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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
Tourism, Climate Change and Sand Dune Coasts:
Stresses, Adaptations, Opportunities?
Lesson Overview
This lesson is based on current scientific research. Changes in climate can result in changes to sand
dune coasts – both to the shoreline and the dunes. They can also cause changes that impact tourist
use of the coast. Changes in tourism, such as the number of tourists and the season of their visits,
can also impact the coastline. In this lesson, students will conduct a field study to help them
answer the following questions: How can the impacts on tourism interact with the impacts of
tourism on a sand dune coast? Will tourism be helped or hampered by the anticipated warmer,
drier summer climate of the future in Prince Edward Island; or are there positive adaptations?
Grade Level
Grades 9-12 (secondary school)
Time Required
Teachers should be able to conduct the lesson in one or two classes.
Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course)
Atlantic Provinces Curriculum for Social Studies: Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and
Training (CAMET): Prince Edward Island, other Atlantic Provinces
May be adapted to any other jurisdiction affected by coastal tourism.
Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required
Teacher Background Information (attached)
Canadian Geographic/NRTEE A Changing Climate poster-map
Student access to computers and the internet
Website:
Climate Prosperity thematic module in the Canadian Atlas Online:
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=climateprosperity&lang=En
Copies of: “Student Questions for Consideration” (attached)
Main Objective
Students will consider the interaction of various factors that influence and impact the sand dune
coasts of Prince Edward Island. They will discuss and understand the relationships between climate
change, rising sea levels and coastal erosion.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
Recognize that environmental issues (the erosion of sand dune coasts in
particular) involve multiple factors, both physical and human;
Appreciate the necessity for careful analysis, data collection, and consideration of multiple
parameters;
Gain an appreciation for the sand dune coasts of PEI;
Hypothesize possible scenarios dependent on variable factors.
The Lesson
The Lesson
Teacher Activity
Introduction
Note to teacher:
This lesson works best as a field trip or
project.
Become familiar with the “Teacher
Background Information.” (attached)
Have students examine the Climate
Prosperity thematic module in the
Canadian Atlas Online:
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas
/themes.aspx?id=climateprosperity&lang
=En
Use the Canadian Geographic/NRTEE A
Changing Climate poster-map to identify
threats to coastlines in Prince Edward
Island due to warming temperatures and
rising sea levels.
Inform students that they will conduct
research and complete a field study to
find the answers to the questions on the
“Student Questions for Consideration”
sheet (attached).
Discuss the idea that changes in climate
can result in changes to sand dune
coasts – both to the shoreline and the
dunes. Ask the questions:
 How does storm activity influence sand
beaches?
 How does storm activity influence
dunes, both in the summer and the
winter?
Student Activity
Through discussion and questioning,
deduce that:
Changes in climate and subsequent
changes in sand dune coasts can
also cause changes that impact
tourist use of the coast.
Changes in tourism, such as the
number of tourists and the
season of their visits, can also
impact the coastline.
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Lesson
Development
 How could the number of tourists
affect the beaches and the dunes?
 Could changes in climate result in
changes in tourist numbers, or in the
length of the tourist season?
 How could the impacts on tourism
interact with the impacts of tourism
on a sand dune coast?
Inform students that through field study
these effects can be analyzed and
documented.
Lead a field study to photograph sand
dunes and collect sand samples from a
variety of beaches.
Ask the following questions after
labelling and sorting: Which is finer?
Which would be easier to erode?
How can you determine the direction
of sand movement along a
beach?
Why does an increase in sea ice
cover result in reduced beach
erosion?
How can you recognize ongoing
erosion on a beach system over a
period of years?
Does most erosion occur during
individual storms, or is it a slow,
gradual process?
What data or observations would
help to answer these questions?
Conclusion
Ask students to compile a list of related
environmental issues that influence sand
dune coasts.
Discuss the following questions:
 How could the tourism industry adjust
to these issues?
 Will tourism be helped or hampered by
the anticipated warmer, drier
summer climate of Prince Edward
Island?
 What steps could be considered to
reduce the stresses on the dunes and
coasts that would also enhance the
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
Prepare for the field study.
Collect samples of beach and dune sand
from variety of locations.
Label compare, and categorize the grain
sizes.
Complete observations and respond to
questions.
Brainstorm where additional information
and data might be gathered.
Conclude:
 One of Prince Edward Island’s
economic activities is tourism.
Climate change and its effects on one
of the main attractions, sand dunes,
will affect the province.
 In order to understand the full effects
of climate change, the province must
carefully monitor the sand dune
coastlines and plan for the future.
 The complexity of this issue means
that careful analysis, detailed data
collection and consideration of
multiple stakeholders is necessary.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
tourist experience?
Lead students to conclusions and have
them create a diorama of their findings.
Design and display an information
diorama.
Lesson Extension
Conduct an internet search for sources of additional data.
Survey communities to see what action is being taken.
Make a list of recommendations to enable affected communities to adapt positively to changes.
Create an “Awareness” brochure and distribute it to municipal and provincial governments.
Assessment
Evaluate participation, field notes, answers to questions and the diorama.
