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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
Conservation Stewardship in Action: Protecting the
PEI Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed
“The pen is just as mighty as the paddle.”
Lesson Overview
This lesson focuses on a watershed vital to Charlottetown: the Winter River/Tracadie Bay
Watershed, the source of the city’s water. Students will review inspiring quotations about
water and participate in a discussion about who should protect watersheds. They will learn
about how the watersheds of Prince Edward Island are protected and assume the roles of
various sectors that form the Watershed Alliance. Finally, they will write a communication
that expresses one major concern they have about the watershed.
Grade Level
Grade 10
Time Required
Two lessons
Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course)
Atlantic Provinces Curriculum for Social Studies: Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education
and Training (CAMET), Prince Edward Island, Geography 10.
Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

Watersheds of Canada poster-map

Student Activity Sheet (attached)

Access to computers and the internet
Websites:
Video: Our Waters Run Deep (3 minutes, 27 seconds) which details Charlottetown’s
water supply and usage
http://city.charlottetown.pe.ca/waterconservationtips.php
Canadian Atlas Online Watershed Awareness theme
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=%20watershedawareness
&lang=En
Protect Your Watershed: An interactive guide to taking action
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/watersheds
The Source of life
Canada’s watershed protection action guide
http://192.168.1.8/magazine/jun11/watershed_protection_guide.asp
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
Main Objective
The main objective of the lesson is to familiarize students with a watershed important to
their lives, the challenges it faces and to enable an understanding that they can use their
words to protect this watershed.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
 identify the features of watersheds;
 understand the importance of watersheds to adjacent communities;
 identify the watershed that is the source of water for the city of Charlottetown and
recognize some challenges its users face;
 understand that users who have interests based on the health of a watershed must
become actively involved in its maintenance and conservation;
 understand how the watersheds of Prince Edward Island are currently protected;
 realize that they can become socially active by using the power of words to help
protect their watershed.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
The Lesson
The Lesson
Teacher Activity
Introduction
Quote Ann Casselman and introduce
two significant, revealing quotations
from renowned environmentalists:
Ann Casselman: “The pen is just as
mighty as the paddle.”
Student Activity
In groups of three or four that will
remain consistent throughout the
lesson, discuss the implications of
these quotations.
Rachel Carson: “In an age when man
has forgotten his origins and is blind
even to his most essential needs for
survival, water along with other
resources has become the victim of his
indifference.”
Jacques Cousteau: “We forget that
the water cycle and the life cycle are
one.”
Distribute the Student Activity Sheet.
Assign question #1.
Complete the question and share
responses with the class.
Invite students to interpret the
meaning of the lesson title, reminding
them that this will become the focus of
the lesson later.
Interpret the title orally.
Define “watershed.” (According to The
Canadian Atlas Online, a watershed or
a drainage basin “is an area of land
which serves as a funnel collecting
water from many smaller feeder
funnels into a larger tributary which
ultimately delivers the water to the
ocean via a river or river system.”)
Note the definition.
Instructing the students to take jot
notes for future reference and utilizing
the Watersheds of Canada poster-map
(map side), employ a telescoping
process to introduce the watershed.
There are three salient points:
Take jot notes of key points for future
reference.
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Lesson
Development

The Canadian Atlas Online
informs us that 47% of all the
land in the world drains to the
Atlantic Ocean.

In Canada, the Atlantic Ocean
directly drains the Saint
Lawrence River, the Great Lakes
basins, and all the Maritime
Provinces.

