Programme of Events

Black Country Geological Society’s indoor meetings will be held during the winter months at the Abbey Room at the Dudley Archives, Tipton Road, Dudley, DY1 4SQ.

Unless otherwise stated, the Abbey Room and Zoom meetings will normally open at 7.30pm and lectures commence at 8.00pm.

Those wishing to attend field or geoconservation meetings please contact our Field Secretary (email address on the Contacts page).

Any non-members wishing to attend our virtual meetings should contact our Meetings Secretary for instructions (email address on the Contacts page).

Other contact details are also available on our Contact us page.

Updated 14 April 2024.

Members please check your email for any last minute changes.

Recordings of some of our virtual talks can be found on our YouTube channel.

Events in January–February 2024

  • 13 January (1 event)
    Geoconservation - Portway Hill, Rowley

    Geoconservation - Portway Hill, Rowley   10.00 - 2.30

    Saturday 13 January 2024 (Geoconservation Day and Winter Walk): Portway Hill, Rowley. In collaboration with the Friends of Rowley Hills and the B&BC Wildlife Trust. Meet at St Brades Close (just off Tower Road) at 9.45 for 10.00 (Grid ref: SO 974 893), nearest PC: B69 1NH. Directions: from Birmingham New Road (A4123) turn left on to Tower Road if coming from Birmingham, right if coming from Wolverhampton. Just after Bury Hill park, turn left onto St Brades Close and park. Wear old clothes, waterproofs and stout footwear, and bring gloves. Tools are provided but feel free to bring your own. Bring a packed lunch. Hot drinks provided. We undertake geoconservation work up to 1.00/1.30. After lunch we will take a winter walk on the Rowley Hills, finishing around 2.00/2.30.
    Click here for a Google map of the location.



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  • 15 January (1 event)
    Indoor Meeting - 'A Recipe for Disaster'

    Indoor Meeting - 'A Recipe for Disaster'   7.30 -

    Monday 15 January (Indoor Meeting): 'A Recipe for Disaster'. Speaker: Dr. Ekbal Hussein (Remote Sensing Geoscientist at the British Geological Survey).
    Globally, two thirds of deaths arising from natural hazards in recent decades were caused by geological hazards. But how and why do natural hazards turn into disasters? In this talk Ekbal will explore this question through the lens of one particularly troublesome hazard: earthquakes. The death toll for a given earthquake magnitude (and mechanism) will depend not only on geographic location, but also the social vulnerability of communities and the quality of the building stock. But these are dynamic features of evolving societies, which means earthquake risk varies in time and space. This talk will compare and contrast global trends in earthquake fatalities and aim to extract common themes that exacerbate the impact of natural hazards, and consider where and why these turn into disasters. Ekbal's research focuses on the use of satellite imagery to understand earth processes, particularly those related to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides and subsidence. Ekbal is an advocate for holistic multi-hazard approaches to understanding and managing the impact of disasters to society.
    Click here for a Google map of the location.



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  • 19 February (1 event)
    'A very British summer in the late Triassic: the Arden Sandstone Formation of the English West Midlands and the dawn of the dinosaurs'

    'A very British summer in the late Triassic: the Arden Sandstone Formation of the English West Midlands and the dawn of the dinosaurs'   7.30 -

    Monday 19 February (Indoor Meeting): 'A very British summer in the late Triassic: the Arden Sandstone Formation of the English West Midlands and the dawn of the dinosaurs'. Speaker Prof. Stuart Burley.

    The Arden Sandstone Formation of central and western England is a thin but conspicuous arenaceous unit within the Late Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group. Sedimentological and palaeontological data point to lacustrine depositional conditions, in contrast to the red desert mudstones above and below which were deposited as continental dryland desert floodplains. The Arden Sandstone records deposits of the lake margins and may be the high stand lateral equivalent of the halite and gypsum deposits which formed in the lake centre. The Carnian age of the Arden Sandstone potentially links it to the Carnian Pluvial Episode, marking the coalescence, spread and freshening of the formerly saline desert lakes, and deposition of sandy, fluvial and lacustrine deposits during the wetter climate that prevailed for at least a million years.
    Click here for a Google map of the location.



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  • 24 February (1 event)
    Geoconservation Day at the Wren's Nest. Please note amended date.

    Geoconservation Day at the Wren's Nest. Please note amended date.   10.30 - 2.30

    Saturday 24 February (Geoconservation Day): Wren's Nest. Directed by the reserve wardens. Meet at 10.30 at the wardens' office at the end of Fossil View, off Wren's Hill Road (GR: SO 93699 92118). Park along Fossil View. The day will involve scrub clearance. Bring gloves, stout footwear and packed lunch. Wardens will provide tools, hard hats if necessary and a hot drink. Finish around 2.30.
    Click here for a Google map of the location.



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