Animal Neighbors: A Study Of Biodiversity

Reprinted from The Wild Times Teacher Connection v2n2, Winter 1997.

by Lucy Pope and Steve Hyson

The purpose of this project is to make children aware of the biodiversity of their own environment. It can be done in any number of ways depending on the age and sophistication of the students. With the younger children, simply making a list of what they see may be enough. With the older students, the use of various sampling techniques and of identification keys could be applied, and census data analyzed. Following data collection, students can research the species they have found. Regardless of the depth to which this project is pursued, children should come away with an increased understanding of their own environment. By putting the information on the Wild Ones Web page, children can compare environments with other children.

Suggestions

Animals

Materials
- field guides, binoculars, paper and pencils
Lay the ground work with discussion. Every animal needs an appropriate environment in which to live including people. Pick other familiar animals to discuss. Questions might include - Do we share our environment with other animals? Tame and wild? What kind of place do these animals need? What lives right here? How can we find out? Have students predict what they think they will find.
Mark out an area of study. Suggestions: the school grounds or section there of, a nearby park or vacant lot, a bird feeder, the view from the classroom window.
Decide on a time for observation. It might be more effective if you can make repeated observations over a period of time. An example might be observing an area for 15 minutes 3 times a week (the times will probably be dictated by what is possible within your school day).
Make your observations. You may want to have one or two questions answered at each observation. For example, where did you see the animal - in a tree, on the ground, on the roof etc. Have students record the data. After each observation period discuss what you saw. Questions about whether to count signs of animals may come up - deer, raccoon, and dog tracks in the mud might be a question at my school, for example. This is something you need to decide. Maybe this information can be noted in a separate place. It can be important information. Discuss why you see signs of certain animals but do not see the animals (they are nocturnal or shy, etc.) How would you be able to see these animals?
After a period of time, stop your observations and consider your data. What animals were common? Where did you see them? Were there surprises? Were there other things that may have influenced your observations that you did not take into account when you set up the observations - for example, the weather or the time of year? Critique your experiment design.
Write up what you did. Draw pictures. Submit it to The Wild Ones. Look for similar data from other schools. Compare. Locate other schools on the map. Discuss different habitats.

Plants

Materials
- field guides, dichotomous keys, hand lenses, pencil and paper
Select a site to do a plant census. If you do not pick a site on school grounds, pick something in the nearby surrounding area, a part of your students' own environment. If your area is large, for example a neighboring woods, you can set up transects and have students work along these lines instead of trying to do the whole area. In a more confined school yard, you might be able to do the whole area.
Determine ahead of time what you are studying (observing, identifying, measuring, counting), for example, all trees with a diameter of 6 inches or more, or plants shorter than the tallest student.
Have students work their area. This is an excellent opportunity for work in small groups or with partners. Using dichotomous keys, have them identify what they find and record it. A key for each group is important.
Each group presents their data to the whole group. Spread sheets, graphs and maps may be effective ways to do this.
Discuss and compile data with the whole group. This discussion will follow the emphasis of the study.

Analyze your Data

Possible questions to ask: You may be looking at the numbers of species and also the number of individuals of each species. Do these numbers tell us anything about this area? What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of a diverse population? Of a homogeneous population? What might account for differences that are seen between sites that different groups of students worked? How does the plant population effect the animal population? And vice versa? Were any animals observed? What are the abiotic (non-living) features of this site? How do they affect the plants? If the plants are not native species, why were they planted? Or did they naturalize themselves? Did you notice any significant differences between the types of plants? Can you classify the plants into large groups (deciduous, coniferous etc.)?

Critique the Process

How could information collection have been improved? Were there any flaws in the design of the activity? Make a list of questions that this study generated. What suggestions do you have for others who are doing similar work?

Extensions

Extensions of the above activity could include: pressed leaf collections; a photo essay on the changing seasons; more in depth research into the ecosystem of which these plants are part; especially in urban areas, research into the native origin of the plants of the study site.

Reporting

Write up what you did. Submit it to The Wild Ones. Check the Web page for information from other schools. Find the school locations on a map. Discuss differences in habitats and biodiversity findings.

Lucy and Steve teach science at the Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, PA. Lucy is also a member of The Wild Ones Advisory Council. Lucy can be contacted by e-mail at LRPope@aol.com.

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