Jennifer B. Esty
By the time the students get to this phase of the unit, they should have a fairly good idea of what they can expect to find in many local ecosystems. The will have their lists of organisms and students in class will be fairly familiar with the use of the field guides for plants. In this section the students will use the skills they have acquired so far to collect data on species diversity in the field. Naturally, the students at home on bed rest will not be going out into the field, so they will have a slightly modified task, which is described below in the appropriate section. This section of the unit addresses New Haven Science Standards, 6.3a, b, and c.
In Class
The students in class will use a bioblitz method to collect information about which species can be found in any given area. Each group of students will be given a square of the same size, probably about 18 inches on a side. These can be made from anything sturdy enough to take the wear and tear of use in the woods. I have seen them made of cardboard strips glued into a square, but I don't think those would last very long if the ground was damp. A better option that I have seen is a square made of narrow PVC pipe fitted together with elbow joints at the corners. The squares are lightweight and inexpensive to put together. In a pinch, pieces of string tied to stakes, similar to what is used at archeological sites, could be used. Each group of students, three or four students at most in a group, is given a square. The students count and record every organism in their square. This can include everything on the ground or can extend up into the sky. This is a good place to modify the task for students who are younger or are not quite up to recording every species by name. Different species can be simply the number of different looking plants students see. They could be plants and bugs students see, or they could be the full range of macroorganisms to the microbes in the soil. In a class like mine, I have many students of different abilities, so I am inclined to put students together in groups where more advanced students can help the less advanced students learn the names of the organisms in the square.
When the students have finished recording the organisms they find in their square, they will combine their data to get a picture of the whole ecosystem they are studying. Because my class size is extremely variable, my classes may need to do several squares to collect enough data to get reasonable results.
My students will do their first bioblitz in the park across the street because it is easy to get to and they are familiar with it. Beyond this park, though, there are several interesting options for different habitats in the New Haven area. One possibility is the land just off I-91, which is within walking distance from the school. We will not be able to actually set down square to do a bioblitz, but the students can still get a fairly good idea of what is growing in the area from the safe side of the fence. It is an area of what is essentially early successional habitat. There are, of course, other options in New Haven. The students will visit the farm at Common Ground High School in New Haven. They will also visit one of the parks that are wooded. East Rock and West Rock parks are good examples. The students may also visit the lighthouse or West Haven beach if there is time. These sites will give the students a fairly broad spectrum for collecting data.
At Home
Students at home will not, of course, be able to go on field trips to local parks. Instead they will collect data from literature written about the various ecosystems found in New England. There are a wide variety of book written about the various ecosystems in New England under different land management techniques. The books range from early European accounts of the forests they encountered which were managed by the first human inhabitants of New England to accounts of some of the same forests as they are today, recovering from the industrial revolution.
Students will not be reading the entire books, but rather, they will read selected excerpts which give an idea of the degree of land management being used and the diversity of species found in the area being described. Some book from which excerpts might be taken can be found in the appendix at the end of this unit. The students will be expected to classify each ecosystem in the literature according the degree of human interference in the landscape. In each group of similarly managed ecosystems, the students will then list the species described. For example, a farm and a large garden might both be classified as the same type of ecosystem. So, a student might count both the corn from the farm field and the beans in a garden as organisms found in this particular ecosystem. In this way the students at home will be able to collect data on average species diversity in differently managed landscapes.
This technique of collecting data is especially useful for my students who are unable to come to school, but it can also be useful in classes where large numbers of students make reliable observations in ecosystems either unfeasible or inaccurate. I can readily understand the reluctance of a teacher to bring 30 children into the woods to attempt to conduct bioblitz observations without scaring off everything that could move. Furthermore, in a case where you have multiple classes following the same curriculum, going out to all of the field sites is really unfeasible, although one site close by might work. In cases like these, the literary option is a good alternative.
