Secretary of the Future
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. Then, the project was introduced to us. As a group, then a class, we made a need to know list based off the project description. 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. As a group, we picked the Rush Creek Marsh, which is the area next to Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue. You can see a picture of the space below. We also collected data on the Rush Creek Marsh, like the flora, fauna, soul condition, populations, species behavior, and matter cycling. Then, we brainstormed ideas for our policy change. Eventually, the group decided that we would get rid of ticks by planting eucalyptus trees and introducing chickens, which are main consumers of ticks. The rest of the time was spent working on the presentation. We had to make predictions for things like matter cycling, biodiversity, carrying capacity, and main species for 50, 100, 300, and 1000 years with and without the policy change. You can see the finished presentation below. Once we were finished, we presented to the class. The next and final step of this project was to send an email to a representative about our policy change and get their feedback.
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. Then, the project was introduced to us. As a group, then a class, we made a need to know list based off the project description. 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. As a group, we picked the Rush Creek Marsh, which is the area next to Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue. You can see a picture of the space below. We also collected data on the Rush Creek Marsh, like the flora, fauna, soul condition, populations, species behavior, and matter cycling. Then, we brainstormed ideas for our policy change. Eventually, the group decided that we would get rid of ticks by planting eucalyptus trees and introducing chickens, which are main consumers of ticks. The rest of the time was spent working on the presentation. We had to make predictions for things like matter cycling, biodiversity, carrying capacity, and main species for 50, 100, 300, and 1000 years with and without the policy change. You can see the finished presentation below. Once we were finished, we presented to the class. The next and final step of this project was to send an email to a representative about our policy change and get their feedback.
Proposal for Project |
Terms and Definitions
Biotic Factors: Living; biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem
Abiotic Factors: Nonliving; physical factor that shapes an ecosystem
Population: A group of the same species that live in the same habitat
Community: Populations of different species interacting with each other
Ecosystem: How communities interact with the environment
Biodiversity: The diversity of life in a given area
Carrying Capacity: The number of organisms an area can support
Food Web: A diagram that shows the complex flows of energy through an entire ecosystem
Trophic Levels: A step in the food chain
Consumer: Heterotrophs that eat other organisms for energy
Producer: Autotrophs that are at the bottom of the food chain
Detritivores: Heterotrophs that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
Decomposer: Heterotrophs that break down organic matters
Heterotroph: Rely on other organisms for energy/food supply
Autotroph: Use energy from environment to create their food
Resources: Materials acquired from the environment for use by an organism
Climate: The average year after year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region
Carbon Cycle: The movement of carbon through the environment
Biotic Factors: Living; biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem
Abiotic Factors: Nonliving; physical factor that shapes an ecosystem
Population: A group of the same species that live in the same habitat
Community: Populations of different species interacting with each other
Ecosystem: How communities interact with the environment
Biodiversity: The diversity of life in a given area
Carrying Capacity: The number of organisms an area can support
Food Web: A diagram that shows the complex flows of energy through an entire ecosystem
Trophic Levels: A step in the food chain
Consumer: Heterotrophs that eat other organisms for energy
Producer: Autotrophs that are at the bottom of the food chain
Detritivores: Heterotrophs that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
Decomposer: Heterotrophs that break down organic matters
Heterotroph: Rely on other organisms for energy/food supply
Autotroph: Use energy from environment to create their food
Resources: Materials acquired from the environment for use by an organism
Climate: The average year after year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region
Carbon Cycle: The movement of carbon through the environment
Reflection
In my opinion, this was probably one of my worst projects. There were multiple reasons for this. One of these was that I was often distracted or unmotivated because I was very bored. This is partly my fault and partly that of the projects. I should have been more engaged and stayed on track, and in general I need to work on that. It was also part of the projects because it wasn't the most interesting and there were multiple days where we had nothing to do, so we did something else. When I was on task, I would get a lot of work done. I have also learned throughout this project that when I take breaks every once in a while I am able to be much more productive. I also think that the research I did was in depth, and provided some good facts for our presentation. Overall, I didn't really enjoy this project, and know I can do much better in the next project.
In my opinion, this was probably one of my worst projects. There were multiple reasons for this. One of these was that I was often distracted or unmotivated because I was very bored. This is partly my fault and partly that of the projects. I should have been more engaged and stayed on track, and in general I need to work on that. It was also part of the projects because it wasn't the most interesting and there were multiple days where we had nothing to do, so we did something else. When I was on task, I would get a lot of work done. I have also learned throughout this project that when I take breaks every once in a while I am able to be much more productive. I also think that the research I did was in depth, and provided some good facts for our presentation. Overall, I didn't really enjoy this project, and know I can do much better in the next project.