Description

Welcome to Ocean Wise’s Mountains to Oceans Journey team. Before we set off on our expedition, we’ve compiled some information for you to go through that will help you make the most of your experience. Below is the pre-journey assignment, designed to give you some basic background knowledge and start you thinking about the connection between our landscape, oceans, and actions.

Please choose one (1) of the following options and complete submit your reflection to our TigEd Page by Tuesday October 8^th. In your reflection please include a little bit about yourself, including: Name, school, and some of your favourite things.

OPTION 1: Watersheds and the BC Landscape

No matter where you stand on the planet, you are on a watershed, a landscape feature also referred to as a catchment or drainage basin. A watershed is defined as an area of land where all the surface water drains into the same place, whether it's a creek, a stream, a river or an ocean. Therefore, all precipitation, such as rain or snow, that falls on a watershed ends up flowing to the same place.

There are two major types of watersheds, open and closed. An open watershed eventually drains into the ocean, whereas water in a closed watershed can escape only by evaporating or seeping into the earth. Except for some small watersheds in the Prairies and British Columbia, most watersheds in Canada are open. This means that most of the water that moves through neighbourhoods in Canada ends up in either the Pacific, Arctic, Atlantic, Hudson’s Bay or the Gulf of Mexico.

                                  - Canadian Geographic Enterprises (2011)

Explore Canada’s watersheds here: http://www.canadiangeographic.com/watersheds/map/?path=english/watersheds-list

Some questions to think about as you explore the website:

Within the Pacific Watershed, which smaller watershed do you live in?

What geologic feature separates the Strait of Georgia East Shore Watershed and the Harrison/Lower Fraser Watersheds?

On the Map, Richmond, BC does not appear in any watershed area – why do you think this is?

After you’ve explored, write a short reflection (<150 words) that includes which watershed you live within and your thoughts on one of the following questions:

1. 1. Watersheds ignore political boundaries and many overlap multiple provinces/states/countries – how do you think this will affect ocean conservation goals?
2. 2. Cumulative effects are a well documented scientific phenomenon – describe cumulative effects and discuss how they relate to watersheds and effect life in the oceans.
3. 3. Every biome on earth has watersheds within it. How do you think water runoff to the ocean is affected by our coastal forest ecosystems compared to watersheds covered by grassland or desert ecosystems?

Post your reflection to our TigEd Page - directions for posting to TigEd at the bottom of the assignment.

OPTION 2: Ocean Literacy Principles

Ocean literacy is defined as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean. An ocean-literate person understands:

1. the essential principles and fundamental concepts;
2. can communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way; and
3. is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean and its resources

                                   - Ocean Literacy Framework (2015)

Check out the Ocean Literacy Principles in the attached document and answer the following questions:

1. Which principle are you most comfortable with?
2. Which principle do you know the least about?

Then pick one of the principles and write a short reflection (<200 words) that includes your thoughts on the relationship between mountains and oceans and how we can connect them using ocean literacy principles.

Post your reflection to our TigEd Page before - directions for posting to TigEd at the bottom of the assignment.

OPTION 3: Howe Sound Geologic History

The geologic history of British Columbia allows us to look backwards and get a glimpse of how our landscape was created. The coastal mountains, including the Mount Garibaldi range near Squamish were created 100 million years ago during the late Cretaceous, when a plate containing a group of active volcanic islands collided and fused with the North American Plate. Since then glaciers have carved their own mark into the rocks, creating the mountains we know today.

Geology throughout BC is extremely varied, from the granite intrusions in the Coastal Mountains to the ancient sea life preserved in the Burgess Shale – the rocks in BC are full of interesting places and surprising facts.

                        - Cannings, et al. (2011) Geology of British Columbia: A journey through time. Greystone Books

Check out these “Unbelievable and Little Known facts about Squamish”: https://www.seatoskyair.ca/squamish-attractions/6-unbelivable-little-known-facts-about-squamish

For your reflection create three of your own “little known facts” in the same format as the Sea to Sky air. These facts can be anything related to the Coastal Mountain range and their history. In your reflection, write your fact and then two-three sentences underneath each one explaining further.

Natural Resources Canada put together a Sea to Sky GeoTour which is a good place to start to find interesting facts. Find it here: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/nrcan/M4-83-7-2010-eng.pdf

Post your reflection to our TigEd Page – directions for posting to TigEd at the bottom of the assignment.

How to post to TigEd:

1. Go to https://education.ocean.org/youth/ and sign in or create an account. If it asks you for a registration password use “AquaYouth”
2. Click on the “Discussions” tab in the column on the left-hand side of the page
3. Click on the “Mountains To Oceans 2019” forum
4. Post a new thread in the forum by clicking the orange “Post New Thread” button on the right-hand side of the page.
5. Set the title as your name and put your reflection in the body section
6. Hit Post.
7. Relax.

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