Introduction

In this lesson, students will expand on their learning from lesson one (Introduction to Nattiit, Ringed Seal)  and build their understanding for how the nattiit are being impacted by climate change and human activity. The students will do a small research project on arctic sea life and create a short podcast presentation for the class. The lesson will conclude with an opportunity to explore solutions to rapid climate change and ocean conservation.

Learning Objectives

• How climate change is affecting marine mammals and their habitats
• The environmental impacts on nattiit and also Inuit communities
• How to work on a team conducting research on a marine mammal and present it to the class

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Principles

Note: Sometimes known as IQ principles, or Inuit guiding principles. It should be noted that the spelling of Inuit terms often differs, according to dialectal differences. The concepts remain shared despite spelling differences.  (Tagalik, Shirley. Inuit Princeples of Conservation- Serving Others).

Qanuqtuurunnarniq

(Being resourceful to solve problems) – When hunting seals, they are able to use naluaqtuut (a tool that Inuit hunters use) to get close to the seal. They learned how to use hunting techniques by placing a feather over the seal’s breathing hole.

Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq

(Promoting environmental stewardship) – Inuit use all the parts of the seal they catch.  The women even make clothes out of the sealskin so nothing is wasted.

Piliriqatigiinniq/Ikajuqtigiinniq

(Working together for a common cause) – The important skills for harvesting and preparing the seal are taught to the younger generation through observation and practice.

Vocabulary

Climate change (silaup asijjiqpallianinga)

Climate change is the long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional, and global climates.

Habitat

A habitat is made up of physical factors, such as soil, moisture, light intensity and temperature range.

Environmental impact

Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, resulting from a facility’s activities, products, or services. In other words, it is the effect that people’s actions have on the environment.

Sila

The environment, the air, the atmosphere and the outdoor environment.

Echolocation

A technique used by many flying animals and marine life to navigate environments where there is not enough visual information. For example: bats use echolocation to fly around in the dark; whales use echolocation to find their way in the blue ocean which may look the same in all directions. Wild life who use echolocation make a sound and then listen to hear the sound reflected back to them.

Sound sensor

The Enviro:bit has a sound sensor built-in. You can measure the level of sound around you.

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is unwanted sounds that are disruptive to the environment and human life.

Sound

Energy that travels in waves through air, water, or other substances, and can be heard.

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Materials

• KWL chart
• A recording device (for the research project), such as an iPad or laptop or tape recording device. If one cannot be found, then present the project as a “podcast” presentation to the class.
• Podcasting
• Podcast Research Activity

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Introduction and Know – Want – Learn Exercise

After learning about the nattiq, students will learn more about their environment, the ocean,  and how climate change is affecting it. Before the lesson starts, students will be asked to do another KWL chart jotting down what they know about climate change and what they want to know. A few students will be asked to share what they wrote to the whole class.

​​Engage in class discussion by asking students to raise their hand if they have heard about climate change? Likely, most of the students have heard about it but might not know of its implications on the nattiit and Inuit.

Ask students:

• K: “What do I already know about climate change?”
• W: “What do I want to know about climate change?”

Later in the lesson, the students will be asked to fill out the L part of the chart. Sharing what they learned about climate change in this lesson.

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Listening Activity – What is Climate Change?

Climate change is happening all around us, all around the world. Climate change is impacting Earth in various ways, but climate change is more than just an environmental issue; it is a human issue. Climate change can look different in different localities. In the Arctic, it looks like premature melting ice and contaminants in the ocean where marine mammals are affected. Because a large part of Inuit diet is marine mammals, such as nattiit, this impacts Inuit livelihood and food source. 

The Ocean

Loss of ice habitat: Nattiit breeding is dependent on the availability of sufficient ice at the correct time of year in areas with sufficient food nearby. As the Arctic ice continues to melt earlier each year, more and more pups may be separated prematurely from their mothers. Both ice and snow must be stable enough in the spring season to successfully complete the six-week period of lactation. If the landfast ice breaks up too soon, pups may be separated prematurely from their mothers, resulting in high pup mortality. 