Further Reading
National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) web site:
http://www.nrtee-trnee.com/
Environment Canada
http://www.ec.gc.ca
Catto, N.R., 2002. Anthropogenic Pressures on Coastal Dunes, southwest Newfoundland. The
Canadian Geographer, 46, 17-32.
Catto, N.R., Catto, G., 2009. Geomorphology and Sedimentology of the Hog Island
(Pemamgiag) Sandhills, PEI. Report to the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Catto, N.R., MacQuarrie, K., Hermann, M., 2002. Geomorphic Response to Late Holocene
Climate Variation and Anthropogenic Pressure, northeastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Quaternary International, 87, 101-118.
Vasseur, L., and Catto, N.R., 2008. Atlantic Canada; in From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada
in a Changing Climate 2007, edited by D.S. Lemmen, F.J.Warren, J. Lacroix and E. Bush;
Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 119-170.
Link to National Standards for Geography
Essential Element #4: Human Systems
• Impact of tourism
Essential Element #5: Environment and Society
• Environmental issues
Geographic Skill #1: Asking Geographic Questions
 Plan and organize a geographic research project.
Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring Geographic Information
Systematically locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and
secondary sources.
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
Teacher Background Information
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The impact of ongoing environmental change is evident in the landscape of Prince Edward
Island. The coastline represents a critical area for the assessment of the impact of change.
Storm activity generally results in erosion and narrowing of the beach; and coarsening of
sediment (e.g. from fine sand to coarse sand or gravel).
Winters with relatively limited sea ice and scarce snow cover along the beach permit
increased erosion by storms.
Coastal barrier beaches depend upon having an ample supply of sand to replace that
transported laterally by currents along the shore. Sand supply has been curtailed in some
areas by the erection of docks and breakwaters, interrupting the course of longshore drift.
Rising sea levels are also resulting in coastal erosion.
Some of the sand necessary to maintain the beaches is stored temporarily in the dune
systems. Any loss of sand from the dunes, or transport of sand inland, has a negative
impact on the amount of sand on the beaches. Windy conditions on loose sand with no
vegetation cover causes dune erosion. Dunes become lower and migrate inland.
Winters with relatively little snow cover on the dunes permit increased erosion. The rate of
erosion is influenced by climate parameters (wind velocity and persistence; precipitation
amount, types, and seasonality), proximity to the ocean, grain size, vegetation cover (type
and extent), animal activity (both natural and domestic), and the extent, style, and duration
of human activity.
Other human activities, including ATV use and recreational fires, also result in degradation.
Assessment of the relative impacts of tourists and local users must consider the relative
numbers of people involved (allowing for multiple visits by local residents), as well as the
differences in the type and location of their activities.
The requirements of increased numbers of tourists, drawn by warmer, drier summers, could
result in water shortages.
An increase in the number of tourists increases the pressure on dunes, resulting in increased
erosion and damage to dunes and vegetation.
Wind is funnelled along trails, causing increased erosion and forming trough blowouts and
deflation basins. The human-created features are not aligned parallel to the prevailing winds
or dune orientations. The alignment of the troughs reflects routes of human traffic.
Restriction of tourist traffic has resulted in decreased rates or almost complete cessation of
erosion. An effective way to do this is to construct boardwalks across the dunes to the
beaches.
Warmer, longer summers could increase the number of tourists and lengthen the tourist
season. An initial increase in tourism could lead to increased pressure on the dune coast,
causing degradation and eventually making a less attractive environment for tourists.
Tourists could be concerned about increases in storm (hurricane) activity and stay away.
Sources:
Catto, N.R., 2002. Anthropogenic Pressures on Coastal Dunes, southwest Newfoundland. The Canadian Geographer, 46,
17-32.
Catto, N.R., Catto, G., 2009. Geomorphology and Sedimentology of the Hog Island (Pemamgiag) Sandhills, PEI. Report
to the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Catto, N.R., MacQuarrie, K., Hermann, M., 2002. Geomorphic Response to Late Holocene Climate Variation and
Anthropogenic Pressure, northeastern Prince Edward Island, Canada. Quaternary International, 87, 101-118.
Vasseur, L., and Catto, N.R., 2008. Atlantic Canada; in From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate
2007, edited by D.S. Lemmen, F.J.Warren, J. Lacroix and E. Bush; Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 119-170.
THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – GRADES 9-12
Student Questions for Consideration
1. Why does snow cover reduce dune erosion in the winter?
2. Why does a snowy winter result in decreased dune erosion in the following spring? (Hint:
where does the water produced by melting snow go?)
3. Would you expect dune erosion to be greater during a hurricane with strong winds and
abundant rain; or during a dry period with lesser winds?
4. One person walking across a lawn causes no damage; 1000 people will wear a path through
the grass. How many people are too many on a dune?
5. How could you limit the number of people on sand dunes without causing damage to
tourism?
6. Do most tourists care about the dunes, or are they largely interested in the beaches?
7. Aside from foot traffic, what other human activities are most likely to cause the erosion of
sand dunes?
8. Which animals could potentially cause problems if they were present in large numbers?
9. Is animal erosion of the sand dunes a potential problem in Prince Edward Island?
10. Is the pressure generated by tourists more or less than that generated by local residents?
11. What data or observations would help to answer these questions?
12. Have water shortages been a problem in parts of Prince Edward Island during some
summers?