Ecosystem Survey

 

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Learn field survey techniques.
- Assess ecosystem diversity.

GUIDING QUESTIONS:
Who lives in our ecosystem?
How can we identify things in our environment?
How do scientists find out things?

MATERIALS:
Day 1:
- Research materials
Day 2:
- Field survey equipment as needed (examples: binoculars, digital cameras, vials or bags for collection, clipboards, magnifying glasses, microscopes)
- Field guides
Day 3:
- Dichotomous Key to Favorite Foods
- Pictures or samples of foods in dichotomous key
- Research materials (access to books, computers with Internet access, etc.)

CLASS ACTIVITIES:
Day 1: Wonder
1. Discuss the concept of diversity with your students. What does diversity mean in your school or community? What does diversity mean in an ecosystem? Could there be different kinds of diversity?
2. Break students into groups to complete an in-depth survey of the schoolyard ecosystem. Each group should focus on a particular area of study. Suggested groups:

• Bird Team: What birds live here?
• Insect Team: What insects live here?
• Soil Team: What lives in the soil? What kinds of soils are here?
• Plant Team: What plants live here?
• Mapping School Ground: What structures exist around our school?
• Map Watershed: What types of land are in our area? (Place the school in context, show were major types of land exist - e.g. urban, suburban, rural farms, prairie, forest, wetland, water, rock, alpine.)
• Human Survey: How do local people use parks/nature areas? With this in mind, what should the natural areas of the school grounds look like?

3. In keeping with Monday's theme of "Wonder," give the students some time to brainstorm what they may find within their chosen area of study.
4. Ask students to consider what information they will need to gather in order to answer their question, how they will gather that information (sampling techniques), and how they will interpret it.
5. With these questions in mind, allow students to plan how they will conduct their surveys. Provide them with access to books, computers, and personal contacts that will assist them in understanding their area of study. This is a good opportunity to utilize biologists and other experts from local agencies. For instance, a birdwatcher or ornithologist could come to class on the first survey day to help get the students ready. If this option is not available, students can find and contact local experts as questions arise.
6. If desired, this survey and analysis can be ongoing over 6-10 weeks, with each team reporting their progress to the class biweekly as part of the Round Table. In this case, the initial week can be used to setup ongoing projects or to gather initial data. Over the next weeks, students can work individually or in pairs to answer the new questions that arose as a result of their initial sampling.
7. Whether over a week or the entire term, students should develop their projects in this format: (Days listed in italics are provided for classes doing the lesson as a week-long project.)

• Question (Day 1)
• Plan for answering question (methods) (Day 1)
• Data collection (Day 2)
• Analysis (Day 3)
• Results (Day 4)
• Discussion of results (Day 5)
• Conclusions and new questions (Day 5 and ongoing)

Day 2: Explore
1. Go outside! Use this time for students to begin their surveys, take plant and insect samples, setup any equipment for ongoing trials, etc. Depending on the maturity of your class, this may be an appropriate time to enlist additional volunteer help, especially that of individuals with expertise in the areas being surveyed, to accompany each group.

Day 3: Identify
1. Many identification guides are set up as dichotomous keys, which lead individuals through a series of either/or questions to identify items based on their distinctive characteristics. (The word dichotomous means "two forks.") Begin this lesson by introducing students to the technique by completing this key to identify favorite foods.
2. Students should break into groups to begin to interpret the data they have collected. Students can utilize field guides, web resources, expert contacts, etc.

Day 4: Organize
1. On this day, groups should focus on interpreting their results. Focus on answering the questions "What lives here?" and "What does this tell us about our ecosystem?"
2. Students should prepare a means of presenting their results to the class.

Day 5: Share
1. Each group should present their findings to the class. Presentations can focus on what they found as well as what ongoing questions they have. At the end of the presentations, the goal is for the entire class to have a more rounded, in-depth understanding of a number of components of the schoolyard ecosystem.
2. As a class, discuss:

• What are the strengths of our ecosystem?
• What are its weaknesses?
• Why do you think that we observed (or did not observe) these organisms?
• What new questions do you have after seeing the results of these initial surveys?

3. Optional extension: If you would like to have an ongoing stewardship project in your class, this may be an appropriate time to begin brainstorming projects.