Episode 6: CSI to the Rescue. Synopsis. Link to the Ontario Grade 7 Curriculum: Science and Technology

Transcription

1 O I W : T H E W O O D L A N D C A R I B O U Episode 6: CSI to the Rescue Synopsis This episode will tie together what students have learned throughout the Woodland caribou series. Students will examine a proposed project in the boreal forest and create an Environmental Impact Statement that assesses the effects of the proposed project on the environment and the people living in the area. Link to the Ontario Grade 7 Curriculum: Science and Technology Fundamental Concept 1. assess the impacts of human activities and technologies on the environment, and evaluate ways of controlling these impacts 2. investigate interactions within the environment, and identify factors that affect the balance between different components of an ecosystem Specific Expectation 1.2 analyse the costs and benefits of selected strategies for protecting the environment 2.3 use scientific inquiry/research skills to investigate occurrences that affect the balance within a local ecosystem 2.4 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including sustainability, biotic, ecosystem, community, population, and producer, in oral and written communication 3.8 describe ways in which human activities and technologies alter balances and interactions in the environment Students will finish off the series by completing their food webs for the boreal forest ecosystem. They will discuss the importance of connections within an ecosystem on how sensitive the system is as a whole. 1

2 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU Lesson 1: Project Assessment This lesson will tie together all of what we have learned throughout the series. You will use all of the information you learned about the Boreal Forest Habitat and how changes can affect the species that live within it. We will use this information and apply it to an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed mining project. Teacher Preparation Preview Episode 6 (15 minutes) Have a computer, projector, and speakers available Make copies of the Project Assessment Guidelines (one per student) Materials One Project Assessment Guideline per student Introduction In the last episode of the series Frankie and Tanner visit Dr. Paul Wilson at his "CSI" forensic lab where they learn how this state-of-the-art technology is helping in the recovery of Woodland caribou populations. They fly up north and help biologist Dr. Jennifer Shuter gather caribou pellets that get used in the forensic lab to extract caribou DNA. Finally they reflect on what we can all do to help caribou survive. Review Key Term definitions with class Screening the Episode Timing Before viewing Episode 6 Duration 70 minutes Location Classroom Grouping Individually and Groups Remember to watch for any new species that you can add to finish your food web. Key Concepts Project assessments Screen Episode 6 After the screening, ask students: How can technology help with the recovery of the Woodland caribou? What is good and bad about each of the different research methods? How can we use the different methods and Aboriginal knowledge, to make good decisions about development projects that could harm Woodland caribou or their habitat? Activity In this activity students are to use what they have learned throughout the series to help them create a Project Assessment on a planned development project in the Woodland caribou s habitat. As a class, review the attached guidelines on what to include in their assessment. Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Each team will prepare an assessment for the Northern Ore Inc. project from the scenario below. They can use the Fact Sheet or online resources to help support their answers. 2

3 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU Activity Continued Project Description: The project plans to make an open pit mine that would operate for about 20 years. The plan also includes a road and a processing factory. The mine is located approximately 500 km north of the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario and 250 km west of James Bay in an area known as the "Ring of Fire" in Northern Ontario. The project includes all work related with its creation, operation and closure, including: 1. The mine site located near a lake; 2. A processing factory; and 3. Roads to allow the movement of product/supplies and mine workers to and from the mine site and to and from the processing facility. This will include a rail line to the south. (Project adapted from real example in Northern Ontario) Remind students that this is a fictional project based on a real example. They can use their imaginations and research to fill in any blanks. The idea is to think about what the details COULD be in a project like this. Encourage them to use the vocabulary that they have learned throughout the series. They should also look at their character summaries so that they remember all points of view when writing their Project Assessment. Discussion After the students have completed their Project Assessments, the students should compare work. Ask the students: How can scientists use technology to better study and understand the impacts of a project? How was the information different in the groups assessment of the environmental impact, the alternatives they proposed, and the assessment of the short- and long-term effects of the mine? How did each group consider the project s impact differently? Additional Links Mining In Ontario: A Deeper Look by Ontario Nature Throughout the Series: Building Your Food Web Do you think your food web is complete? Refer to Episode 1 s Lesson 2 for more info on how to start. Throughout the video series, as we learn about more interactions, we will add more species to our food web. Did we see or hear about any species in this video? Remind students to keep the food web in a safe place, as we will be adding to it throughout the series. Research and summarize a real Environmental Impact Statement. Present to the class the details of the project, the assessment of impacts, and the results of the process. Take the role of a government decision maker and make conclusions on whether the project should proceed as proposed or with modifications. Specify those modifications if applicable. 3

