Protected Places, and Places in Need of Protection

After watching this amazing TED talk on the scientific, aesthetic, and ecological value of the Redwoods, I hope you are curious about other places near and far that have achieved some kind of protected status or are in need of protection. Spend some time with the WHEN and WHERE -- find some places that you can use to further your thinking and read (or view) a bit about them. Think about WHY certain places need protection, and protection from WHAT? Think about HOW places these sensitive or important places should be conserved and managed, and about what kind of human uses should be permitted or even encouraged in these areas. What are the threats to these places? How are these threats handled? What kinds of laws or practices have been used to protect these places, or should be used for places that are not yet protected?

Start by finding THREE possible places that would work as case studies. At least one should be protected already in some significant or legal manner, and at least one should be an area that needs better protection.  One of the sites should be local (in British Columbia, better yet in the Central Interior). List them in a blog comment below -- with the briefest of descriptions. As you might guess, you will be choosing one of your three to study further as a case study.

Here is an example of an area that already has special protection, but has ongoing challenges that threaten its unique characteristics: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/wood-buffalo-national-park-threatened-report-1.4404850

Special Places

Special Places -- what makes them "work?" After we spent some time looking at how people interact with the spaces at D.P. Todd, it might be nice to consider places that are special to you.

We start with an unusual word: topophilia.

 

"The word 'topophilia' is a neologism, useful in that it can be defined broadly to include all of the human being's affective ties with the material environment. These differ greatly in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. The response to environment may be primarily aesthetic: it may vary from the fleeting pleasure one gets from a view to the equally fleeting but far more intense sense of beauty that is suddenly revealed. The response may be tactile, a delight in the feel of air, water, earth. More permanent and less easy to express are the feelings that one has toward a place because it is home, the locus of memories, and the means of gaining a livelihood" - Yi-Fu Tuan, Topophila, p. 93

 

Affective ties with the material environment... in other words, topophilia means the love of place. This is an important idea that impacts the way humans interact with the world. Special places make us more connected to ourselves, other people, and the environment. This will be the subject of a short writing assignment.

What is a place that you love? A special area in nature that brings back strong memories, a place you love to visit because of the things that have happened there. Maybe it's a built-up space, like the home of a grandparent or an amazing restaurant? Maybe it's a natural location like a beach, mountain vista, bike trail, or fishing spot. Or in between, like a cabin. Maybe you'd like to write about your earliest experience with a natural world, a powerful memory in nature. What is the inventory of this location -- the topography, components, objects, characteristics? What do your senses remember? Consider the visually elements, but also smells, textures, and sounds. What is the story of this place... what is your history with it?  Think about this and write leave a comment below with your response. Start with a word document -- do your writing there (no more than one page) and then copy/paste into a blog comment here. You can also submit a hard copy if there is some reason you do not want your writing piece online.

TED Talks on Sustainability

Geography 12 in-class assignment

As we explore topics related to resource ethics, sustainable development, and human interaction with the environment it is useful to turn to what others have to say. To do that, TED is a great start.

Check out the TED Talks on the topic of Sustainability: https://www.ted.com/topics/sustainability

As of this posting, there are four playlists with 10-14 videos in each one.  Take a look at all of the titles within each playlist before you commit to watching any of them.

Select two video talks to watch and think about. If you start watching one and you don't get it or it repulses you, choose another right away.

After each of the two talks, answer the following questions/prompts. Use a word file to record your response.  You can submit this word file to your teacher, or you can paste your responses into a comment to this post -- either option is fine.  Please complete this assignment within the allotted time.

Questions:

1. TED talk title, speaker, and date.
2. Very brief summary of what was presented (e.g. 2-3 sentences).
3. What is significant or important about the topic/content of the talk?
4. What evidence does the speaker use to make their argument or bring their points across? Do you think the talk would be seen as accurate by other people in this field of study?
5. What do you understand about the "problem" after watching the talk (e.g. cause and effect, historical or geographic patterns, solutions, consequences, etc.)
6. What do you think about the speaker's perspective? Do they represent a broad base of opinions, a particular set of biases, or a narrow perspective based on their experience or education or privilege? On what evidence are you basing your evaluation? Do you think the 
7. What actions are suggested by the talk -- are their ethical obligations to pay attention to, or judgements that should be made about how people have treated this problem in the past?
8. Do you have any other opinions or reactions to the video talk?

