Massive Map Visits Campus

Last week, after two years on the waiting list, Brentwood was finally loaned an eleven-by-nine metre map of Canada from the Canadian Geographic Society. The map was on display in the gym until this weekend, when it was shipped off to continue its nation-wide tour. Students spent their Social Studies (and even English) blocks walking on the gargantuan map, finding Canada’s provincial capitals and learning about the energy resources our country has to offer. “[This map] has been going on loan to schools across the country,” said Mr. Liam Sullivan, Social Studies teacher and Ellis Houseparent. “It’s a really neat way to do some hands-on geography, especially for students that have never been to our country before. The size gives you a terrific perspective.” What makes this map such a coveted object, besides its size? It gives students an overhead view of every resource extraction and energy production centre in Canada, as well as the tangled network of oil pipelines, electric cables, and shipping routes zig-zagging through the country and its surrounding oceans. Instead of relying on statistics, we can take a more personal look at Canada’s cornucopia of natural resources and trace the journey of a resource past provincial and national borders. The map additionally uses dotted lines to display the proposed routes of controversial planned pipelines, such as the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway. “This map shows all the gas lines, hydro lines, dams, main mines, and water sources in the country,” said Mr. Brian Carr, Socials teacher and rowing coach. He acknowledged one of the map’s shortcomings; “It has all these lines stop at the American border, and to me it would be really interesting to see how dependent the Americans are on our natural resources.” ?When asked if the map had changed his perspective on Canada’s resources industry, Jean-Louw M, Whittal ‘19, affirmed that it had. “It showed a lot more oil than I thought there was in Alberta,” he sagely replied. Liam, B, Ellis ‘16