Learning the Bruce: Community Engagement and Capstone Field Course Experience in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada

Description

Learning the Bruce is a capstone, experiential, field course held in Bruce County, Ontario. The Bruce Peninsula is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve containing the largest continuous forest in southern Ontario and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year to two national parks. There are a range of environmental, economic, social, and cultural challenges facing the region including: economic development issues, sustainable tourism practices, invasive species, climate change, Indigenous land claims, and nuclear versus renewable energy production. The course adopts a community-service learning framework in its design. Consultation with community stakeholders in Bruce County occurs before, during, and after the course through a community engagement process.  Students undertake research projects in both physical and human geography that address community needs. Examples of such projects will include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local tourism or the impact of climate change on the natural environment of the parks.