GEOL 1208.2 Environmental Geology

Assignment #1 – Contest and Individual Assignment

Due Date: Thursday, 16 March 2017

I would like you to think and reflect about geological processes. The purpose of this assignment to apply your knowledge of the course so far to your life or the lives of family or friends. What you are doing is writing about a geological event or process that you or your family observed.  This assignment is not a group project.  You are to do this alone – it is individual work.  This assignment will also form the basis for a contest with allegedly great prizes with two winners.

Choose a topic, event or process that you have observed here in Halifax, elsewhere in the world or previously in your life (childhood? back home?).  You may also use recollections of family, friends or relatives as you are searching for a topic, event or process in environmental geology.  You cannot use stories from the media.

You cannot use current topics in the media.  You must have observed this geological process or event.  You could also get a story from your relatives or parents. I suggest that you start by considering the topics in the textbook – read the course outline. There are four sections— Foundations, Hazards, Resources, and the Future—that are rich in topics that offer potential for you.  Then look around your area of the university and Halifax.

The most important part of this exercise is to reflect on why this topic, event or process is important [or not] to you and what it means to you.  You will also need to show a connection to the course, your life, the media and/or other courses at university.

Here is the marking scheme based on 20 points maximum.

•      Topic: 2 pts. Title and topic.

•      Description: 6 pts. Brief description necessary for me to understand and for you to explain what happened.

•      Reflection: 6 pts. Answer questions such as: What did I learn? What did this mean to me? Why is it important to me?

•      Connection: 5 pts.  Connect the story with your life, this course or the media. Describe how it affected others in your family or circle of friends.

•      Title page: 1 pt.

In order to get more than 9/20 you must show evidence of reflection and connection.