Managing the coastal environment
Students investigate the interrelationship of human and environmental factors which make some places vulnerable .
This is the student activity 1 of 2 of the Collaroy case study learning activity.
Vulnerability
View the subdivision plans from the collection below. You may want to zoom in to see the details of the first image, 'The cream of Narrabeen'.
Find Lot 13 on each map. This is the location of the damage caused by the storm of 5 June 2016 at Collaroy Beach.
Read the article, ‘The high price of waterfront living and who pays’. Construct a timeline of the impact of natural hazards on this stretch of beach since the subdivision in the early 1900s.
Avoiding disaster
While the situation in Collaroy is difficult to manage, there are other opportunities to learn from this situation. What advice would you give a local government in an area that is considering a subdivision along a coastline in a more regional, yet to be developed part of NSW?
Write a list of recommendations using evidence from the Collaroy Case Study. To develop this list of recommendations, complete a Think Pair Share activity and then publish a finalised list of recommendations.
A warning from the future
Imagine you were able to go back in time to 1912 and warn people about the vulnerable nature of the land along Collaroy Beach.
Write a letter to the developers from 1912 who advertised the subdivision and sale of land along the beachfront, as seen in the subdivision plans.
- What important information from the future would you like to communicate to them about building on the foredunes and beach at Collaroy?
- What would you tell them about the storm of 5 June 2016?
- Would you include a photograph or other visual evidence to help persuade them to listen to your advice from the future?