Mass Wastage Case Studies

Find a natural disaster which has affected humans, preferably related to one of the types of mass wastage studied in class, and which is documented on the internet. This could be a landslide, avalanche, rockslide, mudflow, etc. Avoid tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, seaside erosion, etc., unless they directly include an element of mass wastage (we deal with these elsewhere in the course).

Using the comment feature on this blog post, provide the following:

1. Name/date of event
2. Summarize or describe, briefly, the causes and patterns at play for this mass wastage event (origins, physical processes involved)
3. Summarize or describe, briefly, the significance and impact of the mass wastage event (human cost, affect on cultural features like buildings or roads)
4. What is your personal response to the source (opinions, reactions, analysis, conclusions)? What would be your plan for prevention or response if you were in charge of emergency services?
5. Record the Web location (full url) of your source/s (a second source is one way to check for accuracy); do not use wikipedia as a final source (although it is a good start for orienting yourself to the event)

Topophilia

What is topophilia?

"The word 'topophilia' is a neologism, useful in that it can be defined broadly to include all of the human being's affective ties with the material environment. These differ greatly in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. The response to environment may be primarily aesthetic: it may vary from the fleeting pleasure one gets from a view to the equally fleeting but far more intense sense of beauty that is suddenly revealed. The response may be tactile, a delight in the feel of air, water, earth. More permanent and less easy to express are the feelings that one has toward a place because it is home, the locus of memories, and the means of gaining a livelihood" - Yi-Fu Tuan, Topophila, p. 93

Affective ties with the material environment... in other words, the love of place. This is an important idea that impacts the way humans interact with the world. Special places make us more connected to ourselves, other people, and the environment. This will be the subject of a short writing assignment.

What is a place that you love? A special area in nature that brings back strong memories, a place you love to visit because of the things that have happened there. Maybe it's a built-up space, like the home of a grandparent or an amazing restaurant? Maybe it's a natural location like a beach, mountain vista, bike trail, or fishing spot. Or in between, like a cabin. Maybe you'd like to write about your earliest experience with a natural world, a powerful memory in nature. What is the inventory of this location -- the topography, components, objects, characteristics? What do your senses remember? Consider the visually elements, but also smells, textures, and sounds. What is the story of this place... what is your history with it?  Think about this and write leave a comment below with your response. Start with a word document -- do your writing there (no more than one page) and then copy/paste into a blog comment here. You can also submit a hard copy if there is some reason you do not want your writing piece online.

Battle of Quebec activity

JOURNAL ENTRY OR BATTLE RESPONSE
Now that you have attacked or defended Quebec City during our recreation of the Battle of Quebec, I'd like you tell a bit of a story about it. Imagine you were a commander or a soldier involved in the battle -- the one you invented as a group rather than the one that actually took place -- and write about the experience. What happened? What was your role? What did you go through, what did you feel and think about the events? What observations or comments can you make about Quebec, the surrounding area, the steps leading up to the assault on the fortress, or anything else of importance in September 1759? How did it turn out? Your response could take many forms -- for starters, you could simply write it as a journal entry. Use a word file for this. If you'd like to share it with others, copy it from your word file and paste it as a comment on this blog entry. Use the big 11x17 map you used in class to record notes, jot down comments, add details, and so on. It can be rough, it is just a planning map, but I'd like you to hand it in with your journal entry or battle response.


By the way, here is an interesting map that show more of the Quebec area than the map we used for the class activity: http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/1759/1759-Items/10a.Jefferys%20Environs%20of%20Quebec.jpg.

