Conservation Stewardship in Action: Protecting the PEI Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed

THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas

Conservation Stewardship in Action: Protecting the PEI Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed

“The pen is just as mighty as the paddle.”

Lesson Overview

This lesson focuses on a watershed vital to Charlottetown: the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed, the source of the city’s water. Students will review inspiring quotations about water and participate in a discussion about who should protect watersheds. They will learn about how the watersheds of Prince Edward Island are protected and assume the roles of various sectors that form the Watershed Alliance. Finally, they will write a communication that expresses one major concern they have about the watershed.

Grade Level

Grade 10

Time Required

Two lessons

Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course)

Atlantic Provinces Curriculum for Social Studies: Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET), Prince Edward Island, Geography 10.

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

· Watersheds of Canada poster-map

· Student Activity Sheet (attached)

· Access to computers and the internet

Websites:

Video: Our Waters Run Deep (3 minutes, 27 seconds) which details Charlottetown’s water supply and usage

http://city.charlottetown.pe.ca/waterconservationtips.php

Canadian Atlas Online Watershed Awareness theme

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=%20watershedawareness &lang=En

Protect Your Watershed: An interactive guide to taking action

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/watersheds

The Source of life
Canada’s watershed protection action guide

http://192.168.1.8/magazine/jun11/watershed_protection_guide.asp

Main Objective

The main objective of the lesson is to familiarize students with a watershed important to their lives, the challenges it faces and to enable an understanding that they can use their words to protect this watershed.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

· identify the features of watersheds;

· understand the importance of watersheds to adjacent communities;

· identify the watershed that is the source of water for the city of Charlottetown and recognize some challenges its users face;

· understand that users who have interests based on the health of a watershed must become actively involved in its maintenance and conservation;

· understand how the watersheds of Prince Edward Island are currently protected;

· realize that they can become socially active by using the power of words to help protect their watershed.

The Lesson

Teacher Activity / Student Activity

Introduction

/ Quote Ann Casselman and introduce two significant, revealing quotations from renowned environmentalists:
Ann Casselman: “The pen is just as mighty as the paddle.”
Rachel Carson: “In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.”
Jacques Cousteau: “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”
Distribute the Student Activity Sheet. Assign question #1.
Invite students to interpret the meaning of the lesson title, reminding them that this will become the focus of the lesson later.
Define “watershed.” (According to The Canadian Atlas Online, a watershed or a drainage basin “is an area of land which serves as a funnel collecting water from many smaller feeder funnels into a larger tributary which ultimately delivers the water to the ocean via a river or river system.”)
Instructing the students to take jot notes for future reference and utilizing the Watersheds of Canada poster-map (map side), employ a telescoping process to introduce the watershed. There are three salient points:
Ø The Canadian Atlas Online informs us that 47% of all the land in the world drains to the Atlantic Ocean.
Ø In Canada, the Atlantic Ocean directly drains the Saint Lawrence River, the Great Lakes basins, and all the Maritime Provinces.
Ø A watershed vital to students of Charlottetown is the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed, the source of the city’s water. Emphasize that the specific source of the city’s water is a series of wells located within the watershed. / In groups of three or four that will remain consistent throughout the lesson, discuss the implications of these quotations.
Complete the question and share responses with the class.
Interpret the title orally.
Note the definition.
Take jot notes of key points for future reference.

Lesson Development

/ Assign question # 2 on the Student Activity Sheet.
Show the video Our Waters Run Deep, a useful introduction to Charlottetown’s water supply and usage.
After viewing, explain that in Prince Edward Island, the watersheds are protected by a partnership between Government and the recently appointed Watershed Alliance. (Sectors composing the Alliance include: agriculture, fishing and shell-fishing, forestry, community or municipal councils, tourism, and others.)
Invite opinions of this partnership.
Present a recent communication (February 7, 2011) found on the Welcome to the City of Charlottetown site:
“The City of Charlottetown is taking a good look at the sustainability of our most valued resource—our clean, clear drinking water. We are concerned about pressure on the Winter River watershed and are trying to find innovative ways to conserve our supply so our youngest residents will have clean drinking water in the future.”
Ask, “What do you consider to be the current concerns about the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed?” / Complete the question in groups and share responses.
Continue to add information to jot notes.
Based on what they have discovered, offer opinions on partnership.
Respond orally to the question, stating current concerns.

Conclusion

/ Refer again to Ann Casselman’s quote. Add Ms. Casselman’s assertion that, “…many of our watershed victories result from letters, petitions, bill amendments, etc.”
Through a role-playing exercise, students will attempt to put the words “the pen is just as mighty as the paddle” into action.
In the spirit of Ms. Casselman’s words, to “Speak for your river”, direct the student groups, with reference to question #3 on the Student Activity Sheet, to write a letter from the perspective of possible stakeholders. (In order to get a diversity of views, assign each group one of the sectors listed: agriculture, fishing, forestry, community or municipal councils, tourism.
Request that students share their writings and submit their activity sheets. / Answer the question in writing and share the ideas with the class.
Present viewpoints to the class and submit completed activity sheets.

Lesson Extension

· Research other watersheds in Prince Edward Island.

· Write to the partnership that protects the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed.

· Go on a field trip to explore a local watershed.

Assessment of Student Learning

The Student Activity sheet can be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: complexity of information, quality of ideas, and clarity of expression.

Further Reading

· National Geographic: Freshwater 101

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater- 101/

· RBC Bluewater Foundation

http://bluewater.rbc.com/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/bluewaterproject/

Link to Canadian National Standards for Geography
Essential Element #5: Environment and Society

· Use and sustainability of resources

· Environmental issues (e.g. global warming, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, ozone depletion, air pollution, water pollution, acid precipitation, disposal of solid waste)

Geographic Skill #5: Answering Geographic Questions

· Apply the processes of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and explanation to interpret geographic information from a variety of sources.

Conservation Stewardship in: Protecting the PEI Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed

“The pen is just as mighty as the paddle.”

Student Activity Sheet

As instructed by your teacher throughout the lesson, complete the following in your group:

1. Create a thought-provoking statement centering on the subject of water. You have 5 minutes.

2. How, in your opinion, should the watersheds of Prince Edward Island be governed? Should they be governed locally, provincially, internationally, or in some other way entirely? Defend your response. You have 5 minutes.

3. As you have learned, the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed, the source of Charlottetown’s drinking water, is governed by a partnership of the Watershed Alliance and the Government of PEI. Imagine that your group represents one of the sectors forming the Alliance (your teacher will assign your sector): agriculture, fishing, forestry, community or municipal councils, or tourism. From the point of view of your assigned sector, compose a communication for the Government that expresses a significant concern about the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed. Make sure your communication is clear and concise (about 150 words).

Research the topic for about 30 minutes. You will find much more information about the watershed online.

As a starting point, please read the following words from City of Charlottetown: Our Sustainable City at http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/winterriverwatershed.php.

”There are many people with a shared interest in the waters of Winter River. Charlottetown and Winter River residents depend on this watershed for clean and adequate residential supply. This area is also a popular destination for recreation for hikers, bird-watchers, fishers and anglers. There are many farms in this area that depend on adequate water for their crops and Tracadie Bay is home to several aquaculture operations that require clean water with consistent water temperatures.

Humans aren’t the only ones that depend on the Winter River water source. There is a diverse community of mammals, birds, amphibians and plant life that rely on the groundwater that feeds into its streams, rivers and bay.”

You have 60 minutes to complete your research and your written communication.