I am a geography teacher from Leicester. Thousands of people have a real passion for geography, a subject that has never been more relevant to the six billion people on our planet.

In schools across the UK and beyond, teachers use the subject to engage young people in debates about issues that are constantly in the media - drought, floods, hazards, globalisation, famine, sustainable energy, transport, employment, crime, urban deprivation, global warming.

Who else, if not the geographers, will deal with these issues in our schools so that young people can learn, understand and give a reasoned opinion on things which will impact on all their lives?

Sadly, the media seem to have forgotten that much of what they ask people to think about is actually geography, but where is the label?

Art, history, literature and technology all get recognition in the media but geography has yet to be recognised in this important way.

If you spent a year reading or listening to a wide range of media, you would probably still have fingers to spare as you sat and counted the number of times that the word "geography" was mentioned!

In response to this the BBC feels that "these programmes often fit into many categories such as science, nature and geology. As they are factual programmes that deal with the natural world they are often referred to as nature programmes". However, science, nature, geology, culture and religion are frequently not visited in isolation but are shown in the context of interactions between places, people, environments, systems and ideas.

As soon as programmes start exploring interactions between human issues and the physical world, they are stepping away from single categories and into geography.

If BBC Horizon attempts to show the various effects and mitigation of tectonic hazards, they step away from pure science and dip their toes into art and culture - the bridge is geography.

If Sir David Attenborough wants to explore climate change he steps away from nature and into the realm of the geographer. The programme is no longer just about nature or science but the complex mix of perceived facts, opinions, perspectives, practices, cultures, presentations and skills (many of which are arts based) from a wealth of subject areas that only geography has to hand to explore in a multidimensional manner.

We are looking to producers and executives to support a subject which has existed for over 100 years and is, in its current form, the most appropriate "umbrella" term for looking at issues that address the interrelationship between humans and planet earth.

Geographers are in great demand and are on a daily basis advising on these critical issues relating to energy use, transport, urban development, resource exploitation, crime, retailing and so on. Geographers have the skills and the "special eye" which enables them to see issues not in the blinkered way of the economist or the scientist but in a much broader way.

While the media persist in defining geography in terms of game show trivia questions, the importance of our subject in helping young people make sense of their world is demeaned.

Simon Renshaw, Leicester