Spring rains or warm spring temperatures can cause the roofs of lairs to prematurely collapse, leaving nattiit unsheltered and exposed to predators. Insufficient snow at the beginning of the breeding season can have the same effect. 

Nattiit, in some areas, are already showing relatively long-term declines in reproductive rates and pup survival. Kovacs and Lydersen report: “During 2006 and 2007, many of the fjords on the west coast of Svalbard did not freeze for the first time in recorded history. Nattiit reproduction was virtually non-existent in areas where many hundreds of pups are normally born. It is not known if the seals that normally pup in this region established themselves elsewhere early enough to set up territories and build lairs, etc., but it seems highly unlikely.”

Environmental Impacts

Warmer ocean temperatures are likely to make conditions more favourable for nattiit parasites and pathogens. The spread of these organisms is likely to be facilitated by the migration of nattiit as they are forced to seek more stable ice habitats. As Arctic conditions warm, a greatly increased presence of humans in previously inaccessible areas is anticipated. Activities, such as shipping, agriculture, and oil exploration, are predicted to disturb and further degrade habitats and increased fishing in the area may reduce food availability.

Nattiit rely on their ice habitat for numerous reasons. Many of their activities are dictated by the timing of the formation and break-up of the ice sheets. One of the most significant impacts of climate change on nattiit, and in turn Inuit, is the loss of the Arctic sea ice. 

As sea ice recedes, more challenges emerge for Arctic marine species. Less ice means more open water which allows for additional commercial activity in the region. 

Have the students watch/listen to a portion (0:48 – 2:53) of a speech by CanadianInuit activist, Siila Watt-Cloutier, titled “Sheila Watt-Cloutier on Climate Change and Human Rights” to engage in discussion about climate change and the effect on Inuit.

Speech by Siila Watt-Cloutier. 

After listening to the speech, ask the following questions:

1. What are their reactions to Siila’s speech?
2. How is climate change affecting nattiit? 

Reference from IUNC Red List – Ringed Seals

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Tech Activity – Noise Pollution Sensor (using V2 micro:bit)

Overview

Using your micro:bit, learn how to measure noise pollution in your environment. Recall in Lesson 1, we discussed IQ principles including Qanuqtururangniq (the ability to be resourceful and innovative to solve problems), Pilimmaksarniq (learning new skills through practice and observation) and Avatimik kamtsiarniq (respectfully caring for animals and the environment). All these IQ principles are important foundations for this activity. Discuss with your class what the following IQ principles mean to them:

• Qanuqtururangniq (the ability to be resourceful and innovative to solve problems)
• Pilimmaksarniq (learning new skills through practice and observation)
• Avatimik kamtsiarniq (respectfully caring for animals and the environment)

If learners are not already familiar with IQ principles, provide definitions for these principles and then discuss what they mean to learners in their own lives. 

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Activate Students’ Existing Knowledge

Lead a classroom discussion to uncover what students think might occur if more commercial activity begins in the arctic oceans. See the conversation by discussing what kind of industries might develop, such as:

• Increased shipping activity
• Increased oil and gas development

Some of the key outcomes of these industries include:

• Increased water pollution
• Increased incidences of oil spills
• Increased noise pollution
• Increased collision incidents with animals

Some secondary outcomes may include:

• More land development required to sustain these industries and their workers
• Increased pollution in the environment

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Viewing Activity – The Impacts of Noise Pollution in the Arctic

Animals, like us, make sounds to communicate with each other. However, they can be disrupted by loud noises that are not part of their natural environment. This is a problem known asnoise pollution. Marine mammals are especially affected by noise pollution because noise is amplified in the water and because many marine animals use sound (echolocation) to communicate, navigate the ocean, and find food.

Watch the following video: Less Noise, more life presented by WWFArticProgramme

After the video concludes, lead a group discussion to consolidate learning. As a class, list out some of the impacts noise pollution has on whale populations. Allow students to add any additional impacts they can think of even if they were not mentioned in the video. Some impacts include disruptions to:

• Mating habits
• Navigation (echolocation)
• Eating habits and food supply
• Abilities to locate pod members
• Migratory routes

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Sensors Worksheet Activity

Get students to complete the following worksheet.