4 The Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire is a recent mineral find, consisting of one of the world s largest chromite discoveries. It is located about 500 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay. The deposit has attracted international attention from the mining industry and is estimated to be worth about $30 billion. International mining companies have staked 9,000 claims covering 480,000 hectares 2. The Ring of Fire also includes significant nickel and copper deposits. Demand for chromite is high worldwide, particularly in countries like China, which is the largest consumer (50% of global production) of ferrochrome, an alloy made from chromite used to produce stainless steel. The consequences of the scale of industrial development proposed in the Ring of Fire are huge. Over the next 10 years, the infrastructure needed to develop the mineral resources in the Ring of Fire could open up a vast area of northern Ontario through air, rail and road links to future mineral and other kinds of resource development. Due to the location of the find, remote First Nations communities will experience most of the social and environmental impacts from this project. Raising awareness of the implications of large-scale development is important. Once development is approved in the Ring of Fire, change will come fast to Ontario s northern communities. The demand and prices for metals go through periods of growth and periods of decline. When mineral prices go up, mines are quickly built, benefitting the communities around the mine with jobs, development and money. The increase in mineral value makes the cost benefit of extraction great enough to spur mining development this is the boom. Eventually a point is reached where the mineral at the mine location is depleted, or the mineral market is saturated, and prices begin to decline. The results are layoffs, downsizing and eventually mine closures. This bust can happen gradually, or it can happen over the course of a few years, leaving many host communities with social, economic, and environmental challenges including high unemployment, youth and labor pool outmigration, and environmental damage left behind by many mines. The price for metals is the main influence on the amount of money that is invested in projects throughout the mining sequence. Extracting minerals is expensive and the economic viability of every project depends on a minimum price the mining company can get for the mineral(s) produced. As mineral prices rise, more projects become potentially viable and there is more interest from investors. When prices drop, projects in development and even operating mines may become unprofitable and cease operations. Life Span of a Mine The average operating life span of a mine in Canada is relatively short, generally lasting between 15 and 20 years. However, the entire process of opening and closing a mine requires activities that might continue over hundreds of years. This includes the up-front work to find and develop suitable mineral deposits (the chances of a mining claim developing into an operating mine are estimated to be around 1 in 10,000) and the long-term monitoring and remediation that are often needed to avoid environmental contamination once a mine site has closed. 4

5 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU Impacts on the Land In Ontario s boreal region, access roads and transmission lines that serve remote mines cut through the forest and interrupt the landscape. Biologists call this landscape fragmentation because it divides the continuous forest landscape into smaller pieces. Fragmentation reduces the quality of forest habitat for wildlife and provides travel corridors for predators like wolves. This interferes with normal predator-prey relationships and increases the chances that wolves will catch prey species like deer, moose and caribou. Fragmentation also increases access for human predators, which can lead to increases in hunting and fishing pressure. Landscape fragmentation is the primary reason for the loss of Ontario s woodland caribou populations, a species that tells us about the overall health of the boreal forest. There are also clear relationships between building accessible roads in the boreal forest and the decline of other species like lake trout. As far back as 1991, a Ministry of Natural Resources report made the link between the decline in the lake trout population from overfishing in Ontario, among other factors. The level of fishing in a particular lake is directly linked to how accessible it is by road or other means. Often the larger-scale impacts from mining occur indirectly, from activities such as road-building and infrastructure development (hydroelectric dams, transmission lines, etc.). Experience in Ontario suggests that building roads into the forest tends to have a multiplier effect. One road creates many new access points, which in turn attracts more use and further fragments an area. The competition for resources between users becomes more intense and puts pressure on wildlife and fish populations. Once a road is built, it is very difficult to get public support to close the road once the original use is finished. A mine may be in production for only 15 years but the irreversible and long-term impacts of fragmenting land for mining are rarely considered. New roads can be the beginning of bigger landscape changes. They open the way for resource development, including logging and mining, and increase human use and presence on the landscape. They become pathways for predators like wolves and for invasive species. Once use is established, it becomes difficult to control or limit access to previously remote fisheries or hunting sites. Meanwhile, species from songbirds to caribou that require undisturbed forest disappear from what is now a puzzlepiece landscape. Key Terms for Anchor Chart Long-Term Impact: eventual or long lasting effects from a project Short-Term Impact: immediate effects from a project Mining in Ontario: A Deeper Look, Ontario Nature 5

