Environmental Education Commons^™

Safety Guidelines, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Educator - Planting Day, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Student - Planting Day, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Role Cards - Description Of Roles, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Planting Day, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

The purpose of this lesson is to physically put the plants in the garden.

Safety Guidelines, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

For Lessons 5 & 6, the following Safety Guidelines should be reviewed with students, for safe handling of tools, and proper personal deportment when outside prepping the garden site for planting and then the following day on Planting Day.

Student Handout Think-Pair-Share - Garden Deliverables, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Expert Groups Research Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

To conduct research on various aspects of maintaining a garden, to ensure that all students know what needs to be accomplished in order to ensure successful garden deliverables. The research conducted will include students in each group making recommendations on their assigned topic, to the whole class. This research is critical to informing the class on how to proceed with a Garden Plan for a successful Garden. The Research covers four (4) main areas:

• Planning
• Maintenance
• Harvesting
• Distribution

Student Handout Garden Deliverables Checklist, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Garden Deliverables, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

Now that the garden is in, and the plants are planted, the hard work begins … maintaining the garden as well as assessing and preparing for garden deliverables (fruits, vegetables, flowers …). It will be important to conduct research on specific aspects related to the plants in the garden, create a plan, divide the tasks, and implement the plan. This will give students a great sense of accomplishment, as they will be a vital part in planning for stewardship of the Garden. Research has shown that this can establish a great sense of self, a connection to nature, and lays …

Lesson Plan - Maintaining The Garden Site "From Table To Farm", Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

As the Activities in Lesson 7 have set the Garden up for success, the Activities in Lesson 8 will ensure all the Maintenance Programs that have been put in place are working. A review of all the garden maintenance processes will be done in this Lesson, and additional maintenance considerations will be added to the schedule, including Pest Management, Composting, Fertilizing the Soil, Soil Coverage and Rotating Crops, for a full year-round cycle that can be followed at any garden site.

Student Handout - Long-Term Garden Maintenance Research, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

To conduct research on various aspects of maintaining a garden for a long-term duration, to ensure a successful garden year-round. The research conducted will include students in each group making recommendations on their assigned topic to the whole class, during the whole-group share-out in Activity 3. This research is critical to informing the class on how to proceed with the Master Garden Maintenance Checklist which will be created in Activity 4.

Student Handout - Master Garden Maintenance Checklist, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Attracting Pollinators, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

The purpose of this lesson is to find ways to attract pollinators.

Microbial Assemblages In Relation To Host And Environmental Surroundings, Mark Fischer

Senior Honors Theses

The goal of this study was to determine if the microbiome between two crayfish microhabitats were different from one other, in addition to the surrounding water and sediment. This project was a field-based study in which all environmental samples and crayfish were collected from a central Virginian freshwater stream. Molecular techniques were employed to sequence bacterial DNA from the various sample types and Qiime 2 was used to analyze statistical differences. The results from this study aligned well with the initial hypothesis in that the alpha-diversities between all of the sample types were statistically different (P<0.05) except for the gill chamber and surrounding water microbial assemblages. In addition, the Beta-diversity was statistically different when the bacterial composition of one sample type was compared to the composition of the other samples (P<0.05). This data aids in our understanding of the significance of microbes within a freshwater ecosystem and how they are distributed among freshwater organisms, such as the crayfish.

Lesson Plan: Sounds Of Your Study Site, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students will conduct a survey of noise in the study site. They will begin to explore the idea that noise has an impact on the ecosystem and its inhabitants. In small groups, they will use a decibel meter, data sheet and aerial photograph of the study site to collect data on a section of the site. Students will then share this information with classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard. Then students will listen to prerecorded bird songs against urban noise. They will compare the bird songs and the characteristics that make them …

Student Pages - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The goal of this lesson is to conduct a survey of noise at your study site. In small groups, you will use a decibel meter, data sheet and an aerial photograph of your site to collect data on a particular section. You will then share this information with your classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard.

Student Pages - Answer Key - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Behavioral Plasticity, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In the previous lessons, students learned about the importance of noise in the urban environment. In response to urban noise as well as other characteristics of urban ecosystems, organisms modify their existing behaviors to maximize their fitness and likelihood of survival. This lesson focuses on behavioral plasticity, which is the idea that organisms’ behaviors are flexible and can be modified in response to their environment. Students complete an activity in which they investigate the plasticity of their own behaviors. The class then discusses how this analogy is similar and different compared to urban species as well as how the plasticity …

Structure Cards, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

Species constantly engage in a variety of behaviors or activities that help increase their chance of survival. For example, a bird may build a nest or a coyote might communicate to other coyotes through howling. In this activity, you are going to explore the plasticity of behaviors – the ability of an organism to change or modify its behaviors based on the external conditions. Specifically, you will examine your own behaviors, but then consider how your behaviors would be similar or different from other species. You will then consider how the plasticity of an organism’s behaviors impacts its chance of …

Student Pages - Answer Key - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students examine their data and construct an argument that answers their original research question. Students apply what they have been learning about behavioral adaptations to make sense of their bioacoustics data. After analyzing their data in groups and writing up their arguments, they present their research studies to the class, including their research question, methodology, and conclusions from their data. As part of these presentations, the class will discuss the validity of the different groups’ claims and whether they are supported by the data collected from the field as well as the various science concepts they have …

Presentation Template, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The purpose of this lesson is for students to compare their findings to that of other similar studies. The goal of the lesson is two-fold. First, students should understand the big idea that organisms living in urban ecosystems have modified their behavior in response to the impacts of the humans that live there. Second, this lesson should reinforce the concept of sample size as well as help students understand that we still have many gaps in our understanding of animals in cities.

Student Pages - Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Media Analysis Of Coverage Of Environmental Issues In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Alexandria N. Miller, Lucia A. Bolles

Thinking Matters Symposium

This research aimed to answer the question “has the coronavirus impacted the print media’s coverage of important environmental issues?” The research analyzed 2 different print newspapers - The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal - to determine if there was a change in coverage of environmental news as the coronavirus spread in the US. Data for stories published in the first four days of every month from March through September was compiled for 2019 and 2020. Our findings showed a 78.85% decrease in coverage of environmental issues between 2019 and 2020 when stories related to the coronavirus pandemic …

Building Institutional Knowledge Into Student Leaders: A Repository Of Student-Led Climate Change Initiatives At Wmu, Aida Amirul Bahri

Honors Theses

Students and registered student organizations (RSO) at Western Michigan University (WMU) have increasingly shown interest in climate change and environmental issues. However, student leadership roles are often held short-term due to the rapid displacement cycle of student bodies caused by graduation, institution transfers and other factors. New leaders often struggle with picking up where former students left off and advancing previously established efforts. WMU student groups lack an effective system of maintaining institutional knowledge, including student-led campaigns and accomplishments, to support a smoother transition that would empower student leaders and build upon prior progress. The goal of this project is …

Outline - Coyote Population Dynamics, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

The purpose of this lesson is to encourage students to begin thinking about the interactions between animals in an environment and the ways in which those interactions affect each animal. Students will learn about predator/prey dynamics and ecosystem biodiversity through the lens of coyotes and other city predators, primarily cats, by learning about their diets and movement patterns. They will then be asked to consider the impacts of humans and feral cat colonies on urban environments. Students will learn through discussion and interactive activities before presenting their findings via a management plan presentation.