This PowerPoint looks at Insel Flotzgrun (Flotzgrun Island) a small piece of land near the town of Speyer on the Rhine river in Germany. It was formed inside a river meander between the river’s old course and the new straight ‘cut’, and the town now faces a dilemma of what to do with the land.
You and your students will explore this dilemma by looking at the organisations that have expressed an interest in the land, and at Insel Grun, another abandoned meander that is now used as the world’s largest car spare parts depot.
You will also look at how rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes and islands like Insel Flotzgrun.
You can download the lesson plan to accompany these resources, here.
Ian Stock taught geography for 30 years in Brentwood, Essex. His book The Great Exception was published in February 2018.