Geography - December check in

Hello class. That's Thorin (son of Thrain, son of Thror), carrying both an axe and a sword... why not?  The sword is Orcrist, forged by elves in Gondolin long ago.  That's what's on my mind, with the Hobbit movie coming out tomorrow. What's on your mind?  Could you take a minute to check in?  Leave a comment giving a brief description of what you have planned so far for your final project in Geography.

Also, here are some links that we talked about in class but maybe you haven't had a chance to visit...

These are two videos recommended by your classmate CJ as a follow-up to our discussion yesterday on the purpose of our public education system (great discussion by the way!):

Hate school, but love education - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZmM7zPLyI

Changing Educational Paradigms - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Here is the other Geography teacher's blog I mentioned... notice what her students are talking and thinking about... feel free to leave comments there, too, if you want -- she has invited you to do so.

http://geography12.wordpress.com/

And finally here is the tool I was telling you about in class... maybe this might be an option for presenting your final project.

http://checkthis.com/

new option for English 11 and Geography 12

Hey Grade 10 students !

Next year, Grade 11 students have a new option for completing English 11 at D.P. Todd, and completing Geography 12 at the same time.

We are launching a new program that uses blended learning to explore language, writing, literature, landscapes, and environmental education. This approach mixes classroom based learning (with a teacher), student-centered learning in small seminars (facilitated by the teacher), smaller groups (facilitated by students), and independent work (supported by all). The focus will be on the "spark" or learning passion that each student brings, creative use of technology, critical thinking, deep inquiry, project-based learning, integration of the arts, and use of digital portfolios. Examples in the course will come from diverse sources including Tolkien's Middle Earth, local writing and local landscapes, as well as work developed by the students themselves.

Students completing this program receive full credits for both English 11 and Geography 12 -- the learning outcomes from both courses will be addressed. This "Language and Landscape" program takes place in two blocks in one semester (e.g. A & B) and allows flexible attendance during one of the two blocks. All students who have completed English 10 and Social Studies 10 may apply; however, priority placement will occur for motivated students who are excited to learn in a collaborative learning environment.

Read more about this on the Language and Landscape blog.  For more information, tweet me about it @gthielmann or come talk to me in room 180.

I think students have a lot more to offer than we often give you the space to attempt. This program is designed to see what that looks like.

Human Geography links

We recently watch Hans Rosling's talk on global population growth (here on youtube or here on TED).  Here are some other links that might be of interest to you.  Feel free to leave a comment on what you learned from watching one or more of these links.

Hans Rosling 200 countries, 200 years, 4 minutes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

Hans Rosling debunks myths about the developing world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUwS1uAdUcI or http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

Hans Rosling and the magic washing machine:

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_and_the_magic_washing_machine.html

Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution:
http://www.ted.com/talks/dianna_cohen_tough_truths_about_plastic_pollution.html

Mitchell Joachim: Don't build your home, grow
http://www.ted.com/talks/mitchell_joachim_don_t_build_your_home_grow_it.html

Jared Diamond on why societies collapse
http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse.html

Al Gore's new thinking on the climate crisis
http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html

James Balog: Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss
http://www.ted.com/talks/james_balog_time_lapse_proof_of_extreme_ice_loss.html

or choose another from a theme that interests you at http://www.ted.com/themes

Geography 12 Tectonics & Waffles

What a great way to wrap up our unit on earth structure, geology, plate tectonics, faults/folds, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Nick and Nick served up waffles for the class, using each one to demonstrate some kind of plate boundary or fault type before their classmates devoured them. After all of the lessons, slideshows, reading, videos, quizzes, and demos in out unit, we've had some fantastic presentations that fulfilled three criteria: deepen our understanding of selected learning outcomes from the unit, reflect the interest & talents of the student as applied to meaningful inquiry, and embody learning in some way -- voice, performance, demonstration, physical construction, etc. Today was a small feast celebrating learning with great waffles! Thanks, class -- engaging presentations so far, and 2 more to come...

