Mapping a future
Students learn about mapping, whales with new software
If you ever want to know where and why right whales are dying in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a group of high school students from the Cape Breton Highland Education Centre/Academy might have the answers.
The students, led by teacher Bruce Miller, decided in October to focus on an investigation into the recent deaths of the right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The students used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to plot the locations of whale deaths and entanglements, and then used other layers of data, such as shipping routes, fishing zones, depth maps, and ocean temperature changes to analyze why the whales are in the gulf and why they are being killed.
After about three weeks of work done on lunch hours and after school, they completed an interactive story map and presented it at Esri Canada’s GIS conference in Halifax last month. Esri is a privately held, Canadian-owned company that provides geographic information system solutions.
“The whole project itself was interesting because in the beginning, we didn’t know much about it,” says Grade 12 student Alex Conrad. “It was nice because it worked educationally because we learned about using a new software that university students and other high school students can use and learn about maps and what not, in geography. But also it was cool because it was a local issue.
“Usually when you live in Cape Breton you hear about a lot of issues that are in other places in Nova Scotia or around the world but looking at an issue that’s in our local area was kind of interesting - it shows that even in small rural Cape Breton there’s still significance in the area.”
According to teacher Bruce Miller, the Cape Breton Highland Academy students were the only students chosen from high schools to present at the Esri conference.
“The conference is mostly for people who are professionals who use the software, but they wanted to show that it was also being used in schools now,” said Miller, adding the students learned some interesting information while doing their research.
“The most interesting results that we found is that we made a map showing the deaths of the right whales, we made a map showing where the bodies were and we mapped the shipping lanes on top of that so we could see what whales were close to what shipping lanes so that was interesting. Also we looked at the temperature change in the ocean and some of the theories suggest that the whales’ food prefers colder waters so as the oceans warm up, their food comes to the Gulf of St. Lawrence so that is why the whales are coming here as well. It’s climate change.”
While the results aren’t new, the students had the opportunity to make the maps that illustrate what’s going on.
“As a teacher, what I liked about it was the combination of research, but also the students created some of their own things so they didn’t just look it up in a book or on a website - they found information in one place and made a map themselves, basically putting things together or synthesizing things to see things in a new way. As a teacher, that’s something I like to see.”
For Sophie Blondin, a Grade 12 student who also took part in the project, the whole project was a good learning experience.
“I thought it was an incredible experience and I was very grateful to be a part of it. I thought it was a great way to not only learn more about geography and local issues, but also getting experience for conferences and speaking out loud and leadership and it was really a wholesome educational experience.”
The students’ presentation may be viewed at http://srsbedu.maps.arcgis.com and clicking on the ‘Gallery’ tab.
“Usually when you live in Cape Breton you hear about a lot of issues that are in other places in Nova Scotia or around the world but looking at an issue that’s in our local area was kind of interesting...” Alex Conrad