B. People and Environments · Living and Working in Ontario

Land Use and the Environment

B1 B2.1 B2.2 B2.5About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe short-term and long-term effects of land use on the environment.
I can give Ontario examples of how farming, mining, forestry and building affect the land and water.
I can describe actions people take to reduce harm to the environment.
I can ask good questions about land use and the environment.

Words to know

environment
Everything around us: land, water, air, plants and animals.

effect
Something that happens because of something else.

short-term
Lasting a short time, like days, weeks or months.

long-term
Lasting a long time, like many years, or forever.

habitat
The natural home of a plant or animal.

runoff
Rain or melted snow that flows over the ground instead of soaking in.

rehabilitate
To fix up land that was damaged so plants and animals can live there again.

Every choice has an effect

People need homes, food, metal, wood and roads. Using land for these things helps people. But it also changes the environment.

Today you will be an environmental detective. For each land use, ask: What changes? Is the change short-term or long-term? What can people do to reduce the harm?

Land use	Possible effects on the environment	Ways people reduce the harm
🏘️ Building new neighbourhoods	Farmland and habitat are lost. Paved ground makes more runoff and flooding.	Protect some land, like Ontario's Greenbelt; build rain gardens and ponds to hold rainwater; build up (apartments) instead of out
🚜 Farming	Extra fertilizer can wash into lakes and help too much algae grow (like in Lake Erie). Soil can blow or wash away.	Plant strips of grass and trees beside streams; use fertilizer carefully; plant cover crops to hold soil in winter
⛏️ Mining	Big holes and piles of waste rock. Pollution from old smelters (where rock is heated to get metal) once killed plants around Sudbury.	Cleaner smelters; spreading crushed limestone and planting trees (regreening); fixing up old mines when they close
🌲 Forestry	Animals lose habitat; soil can wash into streams.	Replant or regrow trees; leave some forest standing; leave strips of trees beside lakes and rivers
🛣️ Highways	Animals, like turtles, get hit when crossing roads; habitats are cut in two.	Fences plus tunnels and bridges for wildlife (eco-passages)

Land use, its effects, and ways to reduce harm

On a field or wetland, rain soaks into the ground. On a parking lot, rain cannot soak in, so it runs off into drains and streams, which can cause flooding.

Short-term and long-term effects

Short-term: dust and noise while a road is built; muddy water in a stream for a few weeks after trees are cut.
Long-term: a farm field covered with houses and pavement is gone for many, many years. A wetland that is filled in no longer soaks up floodwater or gives animals a home.

Geographers think about both. Something that is helpful today may cause problems later.

Good news from Sudbury

Long ago, smoke from metal smelters around Sudbury killed many plants. Rain washed the soil away, leaving bare, blackened rock.

Then people got to work. Since 1978, workers, students and volunteers have spread crushed limestone to fix the soil and planted millions of trees. The smelters were also made much cleaner. Today, many of those hills are green again. Sudbury's regreening is known around the world as a story of healing the land.

Young pine and birch trees grow on a dark, rocky hillside above a lake. — Hills like this were once bare. People planted millions of young trees, and the land is turning green again. AI-generated image

Sudbury's regreening in three steps. People can help land heal, but it takes many years of work.

Worked example

Let's be environmental detectives

A town wants to turn a wetland beside a river into a parking lot for a new mall. What could the effects be?

Ask: What does a wetland do now? It soaks up water like a sponge, and it is habitat for frogs, birds and turtles.
Short-term effect: noise, dust and muddy water while it is being built.
Long-term effects: the animals lose their home; rain runs off the pavement instead of soaking in, so the river may flood more.
Ways to reduce harm: build the parking lot somewhere else, make it smaller, or use special pavement and rain gardens that let water soak in.

Losing the wetland could harm animals and increase flooding for a long time. A better choice is to protect the wetland and build somewhere else, or reduce the harm.

Worked example

Let's ask good inquiry questions

You want to investigate how farming affects Lake Erie. What questions could guide you?

Start with what: "What happens when fertilizer washes into Lake Erie?"
Ask why: "Why does algae grow so much in summer?"
Ask about solutions: "What are farmers doing to keep fertilizer out of the lake?"
Ask about time: "Is this a short-term or a long-term problem?"

Good inquiry questions are open (not yes/no) and help you find effects and solutions.

Just for fun

Joke: Why did the frog love the wetland?

Because it was un-frog-ettable! (Wetlands are home to frogs, birds and turtles, so let's keep them.)

Hands-on activity

Sponge and plate rain test

You need: a kitchen sponge, a plate, a baking dish or tray, a cup of water and a measuring cup.

Put the sponge in one side of the tray. It is the wetland.
Put the plate in the other side. It is the parking lot.
Slowly pour half a cup of water on the sponge, like rain. How much water runs off into the tray?
Empty the tray. Pour half a cup of water on the plate. How much runs off?
Use the measuring cup to measure the runoff each time. Make a little table of your results.
Talk: "What would happen to a river if we paved over all the wetlands nearby?"

What to look for: much less runoff from the sponge than from the plate, results recorded in a table, and a conclusion such as "Wetlands soak up rain, so paving them can cause more flooding."

Your turn

What is the environment?

Name one effect of building houses on farmland.

What can extra fertilizer from farms do to a lake?

Is the noise from building a road a short-term or long-term effect?

What did people do to help the land around Sudbury heal?

What is an eco-passage?

Why does a parking lot cause more runoff than a field?

More practice: warm-up

What is a habitat?

Name one thing forestry companies do to help forests grow back.

What does a wetland do with rainwater?

Is losing a farm field to new houses short-term or long-term?

What does rehabilitate mean?

More practice: on your own

Why do farmers plant strips of grass and trees beside streams?

What is Ontario's Greenbelt, and why is it helpful?

Give one short-term and one long-term effect of opening a new mine.

Write one good inquiry question about how a new highway might affect animals.

Why is Sudbury's regreening called good news?

Challenge

People need new homes. People also need farmland. Suggest one way a growing town can have both.

Look at your sponge and plate results. Use them as evidence to write a conclusion about wetlands.

Choose one land use from the table. Describe one effect and one solution, and say who would need to work together on the solution.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What happens to rain on a parking lot?

Which is a long-term effect?

What helped the land around Sudbury become green again?

What can extra farm fertilizer cause in a lake?

Why are eco-passages built?

Which is the best inquiry question?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Every type of land use (building, farming, mining, forestry, transportation) has short-term and long-term effects on the environment, and people take actions to reduce negative effects. Sudbury's regreening is a well-known Ontario success story. Students begin to use the inquiry process: asking questions, gathering evidence and drawing conclusions.

How to help at home:

Do the sponge and plate test together and talk about wetlands near you.
Visit a local conservation area; many have signs explaining how they protect wetlands and rivers.
After a big rain, notice where water collects and where it runs off.

Common difficulties:

All-or-nothing thinking ("mines are bad"). Help your child see both sides: we need metal, wood, food and homes, and we can reduce the harm.
Short-term vs. long-term. Ask, "Will this still be true when you are a grown-up?"
Eco-anxiety. Focus on solutions and positive stories like Sudbury.