Part 1 - Set-up and monitor a worm farm.

1. Observe a live worm and make a careful drawing of the worm. Try to answer the following questions:

• What interesting adaptations does the worm have? (Write down observations near the adaptation if it is visible in your drawing.)
• Where does a worm get its energy?
• Where does a worm get the stuff it needs to grow?
• What role does a worm play in an ecosystem and why is it important?

2. Set up a worm farm according to the instructions provided by your teacher. You will take care of and make observations of this worm farm over the course of the next few weeks (or longer!) so make sure you take your time and follow directions.
3. Record in your journal how you set up your worm farm.
4. Make daily observations and record in your journal how your worm farm changes over time. If you can take digital pictures to use later when you develop a presentation.
5. After about seven days of observations answer the questions found on the Worms as Recyclers research page. Use your observations in your journal and the resources found on the research page. Record your answers in your journal.

• Worms as Recyclers

Part 2 - Investigate a local ecosystem.

1. Your teacher will lead you on a nature walk of a local ecosystem. During the walk identify examples of a food chain and/or food web found in the ecosystem. Be sure to identify producers, consumers, and decomposers that may be present and how they are linked together. Make drawings and written observations of organisms and interesting things you see.
2. During your walk keep your eyes open for signs of recycling in nature. Think of recycling in nature as any use of waste products by another living thing.
3. Create a concept map of a food chain that you saw on your nature walk. Include in your concept map any evidence you saw of recycling.
4. For a desert ecosystem you may find additional resources to help you build your concept map at these Web sites:

• Plant and animal cards of common desert organisms
• A Thrasher's Home
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Desert Trail
• Termites

Part 3 - Research Web resources on human recycling efforts that are similar to what you observed in nature.

1. Answer the questions found on the What has Nature Taught Us About Recycling? research page. Use your earlier observations and drawings and the resources found on the research page. Record your answers in your journal.

• What has Nature Taught Us About Recycling

Part 4 - Create storyboards for a documentary on what you learned

1. Use the storyboard template (requires pdf) to design the following scenes in your documentary. (If you have the time you may create more scenes.)

• Scene 1: Title Screen - Create an eye catching graphic that includes the title of your documentary, name and roles of team members, name of school, grade level, and name of teacher.
• Scene 2: Introduction - Explain what your documentary is about. Include an image and paragraph that states what someone will learn from your documentary. This screen should excite someone enough so they want to go on.
• Science 3: Parts of an ecosystem - Include an image and two paragraphs that overview the living and non-living parts of the ecosystem you observed.
• Scene 4: Example of Food Chain in an ecosystem - Include an image or images from the ecosystem you studied and a paragraph explaining how the producers, consumers, and decomposers in the ecosystem work together in a food chain. It should also include a paragraph giving examples of any evidence of recycling you observed. These paragraphs should be based on the concept map you created in Part 2.
• Scene 5: Nature got there first - Include at least one image and a one paragraph summary of one of the ways humans recycle waste that is similar to what you observed in nature.
• Scene 6: Close - Include an image and paragraph that summarizes what you learned from nature about the importance of recycling.
• Scene 7: Credits - Include a list of resources (other than this Web site) used to create your documentary.

2. After your teacher accepts your storyboards, tape them on a posterboard so that you can share them with others. (Some or all of the storyboards may be exhibited at the board meeting where the results of The Recycling Challenge are presented.)

Part 5 (optional) - Create a multimedia documentary on what you learned

If you have the resources the time create a multimedia version of your storyboards. Options to consider include Powerpoint and Hyperstudio (for a slide presentation), Inspiration 7 (for an expanded version of your concept map), or iMovie (for a video presentation).