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Source: The Big Picture, an amazing series of photo essays on world culture, politics, and environment

News sites to follow the disaster:
BBC overview http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia_pacific/ or recent story here on BBC

CBC overview http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/11/f-japan-earthquake-topix.html or recent story here on CBC

What's you reaction to this natural disaster, or what questions do you have?

Reading Contour Maps

Contour Lines - http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect11/Sect11_2.html

Various Map symbols - http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/topomaps/images/USGS_Topomap_Symbols.pdf

How To Read a Map on Howcast

Geographers-in-training

Hey... let's see if anyone arrives here. Geography 12 students (or wanyone else for that matter), what do you think of the Gaia Hypothesis... is our physical planet connected in some way, self-regulating and managing its own systems for the purpose of survival? While you're at it, what do you think are the biggest environmental issues facing us here in Prince George, or in Canada, or you can tak on the whole world if you like.

???

GEOG 12 PROMPT

Let's face it, you're learning stuff!!! As we erode, transport, and deposit our way through the unit on FORCES, pick a topic from the list that you wish to study in more detail...

Mass Wastage, Rivers, Groundwater & Karst, Glaciation, Deserts, and Coastal Landscapes

Design a project around your choice: a focus on an aspect (e.g. caves & caving, floodplains & flood control), understand a process (e.g. wind erosion, wave action), or study an area (e.g. river landforms in northern BC).

Whatever you do, put your "self" into it -- perform, re-enact, talk, build, mashup, create, display, bake, sing, decorate, demonstrate, find a way to "embody" what you know.

Assessment: rigorous/well-researched content, creative/embodied presentation

Due: have your work done for Friday Nov. 27. We'll present that day (or earlier if you are ready) and on Monday Nov 30.

Leave a comment: what do you think you'll do?

Desert Landforms extras

Here's some online quizzes and activities to test your knowledge of arid and semi-arid landscapes. Some of the questions and concepts will undoubtedly be above and beyond what we covered in class, some are just silly.
Desert Landform Assemblages
Easy Desert quiz
desert vocab

Glaciation Webquest

1. http://www.physicalgeography.net/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier
3. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/...
4. http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/landscapes/physio_e.php
5. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/...
6. http://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/lemke/alpine_glacial_glossary/glossary.html
7. http://geoscape.nrcan.gc.ca/calgary/topics/glacier_e.php

Feel free to comment... what did you learn from this webquest?

Red Sea Volcano

Canadians rescue Yemenis fleeing the eruption of a shield volcano in the Red Sea

Welcome September 2007

Ahh, a freshly made batch of Geography students!!! Please, feel free to leave a comment here on one of two topics:

1. What do you think of Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis? Read about it HERE if you need to. Do you think the Earth is a living system capable of managing its own survival? Do we have a duty to protect, respect, or restore the earth?

2. Share your issues research here... of course, you may also submit it to the teacher's hand-in folder (written/audio/video formats).

Diamond's Top 12

From "Collapse," here is Jared Diamond's most serious environmental problems facing past and present societies:
1. Destruction of natural habitats
2. Loss of wild food sources (especially fish)
3. Loss of wild species and biodiversity
4. Soil loss and damage
5. Reliance on non-renewable energy sources
6. Threats to freshwater
7. Abuse of the photosynthetic ceiling (reducing growing capacity)
8. Chemical pollution and toxic overload
9. Introduction of alien species
10. Greenhouse gas emissions (global warming) & ozone depletion
11. Unchecked population growth
12. Resource consumption & per-capita impact

What would you add to the list?

Coastal Features Google Earth Quest

Using Google Earth, find 4 Coastal Landforms from our unit (e.g. tombolo, spit, arch, longshore drift, etc.). Use placemarks to locate, label, and describe them. Experiment with scale, tilt, and direction. Find 4 other landforms from our unit (e.g. barchand, cirque, meander, alluvial fan) and"placemark" them, too. Save your eight locations as a .kmz file (one of the menu options) and hand this in to Thielmann's Classwork folder. We'll play the best ones in class!