Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
Instructions
For Exercise #3, you will make connections between what you have learned in the course about the past and what is happening today through contemporary media.
- Find two recent media items thematically connected in some way to two of the three topics covered in Unit 3: conservation, parks, and urbanization. For each of these, post a paragraph of three to five sentences, connecting the media story to what you learned, or were challenged to consider, from the resources in Unit 3. Provide the web link to the article in each post.
- These postings may be informal but should be grammatically correct. You should be respectful of other students’ opinions, but that does not mean you must agree with their ideas.
- Post your response by clicking ‘Add Submission’ below.
- Then post two separate comments responding to any other student’s posts.
- 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.
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Submissions
Conservation Efforts
February 23, 2026 By: Clay Roper-Daniels
Dr. Norman Fennema HIST 3991: Environmental History Clay Roper-Daniels Feb. 22, 2026 Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present https://www.radionl.com/2025/12/16/massive-conservation-deal-secures-45000-hectares-of-forest-in-b-c-interior/ This article caught my attention because of the sheer size of conservation effort that has been made. It explains that 45,000 hectares of forests in southeastern British Columbia has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada alongside other partners. This connects to the conservation movement of Unit 3 because of the growing concern of resource depletion by industrial forestry. Previous conservationists like Gifford Pinchot had a philosophy that forests should scientifically managed for human benefit, rather than being fully…
Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
February 21, 2026 By: JingYuan Zhu T00745320
The Canadian Press (2025) reports that B.C.’s Joffre Lakes Park will close to recreational visitors from September 2 to October 3, 2025, to allow the land to recover from a busy summer and to enable the Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua Nations to conduct cultural practices. In this instance, protection is enacted through governance. Following periods of heavy visitation, park managers opt to close the area so the land can rest and to provide Indigenous Nations with meaningful respect and cultural space, rather than prioritizing the park as a site for profit and entertainment. Cronon demonstrates that the creation of parks has…
Connecting Past and Present
February 18, 2026 By: T00736087
Urbanization (Vancouver Housing & Density) A November 2025 news release from the City of Vancouver showed that the city completed 4,850 new homes in a single year, exceeding provincial targets through rapid, transit-oriented development. This can be seen as a reflection to the historical process of urbanization discussed in Unit 3, where cities expand the land use and reshape it to build an environment that can accommodate the growing population. In the past, urban growth often caused environmental damage through car dependence and others; this article shows a shift or change toward compact development that uses existing infrastructure more efficiently….
Connecting Past and Present
February 18, 2026 By: T00736087
A November 2025 news release from the City of Vancouver showed that the city completed 4,850 new homes in a single year, exceeding provincial targets through rapid, transit-oriented development. This can be seen as a reflection to the historical process of urbanization discussed in Unit 3, where cities expand the land use and reshape it to build an environment that can accommodate the growing population. In the past, urban growth often caused environmental damage through car dependence and others; this article shows a shift or change toward compact development that uses existing infrastructure more efficiently. It shows how modern urban…
Exercise 3
February 18, 2026 By: T00783350
This particular article describes how the Ontario government took away some of the protection afforded to the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park in order to allow redevelopment, which has raised concerns among environmental groups about the loss of natural habitat. This is related to what we learned un Unit 3 about parks and conservation, namely how political and economic forces can work against protected areas and natural habitats. This particular case illustrates the importance of the unit’s theme that the creation of a park is merely the beginning, and that it takes public support to maintain the protection of the park….