Hi There
I’m happy to report that the Scott’s bay excursion was excellent. The class gave a fantastic account of themselves at our community meeting. I have snippets of video from the presentation that I will upload into their portfolio’s. Although there were only two locals who made it to the meeting, an audience is an audience regardless of numbers. The two locals couldn’t have been more knowledgeable about Scott’s Bay, as one has lived in the community for 69 years, while the other has had family ties to the village his entire life as well. The question and answer session lasted more than 30 minutes, and we were able to view a few dozen photographs of the village from the last 100 years or so. These next few days will see the class prepare presentations demonstrating their understandings from the trip.
Our central idea which acted as our compass throughout the learning process stated: The earth’s physical geography has an impact on human interactions and settlements.
Through the Q&A session we were able to determine
- why Scott’s Bay was first settled
- why it is located in the exact spot that it is within the Bay
- what natural resources has the town leaned on over the years
- and most importantly what makes Scott’s Bay inclusive safe resilient and sustainable?
The global context of sustainability was what drove the unit and kept the learning relevant. During our five weeks of learning we looked at why communities became settled in the first place. Was Scott’s bay settled with natural beauty in mind? Or was it the natural resources? Or perhaps it was once a strategic location? Or a place with cultural relevance? We wanted to know why it has remained a great place to live for hundreds of years; After all we discovered that Nova Scotia is filled with ghost towns, places that couldn’t sustain themselves for whatever reason.
In the end we found out the answers to all these questions and many many more. If our first day was all business, then our second day allowed us to explore the natural beauty of the area, a big reason why Scott’s Bay has remained a relevant place all of these years. We hiked Cape Split and geocached along the way. The weather was gorgeous and the conditions perfect for a day in nature.
We are grateful for the use of Ron’s farm house and to those we spoke with over the two days in Scott’s Bay. Personnally I’m also thankful to the parents who supported us, by attending the town hall meeting, driving, hiking and in the case of Caelin’s mom…chaperoning for an entire night.
Thank-you.
Booker 5-7 