Level: Juniors

Girls will earn the Earth Connections Badge after completing all the activities.

Items in Ecology Tub (these items must stay in the tub) 12 pencils 1 piece of tree string 2 Tree finder books 2 Tree Guides 16 small sponges ¼ cup measuring cup Bag of crayons 30 deer/grass cards Tree poster 3 Mizzou Magic: Discovering Lewis & Clark Magazines 3 animal track posters 2 sets of ecosystem pictures Ecosystem Check List Keying out Trees worksheet

Today we are going to earn the Earth Connections Badge. Can anyone tell me what ecology means? Ecology is the study of things in their natural environment. This is everything, living and non-living, that is around them. Ecologists investigate how plants and animals, including people, live with and affect each other and their environment.

A good starting point is you. How do you affect the environment? Where does your food come from, that is, beyond the grocery store or McDonalds? What happens to your trash? We throw it away, the garbage truck comes and takes it away, but where does it go? How do you effect the plants and animals? Anything you do to your environment will have an effect back on you, as well as on every other living thing sharing the environment with you. Would you like to be an ecologist today and explore how things effect the environment? Great!

First, how many of you know what a food chain is? A food chain is the concept that each living and non-living thing depends on each other for survival, hence making a circle. The energy from the sun is stored in plants as food. It is passed on through the community in a food chain. What things use plants as their source of energy? That’s right! Animals such as rabbits, snails, and mice, consume the plants. These types of animals are called herbivores, because they are "plant eaters". Now, what things use herbivores as their source of energy? Larger animals such as humans, bears, and eagles, are called carnivores because they are "meat eaters". Eventually, the plants & animals will finish their life span and will decompose back into the earth, fertilizing the soil. This fertilizing will allow for a continued growth of plants, hence forming a circle. Let’s go outside (weather permitting) and perform our first ecology exploration on food chains!

What we need:

1. Give each girl a slip of paper and tell her to draw a picture of something in nature. Suggestions: lake or pond, plants, rocks, mud, dirt, pond, animals, etc.

2. Have the girls stand in a circle with their papers in front of them on the ground.

3. Give someone the ball of string/yarn and tell them to hold onto the end, say what "they are" (what they drew/wrote on their paper) and throw the ball to someone who is not next to them. Challenge them to throw to someone who they feel they are connected to in the circle of life based upon their paper. (i.e. a "rock" might throw to a frog because the frog sits on the rock)

4. Continue this until everyone is used up. Try not to use people twice.

5. After the web is made, have everyone pull it tight. Pull on one string and tell the girls that when they feel the tug to lightly tug on string you have. NOTICE HOW EVERYTHING IS TIGHTLY CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER.

6. Now demonstrate what would happen to their web is one of the components would disappear. Have them pull it tight once more and tell one person to drop their string. Observe with the girls what happened to the web.

7. Point out how in order for our ecosystem to function properly, all things must exist. This is why extinction is such an important issue. 

8. Have the girls draw another picture. This picture should be of something that they might see in the future at the spot of their original drawing.

An ecosystem consists of a given habitat and its community. Many smaller ecosystems can be found within larger ones. We are going to break up into pairs and study ecosystems. I will assign you a space that is approximately 20 paces square. As ecologist, it is your duty to examine your assigned ecosystem by using this tool (hold up an Ecosystem Checklist).

What we need:

1. Have girls break into pairs (or teams of 3, depending on size of group)

2. Assign each pair a space 20 paces square to work in as their ecosystem

3. Give each team an Ecosystem Checklist & writing utensil

4. Have them use their checklist to study their assigned ecosystem.

5. After 15-20 minutes, have girls gather together to have them share what they observed in their ecosystem.

Note: When sharing what each girl observed, make an effort to point out how plants, trees, etc are effected by natures elements (i.e. rain, wind, sunlight, etc.) Lead the discussion toward understanding how nature’s elements, as well as humans, effect how plants grow, develop, and thrive.

