will allow children to know how this interesting career develops and how important it is for the development of certain activities in the world, developing motivation and interest in topography in children.

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? Support by publicizing this great initiative on social networks, visiting schools, participating in events and collaborating with GKIS in each of its new projects.

What are your hobbies? My hobby, apart from topics related to topography and geotechnologies, is soccer.

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? A boy with his helmet and his GNSS receiver in his other hand making an all-okay gesture.

What resource would you like to see next from GKiS? I would like some application to be developed where, in a didactic way and with a teaching methodology, the child is oriented on general topics of topography, geodesy and photogrammetry.

Anything else you want to add that you think our audience (surveyors, teachers, parents) would be interested in? A web platform with which all those involved in this great project can interact and thus develop courses, webinars and training.