Sustainable Economic Development

Transcription

1 Lesson Overview Sustainable Economic Development In this lesson students will come to a more complete understanding of watersheds, water conservation and sustainable economic development by studying one of New Brunswick s many beautiful river systems. Students will research the types of economic development that take place within a specific watershed area in New Brunswick. They will prepare a research report that will propose sustainable economic activities that protect the watershed. Grade Level Grades 9-12 (secondary school) Time Required Two to three 60 minute classes. Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course) Atlantic Provinces Curriculum for Social Studies: Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET): New Brunswick New Brunswick Physical Geography 110 and Canadian Geography 120 Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required Student Activity Sheet #1: What is a Watershed? (attached) Student Activity Sheet #2: Research Report on a New Brunswick River (attached) Assessment rubric (attached) Computer lab, LCD and internet access Websites: Canadian Atlas Online Watersheds theme eds_flow_canadaswatersheds&lang=en Canadian Atlas Online Watershed Awareness theme &lang=en Atlas of Canada: Interactive map of various drainage basins of Canada. Atlas of Canada: Explanation of what is a watershed. Government of New Brunswick: New Brunswick Watersheds Watershed Atlas: How watershed areas are created Royal Bank of Canada Bluewater Project: A wide-ranging, multi-year program to help foster a culture of water stewardship, so that people have clean fresh water today and tomorrow

2 Main Objective Students will develop a deeper appreciation for the watersheds of New Brunswick. They will be able to make clear connections between water as a natural resource and economic activities. Learning Outcomes By the end of the lesson, students will: become more familiar with the Canadian Atlas Online; use the internet to plan and organize a geographic research project on watersheds and water conservation; systematically locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources; recognize the importance of Canada s freshwater resources to human settlement and economic activity; formulate a geographic perspective of how physical systems such as watershed areas affect human economic development.

3 The Lesson Teacher Activity The Lesson Student Activity Introduction Lesson Development Conclusion Distribute Student Activity Sheet #1: What is a Watershed?. Clarify the definition of a watershed. List a number of rural and urban economic activities that exist within the school s watershed area. Next, ask students to add to the list. Offer an example of one economic activity and discuss the various aspects of its connection to the watershed, water conservation and economic sustainability. Assign students to work in pairs and instruct them to go online to the Canadian Atlas Online Watersheds theme. Instruct students to review the Drainage basin and Rivers sections. Distribute the Student Activity Sheet #2: Research Report on a New Brunswick River. Review the instructions with students and answer questions as required. Allow students time to complete their research and assist them as necessary. Ask students to share their reports with the class. Lead a round table discussion on the topics of: economic activity, watersheds, conservation and sustainability. Read Student Activity Sheet #1: What is a Watershed?. Contribute to the economic activity list. Participate in the discussion session. Review information from the Canadian Atlas Online Watersheds theme. Choose a watershed and engage in online research. Share the report with the class. Discuss new information. Lesson Extension Geocache your Watershed: Assessment of Student Learning Reports will be evaluated using the Assessment Rubric (attached). Further Reading Watersheds of Canada poster-map Protect Your Watershed: An interactive guide to taking action The Source of life Canada s watershed protection action guide

4 Link to Canadian National Standards for Geography Essential Element #5: Environment and Society Use and sustainability of resources Geographic Skill #1: Asking geographic questions Plan and organize a geographic research project Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring geographic information Systematically locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

