Quaternary Sciences Institute - University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 361
by: Alan Morgan
Introduction
In October 2001 I had the opportunity of attending the Ontario Association of Geographic and Environment Education Conference at Niagara Falls. As a Quaternary geologist I was particularly interested in attending a session by Paul Hackl and Ling Wong of Riverdale Collegiate Institute, Toronto, with the fascinating title of "Rockwood Conservation Area Field Trip: A Search for Pattern and Process in Landscape".
On December 1st, 2001, a monolith of gneiss was installed in the foundation of the Center for Environmental and Information Technology on the University of Waterloo campus.
We think rocks last forever. The boulder we played on in our parents' front yard when we were children is still there for our grandchildren to enjoy. The rock steps to the church are still in use a hundred years later, and the gravestones in the cemetery still mark where our ancestors were laid to rest. These rocks, to us, have lasted forever. But, if you look closely, change is taking place.
