Walk a Mile
By exploring the concept of an ecological footprint, learners learn that simple lifestyle choices have a meaningful impact on the planet. Learners create a paper foot of their own Carbon Critter. After answering a series of questions about its energy use, they calculate its ecological footprint online to see the impact of its lifestyle choices and energy use on the environment.
Watchers and Seekers
Learners will investigate the energy use in the area being monitored by the technology and compare it to real time energy use.
What are Floodplains and Watersheds?
Learners will learn about a floodplain and watershed. Learners will explore where their school is located on a watershed.
Monitoring Ecosystems
This activity provides two important activity modes, the first being a background reading, the second, an exercise in summarizing and analyzing environmental data. The backgrounder provides essential foundational knowledge about the main topic (environmental monitoring). The activity that follows tests learners’ comprehension of the ideas in the backgrounder and allows them to apply this understanding using a realistic example
Ecosystem in a Bottle
This activity encourages learners to observe an ecosystem by having them observe and investigate a class bottle biosphere. The investigation will allow students to make connections between the bottle and the Earth as a whole unit and ecosystem. The lesson is not dependent upon success in creating a thriving bottle, as a dying bottle may create more discussion than a successful one.
Ecosystem Benefits
The watershed activity challenges learners to visualize and ecosystem through a special representation, namely a map. By examining information about a local or familiar landmark, this activity also enables learners to transfer their theoretical understanding of ecosystem services and benefits to the real world in which they live.
Energy Flows
Learners will be re-enacting energy flow through a simplified ecosystem by assuming roles, moving around, and passing cards from person to person. This will reinforce several important ideas in ecology in a way that will appeal to learners who respond well to physical interactivity
The Carbon Cycle
Learners are introduced to terminology along with background information on the carbon cycle, then they will read a story about the life of a carbon atom as it is passed from one form to another.
The Nitrogen Cycle
This activity provides an introduction to terminology along with background information, then provides practice activities in which students identify some transformations that occur in the “lifetimes” of nitrogen molecules.
The Water Cycle
This activity provides an introduction to terminology along with background information, then provides practice activities in which learners identify some transformations that occur in the “lifetimes” of water molecules.