UNIT 4: URBANIZATION

UNIT 4: URBANIZATION Header

Environmental Science is defined as the dynamic, interdisciplinary study of the interaction of living and non-living parts of the environment, with special focus on the impact of humans on the environment. In this unit students will study environmental science and the effects of urbanization. Lesson topics include pollution, deforestation, invasive species, human-nature deficit disorder, and green spaces. For a summary of the lessons you can refer to the document posted below. If you have any questions feel free to contact the Education Coordinator.

Lesson 1: Identify the Problem
Video 1: Introduction to Plastic Pollution

Video Description: In celebration of the June 8th World Oceans Day, Future Frogmen produced an animated video discussing what you can do to reduce plastic pollution. This video serves as a nice, short introduction to the issue of plastic pollution and what the you can do.

 
 
Instructions
  1. Watch video. 
  2. Answer the follow-up questions associated with this video on pdf attachment. 
Video 2: Can We Actually Clean Up the Plastic Pollution Problem?

Video Description from YouTube: There’s been a lot of talk on YouTube lately about ocean plastic pollution. But there hasn’t been enough talk about the **ridiculously unthinkable scale of the ocean plastic pollution problem** or how it intersects with other environmental issues like climate change. And here’s a big spoiler alert: Nearly all environmental scientists agree that ocean plastic pollution isn’t a problem we can clean our way out of. So what CAN we do? That’s what this video is about.

 
 
Instructions
  1. Watch video. 
  2. Answer the follow-up questions associated with this video on pdf attachment. 
Activity: Plastic Scavenger Hunt

Activity Summary: In this activity you will take a “pre-quiz” to determine your gaps in knowledge about plastic pollution. Then you will do a scavenger hunt to find items made of plastic. With each plastic item you will determine what type of plastic it is made of and research how long it takes for that plastic type to breakdown.

Instructions on attached PDF.
Concluding Questions
Instructions
  1. Answer the questions on the attachment to see all that you have learned! 
Lesson 2: Identify Solutions
Article: “Why Birds Hit Glass” by American Bird Conservancy

Description: Article explains why birds hit windows and the effect of artificial light on collisions and bird migration.
Link: https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/why-birds-hit-glass/

Instructions: Read article by clicking on the link. While reading article, answer questions on attached document. 
Video: Birds, Brained – Window Collisions and How To Prevent Them

Video Description: Windows are tricky for birds! Learn why that’s true and what we can do to help as BirdSafe Kansas City coordinator Theresa Enderle shares some important tips for keeping birds from striking your windows. Video produced by the Missouri River Bird Observatory as a part of your virtual Birds and Bees Festival.

 
 
Instructions: Watch video and then answer follow-up questions on attached document. 
Activity: Thunk! What Hit the Window

Activity Summary: In this activity you will use your knowledge about window strikes to prevent birds hitting the windows around them. They will conduct a study to determine which windows birds are hitting in your classroom, school, or home and implement preventative solutions.

Instructions on attached PDF.
Concluding Questions
Instructions
  1. Answer the questions on the attachment to see all that you have learned! 
Lesson 3: Are You Ready for Some Competition?
Video 1: Invasive Species 101 l National Geographic

Video Description: Invasive species cost the global economy over a trillion dollars each year. Find out how these non-native organisms are introduced into an ecosystem, how you impact local communities, and which measures can be taken to help prevent the introduction of invasive species.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the document attached. 
Video 2: Missouri Dept. of Conservation – Invasive Species Awareness for Memorial Day Traveling

Video Description: The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Greater St. Louis Area Media Specialist talks to The McGraw Show about preventing the spread of invasives.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Video 3: The Threat of Invasive Species

Video Description: Massive vines that blanket the southern United States, climbing high as you uproot trees and swallow buildings. A ravenous snake that is capable of devouring an alligator. Rabbit populations that eat themselves into starvation. These aren’t horror movie concepts – you’re real stories. But how could such situations exist in nature? Jennifer Klos gives the facts on invasive species. Lesson by Jennifer Klos, animation by Globizco. Video by TED ed.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Video 4: Invasive Species Characteristics

Video Description: This video was the winner of the INSTRUCTION category of the 2012 ESA YouTube Your Entomology contest. The video by Ellen Schofield and David Andow of the University of Minnesota uses animation to explain the harm of invasive species for outreach programs.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Activity: Invader X

Activity Summary: In this activity you will use your new knowledge about invasive species to create an invasive species of your own to exercise your thinking on how an invasive species works.

Instructions on attached document. 
Concluding Questions
Instructions
  1. Answer the questions on the attachment to see all that you have learned! 
Lesson 4: Let’s Reconnect
Video 1: Why Does Nature Make You Feel Better?

Video Description: It’s not a huge surprise that nature is beneficial to our mental health. But why? Hosted by: Hank Green. Made by SciShow Psych.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding questions on the attached document. 
Article: “Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: A systematic review”

Article Description: This article is a scientific literature review of the mental health benefits for children and teenagers interacting with different types of nature.

Instructions: Read the article by clicking on the link above. While reading the article, answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Activity: Interview Another Generation

Activity Summary: In this activity you will reflect on your own connection to nature and interview someone from another generation to understand your experiences and how you may be different or like the student’s own.

Instructions on attached PDF. 
Concluding Questions
Instructions
  1. Answer the questions on the attachment to see all that you have learned! 
Lesson 5: Nature is Everywhere
Video 1: What Happens If You Cut Down All of a City’s Trees?

Video Description: Explore what makes trees a vital part of cities, and how urban spaces throughout history have embraced the importance of trees. Video by TED-Ed.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Video 2: How Can Green Space Create Healthier Cities & Improve Mental Health?

Video Summary: Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen is a world leading expert in environmental exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health risk/impact assessment with a strong focus on healthy urban living. In this video, he explains how the lack of green spaces in city neighborhoods can affect mental and physical health, and how we can ensure that green spaces of quality are available and easily accessible to everyone.

 
 
Instructions: Watch the video and then answer the corresponding follow-up questions on the attached document. 
Activity 1: Sustainable Neighborhoods for Happiness

Activity Summary: This activity was developed by the Arizona State University Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives. In this activity you are going to explore neighborhood systems and evaluate neighborhoods according to the Sustainable Neighborhoods for Happiness Index (SNHI). The SNHI is meant to serve as a means for assessing and comparing how well individual cities, towns, neighborhoods, and communities address sustainability issues associated with residential happiness.

Instructions on attached pdf. Worksheets needed are also attached. 
Activity 2: Envision a Sustainable Neighborhood

Activity Summary: This activity was developed by the Arizona State University Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives. In this activity you will think about your neighborhood and how your neighborhood would score on the Sustainable Neighborhood for Happiness Index (done in the previous activity).

Instructions and necessary worksheets are attached. 
Concluding Questions
Instructions
  1. Answer the questions on the attachment to see all that you have learned!