Situation- Biodiversity is threatened all over the globe, including New Hampshire. Most of these threats are due to human impacts.
Challenge- You are tasked with learning how humans impact biodiversity, and how this trend can be stopped or reversed.
Role- You are a student and citizen, giving you an obligation to protect natural resources.
Audience- Dependent on student
Product- Dependent on student
Remember - a bibliography is not a list of URLs. Use Noodle Tools to properly format your citations.
With a Noodle Tools account, once you create bibliographies you can easily organize your research with note cards, outline your papers, and integrate with Google docs.
Users will log in via one of the following:
Find more information on creating a Works Cited page, click on the Research Tools tab above. then click on the Cite Your Sources tab.
Project Overview
Task 1: Research a current human-caused disturbance to biodiversity.
Task 2: Investigate different solutions, either preexisting or ones you create.
Task 3: Create a product with a call to action that helps solve the disturbance you chose, and an audience your product is for.
Example Disturbances
Pollution
Ocean pollution
Toxic chemicals
Air pollution
Overfishing
Deforestation
Habitat Loss/Urban expansion
Endangered species
Invasive species
Zebra mussels
Lionfish
Dutch Elm Disease
Milfoil
Emerald ash borer
Woolly hemlock adelgid
Bittersweet
Burning Bush
Bamboo
Oil spills
Poaching/exotic animal trade
Task 1.
You’ll be working in small groups of no more than 2 or 3 students. Choose a human impact from the list above, or think of your own. Keep in mind this list is not comprehensive, there are many more options to choose from. If you choose one not on the list, please be sure to check it first with Ms. Zaffers and Ms. Treadwell.
After you’ve chosen a topic, you will research it. Make sure to be choosing reputable sources. There will be a worksheet to complete. The main questions you’ll seek to answer are:
What is your disturbance?
How is it caused?
Where in the world is this disturbance most commonly seen?
How does it impact biodiversity? What are other consequences?
What feedback mechanisms can be associated with your chosen disturbance? For this portion, you will have to research some indirect impacts that result from this disturbance.
What data sources can you find? For example, here is a graph about deforestation in Brazil, and the connection between the desire for agricultural land to grow soybeans, particularly when the price for soybeans is profitable..
http://rainforests.mongabay.
Task 2.
Now that you know more about your topic, you will research solutions. What are some ways your topic can be solved or reversed? Keep in mind there may already be efforts to fix/change your problem already. Can you think of more, or improve an existing solution?
Task 3.
Create a product with a call to action to solve your chosen disturbance. Make sure there is an intended audience, and that what you create is something that informs and inspires them. Below is a list of final product ideas. You can choose one of them, or think of something different
Sample Products
PSA: Public Service Announcement
Short video clip
Audio clip
Skit
Poster
Presentation
Buttons
Letter to your Congressman
Bumper stickers
Piktochart - Online poster generator. Allows images, text, video clips, and more.
Stupeflix - Quick online video maker. Easily create a short video from images and text.
Audacity - Audio recorder for podcasts or radio style clips.
Learning Targets:
4.4 Biodiversity and Humans
I can demonstrate an understanding of why biodiversity is extremely important to human survival and how human activity impacts biodiversity.