Experiment #3: Identifying Trees (badge requirements #3 & #4)

How many of you knew that people could tell how old a tree is by the rings? Each ring is a layer of wood produced during the tree’s growing season. The thickness and appearances of a tree’s annual growth rings vary from year to year depending on growing conditions. During a good growing season a wide ring is laid down. But during a poor growing season the ring will be much narrower, indicating the tree was able to grow very little. What other factors besides weather can influence a tree’s growth? (insects damage, disease, fire, root damage, and transplanting) Go over the sample piece of tree that is provided in the tub. How olds was this tree? Did it have any good years? How can you tell? If possible go outside and try to find a tree stump. How old is this tree? Did it have any good years?

How can you figure out the name of a tree you’re looking at if you’ve never seen that kind of tree before? You can use a tree identification key. A key is a series of questions, each of which asks about certain features of a tree, such as the shape of the leaves, color of the bark, and so on. By answering these questions, you can identify a tree you’ve never seen before. Let’s practice using a tree identification key and identify trees by their leaves.

What we need:

1. Work with the girls to complete the handout on all nine trees.

2. When complete, let the girls keep the handouts to take them home.

As you know pollution affects the ecosystems of the earth. One form of pollution is oil spills. Animals such as ducks can be affected by oil spills. Ducks keep their feathers waterproof by spreading oil from a special gland onto their feathers. However, if excess oil gets into streams, lakes or oceans, as in an oil tanker spill, it can be harmful to ducks and other water birds. When ducks and waterfowl come into contact with oil floating on top of the water, their feathers become matted. Oily, matted feather lose their ability to insulate, thus the birds can die from the cold. The bird may also swallow some of the oil and this causes stomach ulcers. The only way to clean a bird, that is soaked in oil, is with detergent. This is a very expensive and long process.

Today we are going to try several ways to clean up an oil spill.

What we need:

1. Fill the bowl half full with water

2. Pour ¼ cup of oil into the bowl of water

3. Gently shake the bowl to create waves. Did the oil and water mix?

4. Now try cleaning up the oil using"

Paper Towel

Cut a small piece of string and use it to make a border around the oil and try

to drag the oil to one side of the bowl

Use a sponge to try to soak up the oil (please rinse the sponges out when finished)

Use the dishwashing detergent to try to clean up the oil

Was this difficult? Imagine if this was the ocean. Can you tell me five things we can do today to reduce the number of pollutants you add to the environment? Answers may include carpooling, recycling, not littering, etc.

Before we finish today, we are going to play a game. First, let me explain how to play the game. Then we will go outside so we have more room (weather permitting).

What we need:

• Two Sided Deer/Grass Papers, 1 per girl

• Room to move around

 

1. Divide the group in ½. One side is the "grass". They should hold the "grass" side of their papers so the group can see they are the grass. The other ½ is the deer. They should hold the "deer" side of their papers so the group can see they are the deer.

2. Once the group is divided in ½ with space between them, explain to them that this is their environment to start with. Now we are going to change their environment.

3. They should turn around so that each group is facing away from the other. While facing backwards, each girl independently decides to face her paper showing the "grass" or the "deer". The facilitator shouts "1…2…3!" The girls jump around to face the other group, displaying their new "identity".

4. Each "deer" will "eat" one "grass" member from the other group. All of the "deer" will go back to the original "deer" side. Any "deer" who cannot pair up with "grass" or any leftover "grass" go to the original "grass" side.

5. Repeat several times.

Note: Here is what you need to point out to the girls (or have the girls discover and explain to the group): There must be an equal balance of food and consumers in order for the environment to function properly. Ask these questions:

 

Q: What happened when there were a lot of "deer" and very little grass?

A: Many of the deer died and became the grass.

Q: What happened when there were a lot of "grass" and very little deer?

A: The deer multiplied very quickly, causing an imbalance of deer and grass.

Review with the girls about what they learned about ecology. Also review:

1. What is ecology?

2. Why is it important to understand food chains? How do they affect us?

3. What type of things can we use to identify trees and its history?

4. How do recycling, littering, oil spills, and deforestation affect our environment?

This page last edited on Monday October 30, 2006.

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