Transcript Sense of Place power.. - Garden Earth Naturalist

A Sense of Place
on your school site!
Garden Earth Naturalists
Moving Toward Action!
Every creature, whether it is a tiny
bacteria that lives in the soil or an
elephant that lives in the grasslands
of Africa, has a place that is just right
– that is its home and it’s also a place
where the creature receives just what
it needs to survive.
Scientists call this place it’s niche.
And when a creature is in its niche, it is
somehow connected to everything else.
Let’s think about some creatures who live
on our school site.
Penny Plant is one of
those creatures!
Let’s draw a story about Penny Plant’s home.
Get out some paper and a pencil or crayons!
Every time
you see a *
you should
draw
something
in Penny
Plant’s
Place.
Penny Plant wanted to have her
very own Place in the world. She
liked being by herself. But she
was smart enough to know that
she needed some things if she
was to grow.
So, into her Place, Penny Plant
brought some sun*, and a small
raincloud*.
Draw a sun and
small raincloud.
And she brought air, and water
She also needed minerals.
“Oops!” she said. “Where will I
get them? I think I need some
soil!” She needed soil, too, for
her roots to stretch and grow.
(Draw a line* across the picture
to separate the air and ground)
Put extra soil* around Penny’s roots.)
Now, Penny’s Place had sun, air, water,
minerals, and soil.
Penny began to
grow. “Oops!” she
said. “I’m too hot.
I’m drying out!”
Penny Plant needed
shade. So, to her
Place, she added a
shade tree*.
One day, a pretty flower
poked out of her leaves.
“Oops,” she said after
awhile.
“Something is wrong! My flower is
producing pollen. But I have to get
pollen from other flowers. I need
more flowers just like me. And I
need some pollen carriers.”
So Penny added
some more things
to her Place. Now
Penny’s Place had
sun, air, water,
minerals, soil, a
shade tree, and
more flowers* like
her.
She also added some
bees* to carry pollen.
Oops! Penny’s problems
were growing. The bees
had a large family and
they needed a place to
live. They needed many,
many flowers. Some of
these flowers wanted
shade trees too.
So Penny got to work until
her Place had sun, air,
water, minerals, soil, lots
of flowers*, another shade
trees*, with a hole in it* for
a bee house.
Penny’s flowers were
fading, leaving sticky
brown seeds. “Oops!”
said Penny. “How am I to
get the sticky seeds from
my stems to some good
soil?” She needed a furry
carrier. So, to the sun,
air, water, minerals, soil,
shade trees, flowers,
bees, a hole in a tree for a
bee hive, she added a
fox.*
and mice* to eat
and a stream for water.*
Oops! Penny’s problems
were growing. The bees
had a large family and
they needed a place to
live. They needed many,
many flowers. Some of
these flowers wanted
shade trees too. So
Penny got to work until
her Place had sun, air,
water, minerals, soil, lots
of flowers*, more shade
trees*,
• The fox needed a tree-root den* in a thicket with
lots of plants. It needed rabbits* and a stream for
water.* So, Penny’s Place soon had not only
sun, air, water, minerals, soil, shade trees,
flowers, bees, stumps, and a fox, but a fox den,
rabbits and mice, and a stream. STOP!
Is your picture getting too crowded?
Indeed, Penny’s place is becoming a
HABITAT for many plants and animals.
And more will be needed!
Did you notice that to meet her needs,
Penny has not only built a habitat but put
together and ECOSYSTEM?
A ECOSYSTEM is the life-supporting web
that develops among the living and nonliving parts (like air and sun) of an
environment.
Let’s play a Game to see how the parts
work together and are interconnected!
Did you know that in an ecosystem, each
plant and animal is part of its habitat and
plays a role in providing ECO-SERVICES.
Each member (including us) of an
ecosystem depends on these eco-services
to survive.
Read on to discover what
the eco-services are in Penny’s
Forest.
Some of the important eco-services
provided in Penny Plant’s Forest are
described below. But, part of each name
is missing.
Unscramble the words that describe each
Eco-service in Penny Plant’s Forest
Ecosystem
RIA ANCLINEG
•
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Eco-service
•
All the plants in Penny’s Forest work
together to clean the air. Tiny openings
(stomates) on the bottom of each leaf
filter the air. Natural ecosystems also
have plant species that help keep water
clean.
OFDO
•
_ _ _ _ Production Eco-service
•
Plants and some animals serve as food
for the residents. For example,
caterpillars munch leaves and birds gulp
down caterpillars. Squirrels gather
acorns and foxes hunt plant-eating
rabbits.
LOIS
•
_ _ _ _ Production and Maintenance
Eco-service
•
The trees, grasses, and broad-leafed
plants like Penny help to hold soil in
place. They protect soil from erosion,
that is, being blown off by winds or
washed away by rain.
TESP
•
_ _ _ _ and Disease Control
Eco- service
•
Crowds of plant eaters are not good! So,
many animals help to keep down their
numbers. Birds gobble up plant-eating insects.
Owls, foxes, and others make sure there are
not too many seed-eating mice. And ladybugs
eat aphids that consume many plants
Let’s say this is Penny Plant ecosystem. How
many ‘Penny Plants’ are in this picture?
Let’s look at some
changes that are
taking place!
What’s changed?
How many ‘Penny Plants’ are left?
Now what’s changed?
How many Penny Plants are left now?
Now what’s changed?
How many Penny Plants are left now?
• Which Place was better for Penny plant?
• Is our school site a good place for plants
and animals to live?
• What can we change on our school site to
make it a better place for plants and
animals?
• Assemble ECOSERVICES Rubric on wall
•
•
•
•
Activities:
School site inventory 1 and 2
Issues cards
What can we do to help our school site
ecosystem?