The University of BC research project, Visualizing the Industrial North: Exploring New Ways to Engage and Inform the Public on Very Large Energy Projects invited people to test out new 3D visualisation tools such as Google Earth in displaying large energy projects like the tar/oil sands development in Alberta.

Small focus groups of up to twelve people ”fly” over the existing and planned tar/oil sands projects using simple Google Earth software on individual computers in a lab setting. Participants were shown how to use Google Earth software, and requested to complete two brief questionnaires – one before and one after the hands-on exercise to comment on your reactions to the materials. The objective of these workshops was to answer 2 questions: did these tools engage people effectively? and did they change their understanding about the tar/oil sands?

Participants were 3rd and 4th year students at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver or the general public in Vancouver and Edmonton who were not professionals in the oil/gas industry or in environmental issues.

Sessions were held:

August 13, 2012, 2:00 pm-4:30 pm (3rd and 4th year UBC Students only)
at University of British Columbia, Forest Sciences Building, Vancouver, BC

August 13 and 14, 2012, 7:00 pm-9:30 pm (open to general public – Vancouver)
at UBC Robson Square, Vancouver, BC

August 16, 2012, 7:00 pm-9:30 pm (open to general public – Edmonton)
at University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

For more information on this project, please contact Petr Cizek, PhD Candidate at petr(at)cizek.ca