I am pleased to be discussing our MAGELLAN project with fellow geographers at the October 24, 2026 meeting of NESTVAL at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. The New England and St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society is a division of the Association of American Geographers, and is the most venerable geography society in North America.
My BSU colleague Dr. Bob Amey and I established the MAGELLEN Network as a way to mobilize geographers and friends of geography for discussions of geographic education with their elected officials.
As I often do when presenting at conferences and seminars, I am providing this post as a convenient way for attendees to reach the slide set used in the presentation. It is also, of course, a way to share our thoughts.
You are invited to visit our slide set and the MAGELLAN blog.
Abstract from the conference schedule:
When National Geographic established Geographic Alliances throughout the United States, educators at all levels in Massachusetts were among the most active. Geographers in colleges and universities collaborated with teachers in primary and secondary schools to provide for direct programming, professional development, and advocacy. Those partnerships led to the success of ongoing outreach programs as Project EarthView and to serious engagement with many members of the Massachusetts legislature. More recently, allies of geography in the legislature have filed bills that could help to advance geography both in K-12 curricula and in pre-service teacher preparation. The success of legislation is itself a geographic challenge, since legislators are tied to constituents through maps. MAGELLAN is an effort to connect advocates of geography education with their legislators. This session will explain the model for the benefit of Massachusetts geographers and of those elsewhere in New England who may wish to pursue similar engagement.