5 Student Activity Sheet #1: What is a Watershed? Source: A watershed is an area where all surface water drains into the same body of water (river, lake, or ocean). Surface water consists of the tiny trickles of water flowing on the surface of the Earth that develop into larger streams and eventually combine to form rivers and lakes. Rivers are organized into networks, each with its own recharge area upstream, and drainage channel and mouth downstream. Networks are ordered from ocean to main rivers to secondary rivers to streams, which correspond to ocean watersheds, river watersheds, subwatersheds, sub-sub-watersheds, and so forth. The boundary of a watershed is called a watershed divide. In a watershed, water flows from high to low, from upstream to downstream. Watershed recharge is a function of precipitation, soil and bedrock permeability, absorption of water in the soil by plant roots, and evapotranspiration. As part of the latter process, plants return moisture to the atmosphere by transpiration, and the water eventually returns to Earth in the form of precipitation (for example, as rain, snow or hail). The easiest way to describe the network of rivers and lakes on a small-scale map is to show the watersheds. In Canada, there is a detailed hierarchy of watersheds, ranging from the largest (drainage into oceans and their equivalents), down to the smallest ramification. Location and Main Rivers of Ocean Watersheds The Pacific Ocean watershed drains the area west of the Rocky Mountains. The Fraser, Yukon and Columbia rivers are the largest rivers draining this region. It is separated from all other drainage areas by the continental divide. This is defined as the north-south line along the western Cordillera that separates rivers flowing ultimately into the Pacific Ocean from those flowing into other oceans. The Arctic Ocean watershed is the area flowing directly into the Arctic Ocean or into the channels of the Arctic Islands. Hudson Bay, James Bay and Ungava Bay are considered to be part of the Arctic Ocean but, for most purposes, their drainage area is usually considered as a separate entity. The Mackenzie River dominates the Arctic Ocean watershed. The Hudson Bay watershed is a huge area that captures about 30% of total Canadian runoff. Many of its river systems, such as the Nelson and Churchill rivers (of Manitoba), drain eastward from the continental divide to Hudson Bay. As well, many large rivers drain from the south and east into Hudson Bay or James Bay. The extensive areas of drainage into Ungava Bay and Foxe Basin are also considered to be part of the Hudson Bay drainage area. The Atlantic Ocean watershed is dominated by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence system, but there are other significant watersheds, such as those of the Churchill River (of Labrador) and the Saint John River in New Brunswick. The Gulf of Mexico watershed occupies in Canada a small portion of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The waters drain south into the Mississippi system, which ultimately drains into the Gulf of Mexico. (The Gulf is part of the Atlantic Ocean but, because of the Mississippi, it is often studied as a separate entity). Finally, parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan have closed watersheds or areas of internal drainage: these are river systems that do not drain into any ocean.

6 Student Activity Sheet #2: Research Report on a New Brunswick River Task #1 Instructions: Research one of the watershed areas below and create an 800 to 1000 word report on the economic activity within the watershed area. Be sure to: Give an overview of the rural and urban economic activity. Address in more detail one of the businesses that rely heavily on the water of the watershed. Provide ideas for businesses in this area to adopt economic development practices that also protect the watershed. Highlight businesses that are taking steps to protect the watershed. Attach an appendix to the report. The appendix should include as many of the following as possible: various maps, a sketch map of the watershed, pictures of areas within the watershed, a satellite image, list of industries and commercial business, information about the business focused on, economic tables, graphs, charts, etc. There are two main discharge basins: the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the east and north and the Bay of Fundy to the south. The major rivers are the Saint John and the Miramichi. Gulf of St. Lawrence Watershed Rivers: Caraquet River Green River Jacquet River Kouchibouguac River Kouchibouguacis River Miramichi River Nepisiguit River Pokemouche River Richibucto River Restigouche River Rivière du Nord Tracadie River Bay of Fundy Watershed Rivers Magaguadavic River Memramcook River Missaguash River Musquash River Petitcodiac River Point Wolfe River Shepody River Saint Croix River Saint John River Salmon River Upper Salmon River Tantramar River Source: Note: Some of these rivers are shared with the United States. Also many of these rivers have smaller rivers that feed into them so you may want to include this in your research for your project.

7 Assessment Rubric Student: Score X 5 = /100 Category Excellent 4 Good 3 Satisfactory 2 Needs Improvement 1 Quality of Information Organization Illustrations Sources Appendix Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. Information is very organized with well constructed paragraphs and subheadings. illustrations are neat, accurate, and add to the reader s understanding of the topic. All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. Presents six or more pieces of information. Excellent quality watershed graphic. Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples. Information is organized with well constructed paragraphs. illustrations are accurate and all to the reader understands of the topic. All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. Presents four to six pieces of information. Gives good and accurate information. Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given. Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well constructed. illustrations are neat and accurate and sometimes add to the reader s understanding of the topic. All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. Presents two to four pieces of information. Uses only several facts. Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic. The information appears to be disorganized. illustrations are not accurate OR do not add to the reader s understanding of the topic. Some sources are not accurately documented. Presents two or less pieces of information. Very little information and incomplete.