Ecology Project 2015

Materials:

Large, smooth walled, glass jar without labels, with a lid.

Substrate (sand, rocks, mud, wood, dirt, etc. etc.)

Water (pond water from a healthy still-water ecosystem)

Plants (native species should be favoured)

Procedure:

Build your ecosystem as instructed in class, using your materials plus shared materials from as many students as possible. (This increases biodiversity, especially at the microscopic level, which is very good for your ecosystem)

When stable, take your ecosystem home and place it in indirect sunlight (to avoid cooking your plants).

Take pictures weekly to be able to create a visual journal of the progress of your ecosystem throughout the year.

Try to take pics at the same angle and lighting if possible.

Record questions as they occur to you when you make observations.

Record all that you learn about the components and interactions within your ecosystem, and add it to your visual journal.

All pictures, observations, questions must be organized by date. I suggest same day and time each week so that it becomes routine.

A website such as weebly, wix, wordpress, squarespace, etc. is required.