If learners struggle to think of examples of sensors in technology, you may provide additional examples, such as:

• Temperature sensors (some cars and vehicles have built-in temperature sensors that can provide the temperature in both the inside and outside of the vehicle.)
• Sound sensors  (smart assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Home, use sound sensors microphones to listen to users.)
• Light sensors (many computer and TV screens now automatically adjust the brightness and colouration of their screens to respond dynamically to the light they sense in their environment.)

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Creating a Sound Meter Activity

Post Activity Discussion

Part 1 – Innovative Solutions

Discuss how a project like this could be implemented to help mitigate the issue of noise pollution. For example:

• This project could be installed on a ship and when a certain level of noise is reached, the micro:bit could display a warning, such as: “Slow down!” or “Quiet!”
• A micro:bit could be placed on a busy road or ice road that travels near or over water Above certain volume levels, it could flash the lights rapidly warning travelers to be quieter

Part 2 – IQ Principles Discussion

Discuss how this project connects to the IQ principles discussed earlier in the lesson.

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Podcast Activity

This group activity will require additional class time to complete. The suggested time frame would be over two weeks (one week to compile research and one more week to complete the podcast prep).

Climate change is an ever-changing condition, and because the issues and the impact of climate change will always evolve, students will become researchers themselves (kind of like Enooyaq, the Ph.D. student who spoke in the podcast). In the research project, students will choose another part of marine wildlife  to do research on.

Examples include: Aiviq (Walrus), Iqaluk (Arctic Char), Arviq (Bowhead Whale), Tugaalik (Narwhale), Qinalugaq (Beluga whale). 

Ask students what they need to do in order to be good researchers. Allow for responses as a whole class. If not noted, emphasize the importance of doing research to present information clearly and accurately for everyone to understand and access the research findings.

• Explain that the class will break into small groups of four or five to conduct research on the topic of rapid climate change, and create a ‘podcast’ report to share with the whole class.
• A handout will be provided to guide students in their research: 

During week two of the activity, help students record their podcast on a recording device or have their findings written out to be able to present their findings to the class on a “podcast” presentation day. For help in recording a podcast, check this lesson on podcasting.

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Activity Adaptation (to group project)

As an adaptation or another option, students can make a poster with all their findings from their research project. The poster must answer all the questions as the podcast would but it would need to be written down and placed on a piece of poster board. The poster must include images of the marine mammal and must be put together in a way that is pleasing to the eye. The poster would need to be presented to the class as the podcast would. 

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Conclusion

Students will be asked to complete the ‘L’ part of their KWL by adding a few points about what they learned in this lesson.

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Extension Activity – Further Observations

It’s time to take the tech project from this lesson out into the world!

Challenge learners to measure noise levels in their environment, by disconnecting the micro:bit from the computer, and plugging it into the battery pack. Learners may measure sounds around the school, or if possible, take the micro:bits home for a day and observe the noise of their daily life.

Spark interesting observations with the following questions:

• How noisy is your environment?
• Where was the loudest sound you observed and what caused it?
• Where was the quietest sound you observed and what caused it? 
• Did the time of day affect the amount of noise?
• Did the weather affect the amount of noise?

IMPORTANT – Micro:bits are not waterproof, so advise learners not to attempt to measure noise levels directly in water.

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Resources

• World Wild Life – Seals
• Sheila Watt-Cloutier on Climate Change and Human Rights – Video
• National Geographic – Noise Pollution

Additional Resources

• Enooyaq Sudlovenick – Using traditional Inuit knowledge and Western science to study Arctic marine life
• Nattiit and Climate Change

Resources for Group Activity

• Oceans North – Canada’s Arctic Marine Atlas
• Inhabit Media – Common Fishes of Nunavut
• Animals At Risk from Climate Change – Belugas
• Inhabit Education Books – All About Orcas
• Inhabit Education Books – Animals That Live in Arctic Waters
• Inhabit Education Books – What Arctic Animals Eat
• Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada – Wildlife
• Polar Bears Canada – Cultural Significance