certified wildlife habitat

The purpose of this project was to provide opportunities for students to learn about ecosystem interactions first-hand while implementing conservation practices and conducting habitat restorations. The Certified Wildlife Habitat highlights the importance of green spaces for wildlife in urban and suburban settings. 

Overview

The Certified Wildlife Habitat was designed and implemented at Marion C. Moore School in Louisville, Kentucky. The purpose of this project was to provide opportunities for students to learn about ecosystem interactions, conservation practices, habitat restoration, and the importance of green spaces for wildlife, especially in urban and suburban settings. Students participated in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-based lessons about ecosystem interactions and human impacts on the environment. Through the planning and execution of this project, students learned what organisms need in their habitat in order to survive including food, sources of clean water, shelter, and safe places to raise young. They also learned about sustainable practices, such as soil and water conservation, controlling invasive species, and organic practices. Since the completion of the project, the space is used to make observations for science classes, participate in community science programs, and conduct laboratory activities and experiments. 

Biodiversity of Certified Wildlife Habitat

Native Plants

Native Common "Weeds"

Nonnative Invasive Plants 

Wildlife

Fungi

Middle School Next Generation Science Standards

MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem. 

MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. 

MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. 

MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. 

MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

MS-ESS3-3 Earth and Human Activity

Students who demonstrate understanding can:                                                                                                                                                                          MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

High School School Next Generation Science Standards

HS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

HS-LS2-1. Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.

HS-LS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales. 

HS-LS2-3. Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. 

HS-LS2-4. Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem. 

HS-LS2-5. Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. 

HS-LS2-6. Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. 

HS-LS2-7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.

HS-LS2-8. Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce. 

HS-ESS3-3 Earth and Human Activity

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

HS-ESS3-3. Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.