Map depicting the volcanic hazards at Mt. Rainier. Scientists believe the next eruption could produce volcanic ash, lava flows, and avalanches, making this the most threatening mountain in the Cascades.
Article featuring Carolyn Driedger, geologist at Cascades Volcano Observatory. Driedger discusses the hazards of Mt. Rainier, the safety measures the city of Orting has put into place, and the importance of pre-planning for the possibility of an eruption.
Webpage from the Seattle Office of Emergency Management featuring Washington’s five active volcanoes in the Cascade Range: Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, Mt. Rainer, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens. The webpage goes over the many hazards caused by eruptions such as lahars, and what they may mean for the people of Seattle.
New York Times article exploring the heat wave in Lytton, British Columbia, 2021. Record-breaking temperatures of 121 degrees ignited a fire that destroyed 90 percent of the town.
Video by Geology Hub talks about Mt. Rainer, an active volcano that would cause major destruction if it were to erupt. Video features the geological history of the volcano and lahar hazard mapping.
Seattle Office of Emergency Management webpage discussing fire emergency management. The page goes over the dangers of fires, safety systems, and how climate change has put wildfires on Seattle’s list of concerns.
Seattle Office of Emergency Management webpage discussing landslide emergency management. The page goes over the dangers of landslides to the city and what measures the city has taken to mitigate vulnerability to landslides.
Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management provides basic information about floods. Describes main types of flood hazards, projected effects of climate change, and local flood control infrastructure.
Models of potential flooding and related hazards surrounding the Fraser River. These maps aim to improve risk assessment and emergency preparedness as part of developing a region-wide flood strategy for British Columbia’s lower mainland.
Scholarly article examining Indigenous oral traditions, beliefs, and ceremonies for evidence of what earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest’s history were like and how they impacted local communities.
Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management provides basic information about tsunamis and seiches. Explains characteristics, historic occurrences, and potential effects of each.
Article explaining why seismologists predict that east Puget Sound cities (Shoreline, Kirkland, Seattle, Lakewood, Redmond) will feel strongest shaking in the major earthquake that will occur on the Cascadia subduction zone. Notes that factors like construction quality and soil conditions will affect levels of damage.
Article about how Victoria, B.C. is especially vulnerable to earthquake damage. The city is threatened by several types of earthquakes, and its historic buildings are unprepared for the projected destructive impact.
Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management provides basic information about earthquakes. Lists three types of potential earthquakes, projected effects, and secondary impacts such as landslides, tsunamis, fires, infrastructure failures, and hazardous materials releases.
Article about the major earthquake projected to occur on the Cascadia subduction zone and the unpreparedness of the region. Explains the region’s history of earthquakes, increased scientific understanding and seismological predictions, and the casualties, destruction, and economic collapse that may result. Highlights the danger of the discrepancy between scientific information and the region’s preparedness.
Webpage tracking recent earthquakes in Southwestern British Columbia. Includes links to recent earthquake reports and an interactive map displaying all earthquakes in the last thirty days.
Article about how individuals can prepare for the major earthquake projected to occur on the Cascadia subduction zone. Recommendations include bolting homes to foundations, creating earthquake kits, and making exit plans.
Students write a one-to-two-page letter to apply their knowledge and analysis to a contemporary issue and develop a position that reflects their research on the issue. Resources for locating a leader in a trans-border region with multiple jurisdictions on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the border is provided in the weeks leading up to this letter-writing assignment.
The lesson introduces students to archaeology as a way of knowing the “deep history” of the Salish Sea and presents a brief review of the archaeology of the region. We also discuss the importance of this history to modern peoples today, including the necessity for archaeologists to collaborate with Indigenous communities.
The exercise is aimed to help students explain the basic chronology of culture history in the Salish Sea and identify important local archaeological sites and/or traditional cultural places on both sides of the international border.
A field trip to a local museum allows students to interact with and learn from material items from the Salish Sea and also encourages students to think about the ethics of museum representation and Indigenous collaboration.
This activity is designed to provide students with differing perspectives on the future of salmon within the Salish Sea using interview data with different stakeholders in the region.
A species story combines factual information about a species in the Salish Sea with storytelling skills. By using story, students move from a report- or research-mode to describe the natural world into a humanistic sharing of knowledge of a being in its place and context.
Students will engage their Salish Sea learning from different disciplinary perspectives through engaging with maps at a series of stations at the Map Collection.
A compendium of maps, resources, syllabus information, and reflection prompts, the Reflection Journal offers students and instructors a guide for sharing learning, questions, and ideas about Salish Sea Studies.
This place-based, experiential, and multidisciplinary course introduces students to the complex human-environment systems of our shared bioregion, an international inland sea fed by watersheds governed by the United States, Canada, and over 60 Tribes and First Nations. This course invites students to critically examine complex issues in the Salish Sea, and to build meaningful connections across borders, disciplines, and systems to help bring to life an environmentally healthy and just future for the Salish Sea.
This place-based, experiential, and multidisciplinary course introduces students to the complex human-environment systems of our shared bioregion, an international inland sea fed by watersheds governed by the United States, Canada, and over 60 Tribes and First Nations. This course invites students to critically examine complex issues in the Salish Sea, and to build meaningful connections across borders, disciplines, and systems to help bring to life an environmentally healthy and just future for the Salish Sea.
This hybrid course was co-taught by a historian and an anthropologist. Class meetings were online via Zoom and in person for field trips. The quarter-long project involved working with a Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist to develop a Story Map about the Whatcom Creek Watershed.
This fully online iteration of the course was co-taught by a historian and a sociologist. The final project was a student-created video about the connection between a course outcome and the Salish Sea Lab (virtual).
This (virtual) lab component for the Introduction to the Salish Sea course supports students' engagement in independent experiential learning using walks, reading, podcasts, recorded lectures, and tracing local ecology.
The purpose of the IED is to prioritize improved educational outcomes for Indigenous learners by promoting practices informed by Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing.
This program is built on the definition of health, including environmental health, as founded on the cooperative relationships between humans, non-humans, and their environment.
Grounded in the view that increased student success can be achieved through adjustments in pedagogy and approach that make mathematics feel more inclusive and engaging.
Survive the Sound is a free, interactive online game where students and the general public are invited to follow their favorite fish character as it migrates through Puget Sound.
"We are a collaborative network of educators, families, and community partners working to cultivate equitable, culturally thriving, socio-ecological systems learning and ethical decision-making using field-based science education in outdoor places, including gardens, for children in pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade and their families."