Tuesday, September 10. 2024

Today's schedule is CDAB

C/D Blocks Social and Environmental Sciences - Today is Photo Day, so since we'll be outside for most of the morning, we'll head to the MPR right away and get photos taken. After, Benton and I will take you to the mid course of the Towhee Creek watershed / basin by going from the Vanier driveway down to Headquarters Road. Remember this is not just a walk along the course of the creek. Benton and I are asking you to map out (inventory/collect data) some things and make notes about what you see. Your goal "on the river" is to collect as much scientific data as you can during one short day (you may go out through the watershed during class time tomorrow afternoon and Thursday morning as well). Don't get distracted, remember that the purpose of the day is gather observations that will help answer the "big question" Is this creek healthy? - our assessment.

We want you to assess and evaluate the physical features of the Towhee Creek system and look at the impact of a river drainage system on water quality seen through soil, slope, and flow. We also want you to consider the effects of agriculture, development, and transportation on Towhee Creek and water resources. Further to this we'd like you to monitor and document the number of living organisms in Towhee Creek. The variety of living organisms in a water environment, which may change as the water quality and quantity increases or decreases, should also be monitored and documented (remember Towhee Creek is an intermittent stream).

Your goal "on the river" is to gather and collect as much scientific data as you can through observation and inference that will help answer the "big question" Is this creek healthy? - which is our assessment.

Your objective is to explain your views on the health of Towhee Creek graphically. Towhee Creek is an Intermittent Stream

Intermittent streams have flowing water periods during the wet season (winter-spring) but are normally dry during hot summer months. Ephemeral streams have less flow than intermittent streams, are typically shallow, and have flowing water for brief periods in response to rainfall. So Towhee Creek is an Intermittent, rather than an Ephemeral stream. Towhee Creek is important due to superior capacity for nutrient spiraling and fish habitat (particularly Coho and trout) providing winter habitat for Tsolum River salmon populations in the watershed. First you'll need to determine what it is that makes a stream healthy. To that end check out:

From the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Some factors that have an impact on streams include: 

• seasonal variation - in summer there is usually less rainfall (lower water levels and less flow) and water temperatures can be higher 

• storms - lots of rain can affect the amount of sediment carried in the water and therefore affect the water clarity readings 

• human activities – digging work or logging adjacent to the stream can increase the amount of sediment in the water 

The health of a stream is dependent on its location within a catchment (i.e. whether it is close to the ocean or close to the start of the stream) and on the surrounding environment (i.e. whether there is housing, industry, native forest or agriculture). Some key concepts about the catchment include: 

• native forest cover supports healthy waterways by providing habitat, shade and capturing sediment 

• urban areas can negatively impact the health of a stream or waterway due to storm water pollution 

• intensive farming can also have a negative impact on the health of a waterway, particularly when there is a lack of protective vegetation or fencing to keep stock out. Contaminants can include animal waste, fertilizer, pesticides and sediment.

When it comes to stream health, land use and protection matter

What makes a healthy stream? 

Steam Health

A New Way of Understanding What Makes a River Healthy

Stream (National Geographic explanation)

How do I recognize a healthy stream?

You should also consider 

Stream bed - Many aquatic animals rely on stony stream beds, where they live on and in-between the stones. Sediment from soil erosion (e.g., as a result of deforestation, earthworks or storms) in the catchment can cover the stones and degrade the habitat for fish and aquatic invertebrates. 

Algae - Algae grow on the stones in the stream bed. Some invertebrates feed on algae as their main food source and are adapted to eat short algae. When nutrient levels are high (from agricultural runoff) or when there is too much sunlight (lack of stream shading), algae grows longer and thicker and invertebrates can no longer eat it. 

Pool/riffle/run - A healthy stream will have pools, riffles and runs as these provide a variety of habitat for aquatic animals.

• A pool is an area of slow flowing, deep water, often on the outside bend of a stream 

• A riffle is an area of fast flowing, shallow water where the surface of the water is broken from flowing over stones 

• A run is a smooth, unbroken flow of water that connects pools and riffles 

Stream shading - Trees provide shading that has several benefits: 

• reduces temperature extremes 

• limits light and keeps water cooler to help limit algal growth 

• keeps water cooler to hold more dissolved oxygen (invertebrates and fish need oxygen to survive) 

• provides falling leaves and insects as a year round supply of food for aquatic animals

Bank stability - Bank stability is provided naturally by trees and plants. Root systems hold the banks together and are particularly effective when they grow right down to the water’s edge. Bare banks, erosion and bank slumping show instability. Tree roots help stream ecosystems by: 

• preventing sediment (soil) from coating the stream bed and covering the gaps between the rocks where invertebrates live 

• keeping sediment out of the water and maintaining water clarity. (This is important for stream dwelling creatures who need good visibility to hunt prey and need their gills clear for taking in oxygen)

 • creating habitat for fish and freshwater crayfish in amongst their roots

Human impacts - Some human actions have a direct effect on the stream and the animals within it. Examples include: 

• storm water pipes that may discharge polluted water 

• grazing animals (e.g., cows) that pollute the water 

• culverts and weirs that stop the migration of native fish 

• straightening of streams that reduce pool or riffle habitat 

• concreted stream beds with no stony habitat available for aquatic animals

A Block Criminology - Today we'll focus on Social Structure, Social Learning, and Conflict theories. Remember I'm condensing five to six chapters in Criminology to a brief two block time period. Next, we'll begin our look at the nature vs. nurture debate by focusing on the history of psychological and sociological criminology and our brief history of criminology (from B.C.E up to and including the current theories, which will help you with your first activity in the course). 

B Block Human Geography - We'll start with time to work on yesterday's questions:

1. Describe the four types of distortion AND for each type of distortion explain which type of map projection you would use to best minimize the distortion. 
2. GPS is most commonly used for navigation. Pilots of aircraft and ships stay on course with GPS. On land, GPS detects a vehicle’s current position, the motorist programs the desired destination, and GPS provides instructions on how to reach the destination. So, in your everyday life how do you use GPS and how does it affect your activities?

After we'll start with this...check out the "what3words" app/map. What3words divided the entire world into a grid of 3 meter squares and gave each square a unique combination of three random words (a what3words address). This means that every building or station entrance, pop-up venue and meet-up spot in a park has its own unique address, allowing users to easily find, share and navigate to anywhere in the world. Young's desk can be found at

 ///dangerously.hydration.uphill

So what's the deal with this? Why is it a thing?

After figuring this out, we'll work on the foundations of Geography starting with the Five Themes and take a look at our key question Why is each point on Earth unique? - Like the what three words identifier above. In order to understand the increasingly complex and interconnected world we live in we need to find a way to make sense of information in a way that doesn't overwhelm us. You now know that Geographers ask two simple questions: Where are people and activities found on Earth? and Why are they found there? So we'll try to work on the Questions: 

• How do Geographers describe where things are? (Location or Site) 
• Why is each point on Earth unique? (Place or Situation and also Regions if you think of scale) 
• How are Places connected (Movement and Regions) 
• Why Are Different Places Similar? (Regions) 
• How do Humans interact with Environments in different places? (Human Environment Interactions)

These questions are known as The Five Themes (Location, Place - Situation, Human Environment Interactions, Movement-Diffusion, and Region) and are a framework for making sense of geographic data. It helps you to understand the holistic nature of geography of geography (emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole, as each theme cannot be seen in isolation from the others). We'll figure out the difference between place and region (hint think scale) and maybe talk about toponyms, site and situation. 

 

Today's Fit...