Project Description
This was an interesting project to start the year. We started off by learning about the basics of ecology, like the different levels of organization and the different types of ecosystems. The goal of this project was to look into the future and see the affects of our changes to the chosen land area over hundreds of years. We used the following days to learn more about the topics we had come up with. We were also taught a couple other things that we hadn't come up with, but had to know for the project. We were then able to begin working on our project. The first few days were dedicated to deciding where we were going to make our policy change, and what that policy change was going to be. We made predictions of what was going to happen to it in 50 years, 100 years, 300 years, and 1000 years. The plot of land our group used was a large lot across the street for the Harvest Market, and the land around it. It was slightly larger than a football field. We picked this area because it is close to a place where many students go and hang out. At lunch, most students go to the shopping center where there are a lot of places to eat but there isn’t really a place where many people can sit down and hang out. We decided to make our plot of land into a park and a place to hang out. Our park will include many benches, barbecues, shade structure for when it is raining or is too sunny, a volleyball net, a bocce ball court, and a parking lot for many cars. Another use for our park is for school events such as fundraisers. The school can set up a big barbecue get together and make a lot of money and I know that many people will show up. People will also be able to rent the whole park area or just a certain part for personal parties. We made a presentation for this and also converted our proposal into a letter and sent it to a representative to see if our policy change can be put into action. Our presentation can be viewed below.
This was an interesting project to start the year. We started off by learning about the basics of ecology, like the different levels of organization and the different types of ecosystems. The goal of this project was to look into the future and see the affects of our changes to the chosen land area over hundreds of years. We used the following days to learn more about the topics we had come up with. We were also taught a couple other things that we hadn't come up with, but had to know for the project. We were then able to begin working on our project. The first few days were dedicated to deciding where we were going to make our policy change, and what that policy change was going to be. We made predictions of what was going to happen to it in 50 years, 100 years, 300 years, and 1000 years. The plot of land our group used was a large lot across the street for the Harvest Market, and the land around it. It was slightly larger than a football field. We picked this area because it is close to a place where many students go and hang out. At lunch, most students go to the shopping center where there are a lot of places to eat but there isn’t really a place where many people can sit down and hang out. We decided to make our plot of land into a park and a place to hang out. Our park will include many benches, barbecues, shade structure for when it is raining or is too sunny, a volleyball net, a bocce ball court, and a parking lot for many cars. Another use for our park is for school events such as fundraisers. The school can set up a big barbecue get together and make a lot of money and I know that many people will show up. People will also be able to rent the whole park area or just a certain part for personal parties. We made a presentation for this and also converted our proposal into a letter and sent it to a representative to see if our policy change can be put into action. Our presentation can be viewed below.
Concepts
Abiotic Factors: In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.
Biotic Factors: Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem. They are sorted into three groups: producers or autotrophs, consumers or heterotrophs, and decomposers or detritivores.
Ecology: the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Ecosystem:a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Food Web: a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
Carbon Cycle: the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
Nitrogen Cycle: the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
Succession: Ecological succession, the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time. Two different types of succession—primary and secondary—have been distinguished.
Biodiversity: the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem
Carrying Capacity: the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation
Symbiosis: interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both
Climate: the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period
Reflection
I think this project overall was very successful but wasn’t interesting in my opinion. From the start to finish a lot of us were very confused on what was need on the project. I think it will be fine by the next project because we will focus more on our objective. Many things went well but also went bad. One good thing was that we managed our time very well. We finished a day before the project was due. This doesn’t sound that good, but I remember last where I had to work on the projects at lunch and after school. Another thing that went well was that we definitely had more content than we needed. So in my opinion we overachieved. Our plan was to make a park but not only is it a park, but it is also a barbecue area for potlucks, a fundraising area, and an overall great place to hang out especially because of the volleyball net and the bocce ball court. One thing that didn’t go so well was that I was often off task. One of the biggest reasons I was of task was because there was a laptop in front of me where i can easily play game with my friends. Also a lot of my friends were off task which led me to be off task too. Next time I am going to focus a lot harder. Another thing that went bad was that my leadership skills were lacking. I don’t think I can blame this on myself because my whole group was filled with very smart leaders. Maybe next time I will use my voice that I use outside of that class and be more of a leader.