Climate change simulator brings home message to P.E.I. students

Some Island students got a real-life lesson in climate change during their Grade 8 science class, courtesy of UPEI's climate research lab.

The class at East Wiltshire Intermediate School in Cornwall, P.E.I., was learning about ocean waves, and their effect on the Island's shoreline.

Their teacher invited a researcher from UPEI to share his work on coastal erosion.

"They get to see our coasts, just how much erosion is happening," said teacher Seth Currie.

"They saw a lot of pictures too, to show them that some of these houses that were built on the coastline, some of these structures are very much threatened."

Researcher Andy MacDonald showed the students the drone that the climate lab flies every summer along the Island's shoreline to measure erosion.

"When I started talking about using drones to look at coastal erosion, it looked like every kid in the class raised their hand to say that they'd flown a drone themselves," MacDonald said.

"It seems like they're very on top of the latest technologies."

Simulating sea level rise

MacDonald also gave the class a demonstration of a software simulator called CLIVE, or Coastal Impact Visualization Environment.

It shows how sea level rise and erosion may change the P.E.I. coastline over the next 90 years.

"CLIVE has been the lab's most valuable resource for explaining and also being able to create a visual that will last with the students for how sea level rise and coastal erosion can affect areas that they recognize," MacDonald said.

"To see a visualization of your neighborhood or an area that you know being flooded or experiencing significant erosion, that's the best way that we found of communicating these topics to people in a way that sticks."

To bring the lesson home, literally, MacDonald flew CLIVE over the school.

"It was pretty funny they zoomed in on East Wiltshire and you know we're 30 metres above sea level and they weren't too worried about it," Currie said.

"But at the same time they really got to see that there are people that are living on on our coasts and they are threatened by it, sea levels are going to rise and storm surges are going to occur and it's going to affect Islanders."

'A lot to take in'

As part the Grade 8 science curriculum, the students will go to the lab to test ways of slowing down coastal erosion, including shoreline armouring.

"We've been learning about erosion in science so I already knew a bit, but I did learn how drastic the effects of it can be especially in the lower areas," said student Addison Chandler.

"It is a lot to take in especially visualizing it instead of just hearing it because it is going to take effect in the very near future and my generation is the ones that will have to deal with it."

"I like the CLIVE," said student Blaze Stride. "It was kind of fun to watch the sea levels rise."

More schools

The climate lab has taken the simulator demonstration to more than half a dozen communities on P.E.I. since it launched CLIVE in 2014.

MacDonald said the lab has also been getting more invitations to Island schools.

"I think that's fantastic.The more that the kids can learn about coastal erosion, climate change, sea level rise," MacDonald said.

"All of these issues that they're going to be affected by later in their lives. I think that this is a great time to introduce them to the topics."

More P.E.I. news