Ecology Unit Reflection:
Ecology Unit Reflection:
During this unit I learned about the environment around me and how humans impact it. We removed invasive plants in Bahia. The invasive plant in Bahia was the ice plant. We also did our terrarium project during this unit. During the terrarium project we created an ecosystem in a smaller environment, such as a fish bowl. We watered our terrariums during almost every class. Lastly, we did our Final Solution Video project during this unit. We were assigned to choose a location (close to us) and find problems with our locations. I chose Pacheco Pond and I found three problems with it and then came up with solutions for the three problems. My three problems were fishing, dogs, and how the drought has had a negative impact on the pond's environment.
The terrarium project was my favorite thing about the unit, but I think it could have been more organized. At first it was very educational because it forced us to research which plants/species share an environment. We then had to create our own environment, and we had to make sure that everything survived. Once we finished creating our environment we just went to water them almost everyday for the rest of the year. It became very repetitive, but we didn’t learn very much. We just watched plants grow, but there wasn’t a big educational aspect.
The Find a Solution Video was my least favorite project. Again, I think that it should have been much more organized. There should have been set due dates for this assignment. Since it required time outside of school, it was hard to find a time and day where both people were available to work on the project. I ended up just going to my location alone to get all of the footage. I think that the lack of due dates and clarity definitely caused this project not to reach its full potential.
Now that I have learned about human impacts on the environment, I will not plant invasive plants in my backyard in the future. (I now know that an ice plant is an invasive species that harms the plants native to this environment/area.) The Find a Solution Project will also make me more cautious while out in nature, and I’ll try my best not to harm any plants or animals. The terrarium project educated me on which plants and animals live well together.
During this unit I learned about the environment around me and how humans impact it. We removed invasive plants in Bahia. The invasive plant in Bahia was the ice plant. We also did our terrarium project during this unit. During the terrarium project we created an ecosystem in a smaller environment, such as a fish bowl. We watered our terrariums during almost every class. Lastly, we did our Final Solution Video project during this unit. We were assigned to choose a location (close to us) and find problems with our locations. I chose Pacheco Pond and I found three problems with it and then came up with solutions for the three problems. My three problems were fishing, dogs, and how the drought has had a negative impact on the pond's environment.
The terrarium project was my favorite thing about the unit, but I think it could have been more organized. At first it was very educational because it forced us to research which plants/species share an environment. We then had to create our own environment, and we had to make sure that everything survived. Once we finished creating our environment we just went to water them almost everyday for the rest of the year. It became very repetitive, but we didn’t learn very much. We just watched plants grow, but there wasn’t a big educational aspect.
The Find a Solution Video was my least favorite project. Again, I think that it should have been much more organized. There should have been set due dates for this assignment. Since it required time outside of school, it was hard to find a time and day where both people were available to work on the project. I ended up just going to my location alone to get all of the footage. I think that the lack of due dates and clarity definitely caused this project not to reach its full potential.
Now that I have learned about human impacts on the environment, I will not plant invasive plants in my backyard in the future. (I now know that an ice plant is an invasive species that harms the plants native to this environment/area.) The Find a Solution Project will also make me more cautious while out in nature, and I’ll try my best not to harm any plants or animals. The terrarium project educated me on which plants and animals live well together.