Page 256 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

Grade 12, University/College Preparation
C1. Supporting Sustainable Environments: apply spatial technologies to assess and support the sustainable use of natural and human environments (FOCUS ON: Spatial Significance; Geographic Perspective)
C2. IdentifyingEnvironmentalPatternsandTrends:apply,andexplaintheroleof,spatialtechnologies in analysing environmental patterns and trends and making decisions related to sustainability (FOCUS ON: Patterns and Trends; Interrelationships)
C. USING SPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies
254
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
C1. Supporting Sustainable Environments
FOCUS ON: Spatial Significance; Geographic Perspective
By the end of this course, students will:
C1.1 perform assessments of the natural environ- ment (e.g., assessments of wildlife or of wetlands), using spatial technologies as appropriate, to analyse sustainability
Sample questions: “Which spatial technologies would you use to do wildlife assessments such as determining the levels of fish stocks or tracking caribou migration patterns?” “How do spatial technologies help to map and predict the extent of the following: an oil spill; the effect of disease outbreaks on agricultural crops or forests; de- forestation and the effect of commercial logging operations?” “How might spatial technologies help to map and monitor the destruction of wetlands?”
Using spatial skills: Students can use GIS
to explore data using time attributes to view changes in a characteristic for a given area, such as the change in carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere over time or the change in forest cover for a particular area. Students can use proximity and overlay tools in GIS to do a susceptibility study to determine the likelihood of changes to the natural environment such
as the spread of insects, or the likelihood of a natural disaster such as a forest fire or landslide.
C1.2 use spatial technologies to construct maps to support sustainable human activities (e.g., to
show the most sustainable route for a hiking or cycling path, to show the best route for a road through an environmentally sensitive region, to determine the best location for infrastructure such as a pipeline or power line, to show the impact of increased human activity in a park)
Sample questions: “How would you construct a map showing the impacts of increased human activity on local, provincial, and national parks?” “What information would you need to plan a sustainable hiking or cycling path using web- based GIS, a digital elevation model [DEM], or GPS?” “How might spatial technologies help in planning and creating buffer zones near open pit mines, quarries, and tailing ponds?”
Using spatial skills: Students can use GIS
to analyse information such as vector data (points, lines, and polygons) and raster data (pixel images, satellite images, and aerial images) in order to create buffers or zones delineating sensitive environmental areas. Students can use a digital elevation model to determine where best to situate a ski resort.
C1.3 assess issues of sustainability (e.g., environ- mental, social, economic, political issues) relating to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and communities (e.g., issues relating to development projects such as the construction of hydroelectric dams, oil and gas extraction processes), using spatial technologies as appropriate
Sample questions: “What data layers illustrate the impact on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities of the decline of traditional food
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will: