The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, …
The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses, and highlights the many aspects of soil science, including: soil genesis and classification, soil physical properties, soil-water interaction, soil biology, soil chemistry, and soil fertility. The lab manual includes 15 different laboratories, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports.
Students will embody a specific person who is impacted by climate change …
Students will embody a specific person who is impacted by climate change and engage in conversations during a mixer. In these conversations, the students will learn how people from around the world are impacted by climate change.
Students understand that organisms can survive only in environments in which their …
Students understand that organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. Students understand that the needs of plants and animals are different but interdependent.
This writing assignment uses the "Sustainable Development Triangle" as a framework to …
This writing assignment uses the "Sustainable Development Triangle" as a framework to critically evaluate an environmental issue of the student's choice. This learning activity provides an opportunity for an introductory chemistry student to use the sustainability's "Triple Bottom Line" as a tool to use material learned in the classroom to look at how environmental science helps inform economic and social/cultural factors in the development of sustainable solutions to our environmental challenges.
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Project Description (Microsoft Word 14kB Jan26 10) Water collection and usage in …
Project Description (Microsoft Word 14kB Jan26 10) Water collection and usage in the Sustainable SW Japanese Garden
The Albuquerque Water Authority has several activities on their web site to help with making a personal water audit, selecting xeriscape plants, designing garden areas as well as forms for rebates. We used the ABQ Water Authority design format to calculate which plants to install. Students start with a personal water audit and then move to the design of the garden. Personal water audit http://www.abcwua.org/Understanding_Your_Bill.aspx Techniques to consevere water outdoors http://www.abcwua.org/Save_Water_Outdoors.aspx Planning Xeriscape - students create their own personal garden and we transfer the concepts to the Japanese Garden. We are looking at Japanese design elements with a SW flare and thereby modeling what the internees did when they were limited to the surrounding rock, vegetation and water collection. http://www.abcwua.org/Xeriscaping.aspx
Calculating roof area using a Google satellite image
We use a measurable square on the pathway for the scale and then we calculate the square feet of the roof area. A transparency is used to overlay the image and calculate the water harvest.
Calculating the capacity of the 1500 gallon cistern in terms of water needed per plant
Students experiment with buckets to see ascertain the best collection site. The water is measured after rainfalls and compared to the weather data collected by the NOAA.
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This site shows the inexpensive and permanent ear-notching swine identification system, explaining …
This site shows the inexpensive and permanent ear-notching swine identification system, explaining significance of notch placement to create an individual identity number for each animal, and techniques for effective notching. Accessed 2022 from University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Publications.
Over the past 35 years, instructors at the University of California, Santa …
Over the past 35 years, instructors at the University of California, Santa Cruz have taught organic farming and gardening skills to more than a thousand apprentices through the UCSC Farm & Garden Apprenticeship program. Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors is their 600-page manual and covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. Units contain lecture outlines for instructors and detailed lecture outlines for students, field and laboratory demonstrations, assessment questions, and annotated resource lists. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting.
The training manual is designed for a wide audience of those involved in teaching farming and gardening, including colleges and universities with programs in sustainable agriculture, student farms or gardens, and on-farm education programs; urban agriculture, community garden, and farm training programs; farms with internships or apprenticeships; agriculture extension stations; school gardening programs; organizations such as the Peace Corps, US AID, and other groups that provide international training in food growing and ecological growing methods; and master gardener programs.
Published by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food …
Published by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the 600-page manual covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. Units contain lecture outlines for instructors and detailed lecture outlines for students, field and laboratory demonstrations, assessment questions, and annotated resource lists. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting.The training manual is designed for a wide audience of those involved in teaching farming and gardening, including colleges and universities with programs in sustainable agriculture, student farms or gardens, and on-farm education programs; urban agriculture, community garden, and farm training programs; farms with internships or apprenticeships; agriculture extension stations; school gardening programs; organizations such as the Peace Corps, US AID, and other groups that provide international training in food growing and ecological growing methods; and master gardener programs.
Before engaging in lessons, students attempt to draw a diagram of a …
Before engaging in lessons, students attempt to draw a diagram of a nitrogen cycle and add as many components as they can. This allows them to self-assess (and the teacher to assess) what they know about the nitrogen cycle.
Students research some of the nitrogen cycle components online at various websites or read printouts from websites provided by the teacher. They choose three or four facts of interest about their component and report to the rest of the class.
Each small group of students is given a set of materials including 20 objects, 20 picture-cards, 20 nitrogen cycle component explanation cards, 20 title cards for each nitrogen cycle component, heading cards for different environments such as the atmosphere, soil, water, etc., and many small arrows. The students work together to pair each object with its corresponding title card, description card, and picture card. Then these are all arranged to form a possible nitrogen cycle with various components clustered around heading cards and arrows used to show movement of nitrogen from one object to another.
Students then write humorous (limerick, couplet) poems or more serious poems (haiku) or structured poems (cinquain, diamante) to tell several facts about a component of the nitrogen cycle. They share their poems with the class. Students may also engage in experiments with nitrogen fertilizer.
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Students learn that a healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species …
Students learn that a healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Students learn that multiple species can have their needs met in the same ecosystem and that humans play a role in managing species within an ecosystem.
The Toolkit to Create a Great Farm Mentorship is a shared drive …
The Toolkit to Create a Great Farm Mentorship is a shared drive of resources for farm educators who want to start a mentorship program. The toolkit includes numerous ready-to-use files, but is open source to allow educators to download and edit items as needed. The Toolkit was developed from documents used in the Michigan Sustainable Farm Mentors Program that connect 42 beginning and aspiring farmers with 9 mentors in 2021 and 2022.
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2020-38640-31522 through the North Central Region SARE Partnership grant program, under project number ONC21-085.
In this lesson, students will investigate how trees change by the season. …
In this lesson, students will investigate how trees change by the season. Includes discussion of techniques for identifying trees, journaling changes that take place over time for the same tree throughout the school year, a list of vocabulary, a field guid to identifying trees, and a tree journal worksheet for students.
NGSS: Partially meets 2-LS4-1
Common Core: W.2.7, W.2.8, 2.MD.D.10
Social Sciences: 3.12, 4.12
Time: 1 hour initially, then 30-40 minute lessons through the seasons
Materials: "The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree" book, My Tree Journal pages (included), pencils, colored pencils, and clipboards.
The US Department of Agriculture provides an interactive Zone Map for plant …
The US Department of Agriculture provides an interactive Zone Map for plant hardiness to determine growing zone for planting. Additional Maps of Colorado or other states or regions can be found visting this link and clicking on the region of interest. https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/view-maps
The focus on soil in this unit is accomplished by browsing and …
The focus on soil in this unit is accomplished by browsing and reading or browsing (in some detail) information from nine websites as well as a book chapter. This effort will help students to understand issues relating to soil erosion, the state factors of soil formation, methods of soil description and classification in the field, soil orders, soil surveys and threats to soil. Questions are posed that require written responses and the in-class activity involves a web-based soil survey using the Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey. This activity can be accomplished individually or by groups and should involve a short report of findings.
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The term "Earth system science" is typically used to describe the science …
The term "Earth system science" is typically used to describe the science (especially quantitative modeling) of the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere, and biosphere---the addition of lithosphere to that list provides all of the main generalized components ("spheres") of the Critical Zone. In this lesson, students will consider basic concepts of system science (studying complex systems), specifically as it can be applied to Critical Zone science. Students will engage in developing a qualitative systems model graphic of the Critical Zone. The knowledge gained here will be applied later in the semester to more in-depth systems thinking of the Critical Zone.
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