In Florida's humid climate, strawberry growers are in a constant battle with two kinds of fruit rot. Using a decision support system, they can save money by spraying fields only when the plant diseases are a threat.
Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argues that reducing humanity's ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries. A quiz, thought provoking question, and links for further study are provided to create a lesson around the 10-minute video. Educators may use the platform to easily "Flip" or create their own lesson for use with their students of any age or level.
Commercial fishing nets often trap "unprofitable" animals in the process of catching target species. In this activity, students experience the difficulty that fishermen experience while trying to isolate a target species when a variety of sea animals are found in the area of interest. Then the class discusses the large magnitude of this problem. Students practice data acquisition and analysis skills by collecting data and processing it to deduce trends on target species distribution. They conclude by discussing how bycatch impacts their lives and whether or not it is an important environmental issue that needs attention. As an extension, students use their creativity and innovative skills to design nets or other methods, theoretically and/or through hands-on prototyping, that fisherman could use to help avoid bycatch.
Bycatch, the unintended capture of animals in commercial fishing gear, is a hot topic in marine conservation today. The surprisingly high level of bycatch about 25% of the entire global catch is responsible for the decline of hundreds of thousands of dolphins, whales, porpoises, seabirds and sea turtles each year. Through this curricular unit, students analyze the significance of bycatch in the global ecosystem and propose solutions to help reduce bycatch. They become familiar with current attempts to reduce the fishing mortality of these animals. Through the associated activities, the challenges faced today are reinforced and students are stimulated to brainstorm about possible engineering designs or policy changes that could reduce the magnitude of bycatch.
ANCIENT ECHOES INTERPRETIVE CENTRE is nestled at the junction of the Coalmine Ravine and the Eagle Creek and offers both indoor and outdoor tours of our Palaeontology sites (dinosaur and fossil displays and dig), Prairie Grasslands Ecology (virgin prairie medicine and food plants, animals in the wild and taxidermy displays), and First Nations History (petroglyphs, rock formations, effigies, archaeological dig, teepee rings, buffalo jump, food processing site, tool artifacts and pottery making displays). A permanent art exhibition by Metis artist, Jo Cooper, expresses a visual and oral story with “The Disappearance and Resurgence of the Buffalo”. Additionally, sculptures outside the centre stimulate the imagination as well as humour.
Ancient Echoes is currently operating under their summer hours, which run from May 7th to August 31st. This means we are open Tuesdays-Sundays from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (closed Mondays). Bookings can be made by calling the Centre at 1-306-377-2045 or emailing anciente@sasktel.net. Our Valley View Tea Room is open every Friday from 2:30-4:30 PM in May-August.
Ancient Echoes is a popular site for School Tours throughout the year offering custom-designed programs for students of all ages in the areas of Aboriginal History, Paleontology, Ecology, and Archaeology.
Ancient Echoes also offers regular summer programs including traditional pottery making, drum making, ecology and palaeontology hikes, full moon walks, educational and craft days for children, as well as numerous other “ project” days. A video of the ravine walk is available indoors for “rainy days”, or for those who do not wish to hike.
Ancient Echoes has just recently added a beautiful art gallery space to their walls. Our new Prairie Echoes Gallery offers numerous exhibits throughout the year of new and established artists and photographers.
Students are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or humans. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.
Finding and eradicating invasive plants is a tough job that requires constant vigilance. County-scale maps that show where invasive plants are and where they have the potential to spread in the future are helping on-the-ground efforts to build the resilience of natural vegetation.
Cette ressource a été conçue pour remédier aux lacunes en matière de connaissances et aux demandes de soutien qui sont ressorties de notre sondage national : Canada, changement climatique et éducation : Possibilités en matière du système d’éducation formel et de l’éducation du public.
"Do you have questions about farming and ranching? Ask us! And will will ask a farmer or expert in the agriculture field of interest."
Ask a questions here: https://canadianfoodfocus.org/ask-us/
Stakeholders of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program in California worked with resources from the EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries program to identify their climate risks. Their results helped them prioritize actions for building resilience.
An interactive map based on four decades of satellite images helps residents, resource managers, and stewards of the land anticipate and plan for coastal change.
The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) has a resource called "Project Wild". The resources include downloadable documents, supporting resources, connections to career opportunities,
perspectives on sustainability projects around the world, and hands on learning experiences.
Students use their senses to describe what the weather is doing and predict what it might do next. After gaining a basic understanding of weather patterns, students act as state park engineers and design/build "backyard weather stations" to gather data to make actual weather forecasts.
Using gumdrops and toothpicks, students conduct a large-group, interactive ozone depletion model. Students explore the dynamic and competing upper atmospheric roles of the protective ozone layer, the sun's UV radiation and harmful human-made CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).
In this 1-2 week engineering design lesson, students will design and build water filters out of natural materials to simulate a filter system (bioswales) that cleans storm-water runoff before it soaks into the ground or enters a city’s storm-drain system. Their ultimate goal is to determine the combination and sequence of materials that best clean polluted water. Using materials easily found in pet stores and garden centers, students use the scientific method, students design to test and retest their designs and record, display and analyze their results.
The study of biomimicry and sustainable design promises great benefits in design applications, offering cost-effective, resourceful, non-polluting avenues for new enterprise. An important final caveat for students to understand is that once copied, species are not expendable. Biomimicry is intended to help people by identifying natural functions from which to pattern human-driven services. Biomimicry was never intended to replace species. Ecosystems remain in critical need of ongoing protection and biodiversity must be preserved for the overall health of the planet. This activity addresses the negative ramifications of species decline. For example, pollinators such as bees are a vital work force in agriculture. They perform an irreplaceable task in ensuring the harvest of most fruit and vegetable crops. In the face of the unexplained colony collapse disorder, we are only now beginning to understand how invaluable these insects are in keeping food costs down and even making the existence of these foods possible for humans.
What does it take to walk the talk? Learn about how Vancouver Aquarium, an Ocean Wise Initiative, leads by example by using sustainable, environmentally safe practices in its operations. Be surprised in what small changes you can make in your own life to be green.
British Columbia is home to an incredible abundance of biodiversity. Beneath the waves of the coastline, boarding the land of the Coast Salish peoples, we can find a vast variety of the unsung heroes of the ocean - the invertebrates. That biodiversity, however, has been under threat for a number of years. Explore this interactive story map to learn about the biodiversity of Howe Sound in British Columbia, how humans are intrinsically connected to the ocean and our actions have both a positive and negative impact on the life under the waves. No matter where you are from, we are all connected to the ocean.
In this multi-day activity, students explore environments, ecosystems, energy flow and organism interactions by creating a scale model biodome, following the steps of the engineering design process. The Procedure section provides activity instructions for Biodomes unit, lessons 2-6, as students work through Parts 1-6 to develop their model biodome. Subjects include energy flow and food chains, basic needs of plants and animals, and the importance of decomposers. Students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our own communities. This activity can be conducted as either a very structured or open-ended design.
Bienvenue sur le site Web éducatif Biogenus.
Biogenus est un projet d’éducation et d’action portant sur le thème de la biodiversité du Québec. Le projet s’adresse aux élèves et enseignant(e)s des 1er et 2e cycles du primaire du Québec (6-9 ans).