A watershed vital to students of
Charlottetown is the Winter
River/Tracadie Bay Watershed,
the source of the city’s water.
Emphasize that the specific
source of the city’s water is a
series of wells located within the
watershed.
Assign question # 2 on the Student
Activity Sheet.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
Complete the question in groups and
share responses.
Show the video Our Waters Run Deep,
a useful introduction to Charlottetown’s
water supply and usage.
After viewing, explain that in Prince
Edward Island, the watersheds are
protected by a partnership between
Government and the recently appointed
Watershed Alliance. (Sectors
composing the Alliance include:
agriculture, fishing and shell-fishing,
forestry, community or municipal
councils, tourism, and others.)
Invite opinions of this partnership.
Present a recent communication
(February 7, 2011) found on the
Welcome to the City of Charlottetown
site:
Continue to add information to jot
notes.
Based on what they have discovered,
offer opinions on partnership.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
“The City of Charlottetown is taking a
good look at the sustainability of our
most valued resource—our clean, clear
drinking water. We are concerned
about pressure on the Winter River
watershed and are trying to find
innovative ways to conserve our supply
so our youngest residents will have
clean drinking water in the future.”
Ask, “What do you consider to be the
current concerns about the Winter
River/Tracadie Bay Watershed?”
Conclusion
Refer again to Ann Casselman’s quote.
Add Ms. Casselman’s assertion that,
“…many of our watershed victories
result from letters, petitions, bill
amendments, etc.”
Respond orally to the question,
stating current concerns.
Answer the question in writing and
share the ideas with the class.
Through a role-playing exercise,
students will attempt to put the words
“the pen is just as mighty as the
paddle” into action.
In the spirit of Ms. Casselman’s words,
to “Speak for your river”, direct the
student groups, with reference to
question #3 on the Student Activity
Sheet, to write a letter from the
perspective of possible stakeholders.
(In order to get a diversity of views,
assign each group one of the sectors
listed: agriculture, fishing, forestry,
community or municipal councils,
tourism.
Request that students share their
writings and submit their activity
sheets.
Present viewpoints to the class and
submit completed activity sheets.
Lesson Extension



Research other watersheds in Prince Edward Island.
Write to the partnership that protects the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed.
Go on a field trip to explore a local watershed.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
Assessment of Student Learning
The Student Activity sheet can be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
complexity of information, quality of ideas, and clarity of expression.
Further Reading

National Geographic: Freshwater 101
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater101/

RBC Bluewater Foundation
http://bluewater.rbc.com/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/bluewaterproject/
Link to Canadian National Standards for Geography
Essential Element #5: Environment and Society
 Use and sustainability of resources
 Environmental issues (e.g. global warming, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, ozone
depletion, air pollution, water pollution, acid precipitation, disposal of solid waste)
Geographic Skill #5: Answering Geographic Questions
 Apply the processes of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and explanation to interpret
geographic information from a variety of sources.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADE 10
Conservation Stewardship in: Protecting the PEI Winter
River/Tracadie Bay Watershed
“The pen is just as mighty as the paddle.”
Student Activity Sheet
As instructed by your teacher throughout the lesson, complete the following in your group:
1. Create a thought-provoking statement centering on the subject of water. You have 5
minutes.
2. How, in your opinion, should the watersheds of Prince Edward Island be governed?
Should they be governed locally, provincially, internationally, or in some other way entirely?
Defend your response. You have 5 minutes.
3. As you have learned, the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed, the source of
Charlottetown’s drinking water, is governed by a partnership of the Watershed Alliance and
the Government of PEI. Imagine that your group represents one of the sectors forming the
Alliance (your teacher will assign your sector): agriculture, fishing, forestry,
community or municipal councils, or tourism. From the point of view of your assigned
sector, compose a communication for the Government that expresses a significant concern
about the Winter River/Tracadie Bay Watershed. Make sure your communication is clear
and concise (about 150 words).
Research the topic for about 30 minutes. You will find much more information about the
watershed online.
As a starting point, please read the following words from City of Charlottetown: Our
Sustainable City at http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/winterriverwatershed.php.
”There are many people with a shared interest in the waters of Winter River. Charlottetown
and Winter River residents depend on this watershed for clean and adequate residential
supply. This area is also a popular destination for recreation for hikers, bird-watchers,
fishers and anglers. There are many farms in this area that depend on adequate water for
their crops and Tracadie Bay is home to several aquaculture operations that require clean
water with consistent water temperatures.
Humans aren’t the only ones that depend on the Winter River water source. There is a
diverse community of mammals, birds, amphibians and plant life that rely on the
groundwater that feeds into its streams, rivers and bay.”
You have 60 minutes to complete your research and your written communication.