6 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU A B C D E Project Assessment Guidelines Description 1) Explain the project 2) Explain the natural resources 3) Describe any species-at-risk and why they are threatened 4) Create a map of the area 5) Describe the community or people in the area Environmental Impacts 1) Explain impacts (e.g. on the land, water, air quality, and noise) 2) Explain ways to minimize environmental impacts 3) Explain the economic impacts (positive and negative) Alternatives 1) Propose possible alternatives Short-Term Use VS Long-Term Productivity 1) Explain the short-term and long-term effects on: i) environmental impact, ii) economic costs, and iii) economic benefits 2) Discuss how project will affect future generations Irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources 1) Discuss what resources are being used and how easy or difficult it is to restore the resources 6

7 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU Lesson 2: Boreal Food Web This lesson will allow students to apply the knowledge they gained throughout the series about the Woodland caribou. Students will compile the information from the series and create a good copy of a food web. Teacher Preparation Preview Episode 6 (15 minutes) Have a computer, projector, and speakers available Remind the students to have their draft food webs or lists of species Materials Pencil crayons, markers, and paper to create food webs Introduction In the last episode of the series Frankie and Tanner visit Dr. Paul Wilson at his "CSI" forensic lab where they learn how this state-of-the-art technology is helping in the recovery of Woodland caribou populations. They fly up north and help biologist Dr. Jennifer Shuter gather caribou pellets that get used in the forensic lab to extract caribou DNA. Finally they reflect on what we can all do to help caribou survive. Review Key Term definitions with class Timing Before or after viewing Episode 6 Duration 50 minutes Location Classroom Grouping Individual Screening the Episode Screen Episode 4 Remember to watch for any new species that you can add to your food web. Activity Key Concepts Species interactions Ecosystems 1. As a group, review the different species that are within the boreal forest ecosystem. 2. Get students to compile all of the species seen and talked about throughout the Woodland caribou video series (which we have recorded throughout). Each student will use this list or rough draft to create a good copy of a food web on a blank piece of paper of the species we have seen so far and draw lines of how these are connected. 3. Instruct the students to put consumers towards the top of the page and producers near the bottom of the page. 4. Colour code your lines to show biotic interactions. Red for Predation, Green for Competition, and Blue for Parasitism. 5. Talk about the abiotic factors in the environment seen in the videos. List these factors on the side of your paper. 7

8 EPISODE 6 OIW: THE WOODLAND CARIBOU Discussion How many food chains are contained in your food web? Explain the impact if Woodland caribou disappeared from the ecosystem? What would happen to the food web if an organism were removed due to disease or pollution? What would happen to the food web if the number of one of the organisms were to double? (e.g. if moose populations went from 50 to 100) How would the introduction of an exotic (invasive) species affect the food web? Research other species-at-risk in Ontario. Create a poster to explain where they live, why they are at risk, and what can be done to help the species. Put these posters up in the classroom or school to teach other students about species-at-risk and what they can do to help. Incredible Species Factsheets 8