THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT: Environmental Science and our Shared Responsibility
Essential Questions:
- How have humans affected and been affected by their environment through time?
- How do our current choices affect the future of our planet and our global society?
- What does it mean to be sustainable?
- What can we do to make this place better?
Content:
- The history of environmental science
- A cause-and-effect evaluation of environmental challenges we face (focus on: climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, & invasive species)
- An exploration of environmental solutions and movements toward sustainability
- The environmental analysis of our own place
- An exploration of action and activism
Skills and Processes:
- Analyzing the historical contexts of environmental science from multiple perspectives
- Collecting and evaluating data to determine chemical, biological and physical environmental parameters
- Organizing and statiscally analyzing large data sets to find environmental trends
- Designing and proposing systems that would increase sustainability practices on campus and beyond
- Communicating research, concerns, and ideas to affect positive change
Assessment:
- Environmental timelines
- Participation in field study projects
- Field Research Reports
- Environmental Challenges and Solutions reports
Resources:
- Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
- Collapse, Jared Diamond
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson
- NSTA Resources for Environmental Literacy
- Cispus Environmental Science Curriculum
- Adopt a Stream Curriculum
Multicultural Dimension:
- Multi-cultural perspectives on resource use both past and present
- Environmental justice and its implications on poverty and privilege
Integrated Learning:
- Reading and discussing environmental literature
- Exploring the historical perspectives of environmental science
- Statistical data analysis of environmental parameters