Dorset Geologists’ Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on Tuesday 22 September 2026.
Title: The Whispers of Rock – Stories from the Earth
Speaker: Dr Anjana Khatwa is an award-winning earth scientist, presenter and writer who has worked for several universities, the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the National Trust. She has been given the Geographical Award for public engagement by the Royal Geographical Society, the RH Worth Award by the Geological Society of London and the Halstead Medal from the Geologists’ Association. Anjana lives with her family in Dorset in a house filled with rocks and fossils collected from all over the world. The Whispers of Rock is her first book.
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: All welcome: £6 non-members (£5 DGAG members), cash please.
Booking a seat: contact Chris Webb at email: events@dorsetgeologistsassociation.org
Talk Description: A synopsis kindly provided by the speaker is as follows:
If you listen, can you hear the rocks speak? The question seems absurd. After all, rocks are lifeless, inert, and silent in The Whispers of Rock: Stories from the Earth, earth scientist Anjana Khatwa will ask us to think again and listen to their stories. Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient wisdom, Khatwa will take you on an exhilarating journey through deep time, from origins of the green pounamu that courses down New Zealand rivers to the wonder of the bluestone megaliths of Stonehenge, from the fiery volcanoes of Hawai’i to Manhattan’s bedrock of schist. In unearthing those stories and more, Khatwa will show how rocks have always spoken to us and we humans to them. Delicately intertwining Indigenous stories of Earth’s creation with our scientific understanding of its development, she will showcase how our lives are intimately connected to time’s ancient storytellers.
“DGAG editors view —-> This talk is not to be missed and will be a privilege to join the author in a fantastic dive into the universe of rocks merging science, art and human existence”.
In addition, as a real treat, Teasel and Skylark (independent bookseller in Dorchester) will be at the meeting selling books and there will be a book signing on the night.
Photo: -Courtesy of the speaker’s representative and a paperback version hopefully later when available . Cover of the UK hard back published in 2025
Additional Links:
if and when available later
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 17th February 2026.
Title: Geoscience in a Digital Age: The Role of the Internet in Modern Geoscience
Speaker: Saskia Elliott (MSc, FGS, Graduate Geotechnical Engineer at SW Flood and Coastal)
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: All welcome: £6 non-members (£5 for DGAG members), cash best.
Booking a seat: contact Chris Webb at email: events@dorsetgeologistsassociation.org
Talk Description: To be provided by the speaker in due course.
Editors view –>Hopefully, this taster, will give us a few clues to using some of the universe of information resources, that we are privileged, to have at our fingertips, in this digital, online AI era! The additional links below are a good start.
Photo: Algal fossil surprise on the Dorset Coast from the speaker
Additional Links:
- British Geological Survey on the topic
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geological-research/digital-geoscience/2.The Geological Society comments on topic
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/events/digital-geoscience-2025-digital-innovations-in-geoscience-fieldwork/3. The French geological survey on same topic
https://www.brgm.fr/en/activities/knowledge-dissemination-open-science
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 21st April 2026.
Title: to be finalized (Fire, Brimstone and metamorphic)
Speaker: Giles Droop (DGAG member and former University lecturer)
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: All welcome: £6 non-members (£5 DGAG members), cash please.
Booking a seat: contact Chris Webb at email: events@dorsetgeologistsassociation.org
Talk Description: To be provided by the speaker in due course. Editors view “This promises to be a deep dive into all things igneous and metamorphic perhaps, from our resident expert!”
Photo: – Provisional (Courtesy of USGS) pending relevant one from speaker ! December 6, 2025—Episode 38 eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, Hawaii.
Additional Links:
1. Link to USGS: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/photo-video-chronology-december-6-2025-episode-38-kilauea-summit
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 20th January 2026.
Title: Managing Coastal Risk in Dorset
Speaker: Alan Frampton Strategy, Policy & Environment Manager (Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole (BCP) council, SW Flood and Coastal division)
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: All welcome: £6 non-members (£5 DGAG members), cash please.
Booking a seat: contact Chris Webb at email: events@dorsetgeologistsassociation.org
Talk Description: This promises to be a timely and valuable review of the coastal areas that we spend considerable effort in exploring. Likely allowing us to put into context the deep time view of the geology with the modern-day challenges.
The speaker has provided below a summary of topics to be covered.
• What are the risks of coastal flooding & erosion in Dorset?
• How do we manage those risks?
• What are some of the challenges for the future and how are we responding to them?
Photo: -Provisional (Courtesy of Dorset Coast Forum email) till a better one from the speaker.
Additional Links:
1. Link to Dorset Coast forum and future projects, one of many references
https://www.dorsetcoasthaveyoursay.co.uk
2. Link to Southwest Flood & Coastal is a centre (hosted by the Bournemouth Christchurch Poole Council) for flood and coastal erosion risk management, addressing the challenges of flooding and coast change.
https://swfloodandcoastal.org.uk/about-swfac/