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Urban Ecology (June 27, 2003, Two)
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There’s no doubt about it, cities are hubs of activity. They are bustling with life. But beyond bus drivers, broadcasters, booksellers, ballet dancers, and business barons, there is another bustling community. Under the roar of humanity, beneath the sidewalks, in the cracks of the sidewalks, behind walls, and in subways, alleys, and parking lots there are thriving ecosystems—intricate webs of living things that depend on each other for survival. These urban landscapes are rapidly becoming the most common ecosystems on Earth.
As cities spread, how does nature respond? And how do humans fit into the picture from an ecologist's point of view? Is there more to the urban ecosystem than pigeons, rats, and cockroaches?
Fred Koontz, director of New York Bioscape Initiative and executive vice president of Wildlife Trust in New York City
Marina Alberti, director of Urban Ecology Research Laboratory and associate professor of University of Washington’s Urban Design and Planning in Seattle, Washington
Nancy Grimm, co-director of Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Long-Term Ecological Study and professor of biology at Arizona State University in empe, Arizona
Sylvia Earle, explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society, Washington, DC
Arizona Water Resource, March/April 2001: “Urban Ecology, Nature in an Urban Setting”
“The City Kid’s Field Guide,” by Ethan Herberman, (Simon and Schuster, 1989)
The Ecological Cities Project Website
National Park Service’s Center for Urban Ecology
NATURE: The Wild Side of New York
Science News Online, April 4, 1998: “Ecologists Go to Town”
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Urban Wildlife
Urban Ecology Teacher Tools
It’s a jungle out there! Take students on an Urban Safari and sleuth out species they never knew existed right under their feet. This page from UCLA outlines a well-organized activity for exploring the urban ecosystem and discovering a remarkable array of living organisms.
Do it yourself. For a multi-step activity that gets students thinking about design as well as environment and the impact of humans on other species, check out the PDF guide Design an Urban Schoolyard Forest, which you can download from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Kids are led through activities that introduce them to soil composition, the function of trees in an ecosystem, and creating a learning, living lab in an urban place.
Fire it up. Explore what happens when urban growth meets plant growth in Nova’s Fire Wars. This is an interesting activity that engages students in thinking on both sides of an issue. Kids form teams and explore what roles they would play if they were local fire marshals dealing with situations in which humans affect the ecosystem.
It takes an ecosystem. Discoveryschool.com’s Ecosystem is a great way to get the nitty-gritty on biodiversity and what makes up an ecosystem. It shows students that even a very small area—no matter where you are—can be home to a wide variety of species. It’s a great exercise to get kids to slow down, look, and think.
In your own backyard. For habitat projects; tips on how to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, or other wild animals; or recycling tricks, visit The National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat.
What a tangled web we weave. What exactly is an ecosystem? A wide range of biology lessons, from creating a food web to making an ecosystem in a bottle, is available at teachnet.com. See how species rely on each other for survival, and learn about plants, seeds, and the environment.
In the news. The “New York Times” Daily Lesson Plan archives contain lessons regarding biodiversity, ecology, and the environment. In Protecting Holy Cows, students explore how humans affect the environment. They work in groups to discover the effects of human interaction in specific biomes. In Tending the Greenhouse, students look into global warming, then work in small groups to research and propose solutions for restricting greenhouse gases. In You Say You Want and Evolution, students investigate and estimate the number of living things in their local ecosystem and then research biodiversity at different times over the eons. They then describe how living things have changed and what forces impact ecosystems. There’s No Place Like Home is a great lesson inviting kids to explore the impact humans have on an ecosystem. Kids investigate how animals and plants respond to the fragmentation that occurs when human culture encroaches on a habitat, as they design a shopping district that would minimize the harmful effects of the interaction.
Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.
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