2012 Winter Semester Courses - Haida Gwaii Semester - Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society

2012 Winter Semester Courses

"Experiences like our trip to see the forest operations are a constant reminder of the pressures put on forests to sustain resource dependent communities and the changes that must be made to ensure a functional relationship with the forest can continue into the distant future" Ansley Charbonneau, University of Guelph

The course offerings designed for the Haida Gwaii Semester provide an integrated, interdisciplinary examination of issues in natural resource management, using Haida Gwaii as the primary example for study. Students learn outside the walls of the classroom through the use of experiential and participatory approaches to student learning implemented by passionate instructors, each experts in their fields.

The Haida Gwaii Semester courses include:

Diversifying Resource-Dependent Communities



History and Politics of Resource Management



First Nations and Forests



Rainforest Ecology and Management

Case Studies in Haida Gwaii

Diversifying Resource-Dependent Communities, History and Politics of Resource Management, First Nations and Forests, and Rainforest Ecology and Management are each three weeks in length. The Case Studies in Haida Gwaii course offering runs throughout the semester. The course instructors create linkages for smooth transitions between course topics and themes. In each course, local content is provided by community experts and knowledge-holders.

Diversifying Resource-Dependent Communities (CONS 354)

January 9 – 25, 2012

Large‐scale political and economic changes are reshaping rural, resource‐dependent communities in British Columbia and elsewhere, but responsibility for community wellbeing and survival is increasingly being left to communities themselves. This course offers an in-depth examination of the forces that restructure local economies, both historically and contemporarily, and links rural economic development with the legacy of resource development and marginalization of Aboriginal communities across British Columbia.


History and Politics of Resource Management (CONS 351)

January 30 – February 15, 2012

How do ideas about nature influence the ways in which we interact with and manage natural resources? Why is history important to understanding the politics of resource management? This course takes an historical approach to examining resource management and conflicts in Canada, with a particular focus on forests. Course topics include the social nature of forests; the history of forestry in Canada; First Nations, imperialism, and forests; race, class and gender in the woods; and contemporary forest conflicts and claims.


First Nations and Forests (CONS 352)


February 27 – March 14, 2012

This course provides an overview of First Nations and natural resources, with a particular focus on First Nations involvement in forest management, present and past. Course topics include: relationships between First Nations and forest lands and resources; traditional ecological knowledge; impacts of historical and modern‐day treaties on current‐day forest management; Aboriginal and treaty rights and their incorporation into forest management; land claims; First Nations forest tenure; relationships between First Nations and other groups, including provincial and federal governments, the forest industry and environmental non‐government organizations.


Rainforest Ecology and Management (CONS 353)

March 19 – April 6, 2012

How do natural and anthropogenic disturbances alter the structure, composition and function of coastal temperate rainforests? How do forests respond to different types and intensities of disturbance, and what are the implications for forest management? How can we use field data to examine and understand coastal temperate rainforests? In this course we will learn about, explore, and collect data in a variety of forest ecosystems at a range of successional stages in Haida Gwaii. Course topics include: temperate rainforest dendrology; stand dynamics; natural and anthropogenic disturbances; old-growth and second-growth forest ecology; silviculture; ecosystem management; coastal forest conservation; invasive species; species at risk.


Case Studies in Haida Gwaii (CONS 350)

January 9 – April 13, 2012

How can concepts in history, politics, First Nations, rural economic development and forest ecology be integrated to examine problems in natural resource management? In this course, the capstone of the Haida Gwaii Semester in Natural Resource Studies, students will work in groups on a major research project or management plan based in one of the communities of Haida Gwaii. This course integrates concepts and themes from the four modular courses of the Haida Gwaii Semester and provides students with the technical expertise necessary to undertake a major project. Tutorials focus on developing students’ skills in objective/hypothesis/question development, data analysis, data presentation, oral presentation, and technical writing.

Click here for information on accrediting these courses towards your academic program.