Exercise #1: Local Environmental History
Instructions
For Exercise #1, you will bring environmental concepts home by looking at your neighbourhood’s environmental history.
- Using the submission form, post a photo of your area (Google Street View if you do not want to show your home) on this interactive map and explain the ecological history of this space, as per this example.
- Write a 700 to 1100 word of the ecological history of this physical environment, including where applicable: pre-contact use and settlement; wildlife past and present; early settlement and resource extraction; invasive species; urban development; stewardship actions (urban stormwater retention systems; community gardens; composting facilities).
- You must show where you found your information, either through footnote citations or with links embedded in the text, or a combination of both.
- The writing can be informal, as per the Exercise 1 Sample (you may even use first person, which definitely will not fly with your historiography and major essay projects!) but correct spelling and grammar are expected.
- In most cases, given the readily available information online, this exercise need not take more than 6–8 hours to complete. It is meant to help you think historically about your environment—to read it through an ecological lens. If you live in a rural area or small town, you may think that there is less to say than what you read in the sample based on a Vancouver neighbourhood, but this is not the case. The environmental history will be very different, and you might focus far more on, say, the settlement period of the late nineteenth century, or the implications of the introduction of cattle or irrigation and less on events of the 1960s and 70s.
- Please note, you should write and edit your submission in a separate file then copy and paste it into the submission box. Once submitted to the HIST 3991 trubox site, you will not be able to edit your post.
Are you a student of HIST 3991? Click here to add a submission to this assignment.
Submissions
Latest Posts
Local Environmental History: Victoria, BC
July 15, 2025 By: LK
I live in the University of Victoria (UVic) area, situated between the Oak Bay and Saanich neighbourhoods on southern Vancouver Island. The land that UVic occupies has undergone significant ecological and cultural transformation over time. The Gordon Head area, known traditionally as SI CENEN, is of ethnobotanical importance and was used for gathering food and medicine, hunting, and collecting seafood. This history spans thousands of years, beginning with Indigenous land stewardship, followed by early settler agriculture, military use, urban development, and finally, recent stewardship actions aimed at ecological restoration and reconciliation. The land that UVic now occupies was, and remains, the…
Environemental History Of Indian River
July 12, 2025 By: Jessica McMath (T00763588)
The ecological History of Indian River is based on its history with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN), BC Parks, and the District of North Vancouver. Its name comes from the Indian Arm, which remains a vital part of the community with many people living and playing along the shores. Through stewardship of the land, cultural practices, and collaboration, Indian River reamins a strong and resilient community. Historically, Indian River has been home to the TWN peoples who’s history has both hardships, and positive times. Today, local biodiversity and urban development have helped shape this beautiful land into a place many call…
Nago, Okinawa, Japan
July 4, 2025 By: Kai Maekawa
I am from Okinawa, the southernmost islands of Japan. Here, a subtropical climate keeps the landscape lush and green year-round, and vibrant coral reefs thrive in the turquoise-blue ocean. Tourism drives the local economy, yet Okinawa’s environmental history remains closely tied to its human history. This includes early Indigenous settlements, resource use and ecological changes, colonization that reshaped the land, the devastating impacts of war, ongoing military presence, and recent challenges posed by global warming. As I studied the articles in the first unit, it became clear that many of the theories discussed are directly applicable to Okinawa’s experience. The…
From Airbase to Eco-Neighbourhood: The Environmental History of Ypenburg, Meerkoetstraat
June 21, 2025 By: Sunia Khan
Ypenburg, located on the eastern edge of The Hague, has undergone a dramatic ecological transformation over the past century. Originally part of South Holland’s vast peat bog and wetland landscape, the area was shaped by centuries of drainage and farming. Peat extraction, in particular, led to soil subsidence and flooding, turning the land into a patchwork of reclaimed fields managed through dikes and canals. In the 1930s, the site was developed into Ypenburg Airfield, which played a role during WWII and later served as a Dutch military base. After the airfield was decommissioned in the 1990s, the area was designated…
Surrey BC
June 16, 2025 By: Simran Kamboj
I live in Surrey, British Columbia, which is a multicultural city. Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the border between Canada and the United States, south of the Fraser River. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver metropolitan area and regional district. Surrey is a suburban city that ranks third, next to Abbotsford and Prince George’s, and second in terms of population after Vancouver. Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, City Centre, and Whalley are the seven Surrey neighborhoods that have been the main town centres. Surrey has a long history of changing…