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Activity 6: Won't tourism spoil the environment?

The purpose of this activity is to give students the opportunity to

  • consider the effects of tourism on South Stradbroke Island
  • understand the need for ecologically sustainable waste management

Length and implementation of activity

Part A: Students first design a resort for an imaginary island. In groups they consider designs for resorts of different sizes. They use an average of the amount of resources used and the waste produced by an average family to estimate the effect of their resort on the environment (30 minutes).

Part B: The groups share their resort plans and their ideas for waste management, and research the aspects to keep in mind when considering the environment (one lesson, depending on the students' background knowledge - the teacher will need to determine this).

Part C: Expert groups develop standards for judging detrimental effects on the island (30-40 minutes).

Part D: The groups revise their strategies after hearing from others (30 minutes - depending on the number of groups).

Part E: Finally, the plans for Couran Cove Resort are revealed to them, and the students reflect on the comparison between the strategies they devised and the strategies devised for Couran Cove. This section depends on how the teacher intends to organise computer access.

The activity is based on a co-operative learning exercise called the Expert Jigsaw. This involves students forming home groups, which, in this case, design their own resort. Members of the home group then join other groups to become experts on one of four topics related to management of resources. Having become experts, everyone returns to their home group to revise the group's strategies for resource management.

N.B. The teacher will need to do some preliminary investigation with the local government authority to find out estimates of the average water and energy resources that would be used by a family of four in a week or a month, and how much waste water and garbage would be produced in that time.

Teachers Notes

Students Notes

Queensland core learning outcomes for Studies of Society and Environment:

Place and Space 5.2

  • Students design strategies for evaluating environmental impacts of a proposed project, highlighting relationships within and between natural systems.

Systems, Resources and Power 5.1

  • Students evaluate the relationship between an ecological system and a government and/or economic system.
     
   
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