To find evidence in nature of the importance of recycling and investigate ways in which humans have learned to recycle in similar ways.

• Create a naturalist's journal to track observations of nature.
• Investigate nature and Web resources for evidence of recycling.
• Set-up and monitor a simple ecosystem to study its components.
• Observe organisms and identify adaptations that help them survive.
• Produce a presentation on the parts of an ecosystem and how they are involved in a cycle that includes recycling.
• Contribute and work cooperatively in group and class discussions.

Part 1

Time
7 Class Periods

(Ongoing)

Set-up and monitor a worm ecosystem.

1. The product students create in this part of the challenge will be an example of an ecosystem that includes decomposers. Students document the adaptations and observations they make in a naturalist's journal.
2. If you don't already have your students keep a journal you can have them purchase a simple one (composition books work well) or create one by folding one piece of colored paper and ten pieces of white paper in half. Staple these papers in the middle. The directions for keeping a naturalist's journal are simple in some ways–basically they need to draw what they see in as much detail as possible and annotate with written observations when needed. They should label each session they observe with time, date, weather (when applicable), and location. Details and methods for keeping a naturalist's journal are available from a variety of sources. Two good examples are:

• Keeping a Naturalist's Journal (From Texas Junior Naturalists)
• Keeping a Nature Journal by Claire Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth (available from Amazon.com)

3. Setting up a worm farm (or condo as we ended up calling them) can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. You can have students work in groups of two and set-up their own worm farms using liter bottles, shredded paper, and some soil or you can order worm farms that are designed to recycle on a larger scale. Regardless of which type of worm farm you decide on, make sure you use worms that are efficient recyclers. Red wrigglers, Eisenia fetida, are excellent for recycling. You can order them from Yelm Worm Farm or other vermiculture sites on the Web. Follow the links below to find information on both types of worm farms and for ordering special recycling worms:

• Using liter bottles to set-up small worm farms (Students like to take these home.)
• Composting with a wiggle (pdf from Fast Plants Bottle Biology Book)
• Worm recycling bins from Yelm Worm Farm

  One advantage of the large worm bins is that they can be used to recycle some of a classroom's lunch waste. They also let you study the life cycle of worms and produce small amounts of soil that might be used in plant growth experiments. You can also monitor temperature in the large worm bins to see how decomposition affects the bin's temperature. A great resource to provide background on the importance of worms in the recycling of waste is: Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof. This book is available from Amazon.com or Yelm Worm Farms.

4. Have students observe a single worm by placing a worm in a bowl. Note: Caution students to handle the worms with care and to handle them only briefly. It is best to limit the time the worms are handled to keep them from drying out. Have them 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?

5. Don't worry if students don't get the exact answers you might be looking for as they will research on-line resources and collect data from their observations as they progress through this activity. The idea is to get students to uncover what they need to learn through observation and research.
6. Have students feed and observe their worms for seven days. Be sure to keep the worm farm moist and remove any dead worms or mold that grows. Point out any additional decomposers in the worm farm (like mold or mushrooms) if they are visible. We continued observing our worms beyond this lab as the complete recycling of waste and the production of soil and reproduction of worms takes several months.
7. After seven days, have your students revisit the original questions and have them do additional research on-line using the Worms as Recyclers resource. Discuss answers as a class.
8. You can also incorporate a worm dissection or reproduction lab if you have the time and it fits with your curriculum.

Part 2

Time
1 Class Period

Investigate a local ecosystem.

Note: This activity uses a desert ecosystem as an example. You should investigate links for other ecosystems if you prefer another type.

1. In this activity your students will create a concept map of a local ecosystem. If you can't go outside, the worm farm can serve as an ecosystem for building a useful concept map. You can also find a simple Flash animation on some of the ways that the desert ecosystem recycles at the following site: Does the Cactus Hotel Recycle?
2. If your students aren't familiar with the terms producer, consumer, decomposer, food chain, and food web, introduce them with simple definitions.

3. As you lead students through the nature walk stop at areas where there are easily observed examples of the major components of a food chain/web. In the desert, the saguaro cactus is a good place to start. A large saguaro will have nests, decomposition, and most likely various consumers associated with it. You can have students read Cactus Hotel as a resource to help them understand how important the saguaro is to the desert ecosystem.
4. One good reason to visit a desert ecosystem is that there are no worms in the soil. These important recyclers in other ecosystems are replaced by termites and other decomposers that help to fill the same niche. Termites are readily found in the desert by overturning wood and rocks.
5. Be sure to have students record their observations in their journals. Give them enough time to discover for themselves the links in the food chain/web. Lead them in their discovery by asking questions rather than telling them the answers.
6. As a culminating activity have them create their concept maps (use Inspiration if you have access to computers) and share them with the class. Follow the link below to see examples of concept maps created with Inspiration software.
7. Finish the class by asking what would happen if there were no recyclers in nature. Have them be specific about what would happen to the ecosystem you visited if the recyclers disappeared.

Part 3

Time

1 Class Period

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

1. Have students access the Web site What has Nature Taught Us About Recycling? The answers to the questions are found by accessing the link above each question set.
2. Discuss the questions as a class.

Part 4

Time

5 Class Periods

Create storyboards for a documentary on what you learned.

1. Have students work in teams of three or four. Organize them with the following roles:

• Producer - responsible for organizing materials needed by team and working with teacher to resolve conflicts.
• Science Content Expert - responsible for double checking accuracy of information collected by team.
• Graphics Expert - responsible for creating art needed for storyboards.
• Director - responsible for making sure team has specific assignments to complete and makes sure they are getting their work done on time.

  Although students are assigned these roles you should make sure they all take on a fair amount of work. They are all responsible for researching and completing the storyboards.

2. Have students read through the different scenes they have to produce storyboards for. Make sure they know what each scene requires. It can help if you build a sample screen with them as a class so that they know how the process works.
3. Have students research (they should already have most of the information they need from the work conducted earlier in this part of The Challenge) and complete a rough draft of their storyboards. They should turn them in and get feedback from you before they move.
4. Once you have accepted their first draft and provided feedback have them create their final draft.
5. Their final draft should be mounted on poster board for display. (You may skip this step if you are having them produce a computer-based presentation.

Part 5

Time

varies

Create a multimedia documentary on what you learned. (Optional)

1. If you have access to computers and multimedia software have students produce a documentary based on their storyboards. You can have them use PowerPoint or other presentation software. With the easy video editing capabilities of today's computers creating a true video documentary is a great way to have kids produce a high quality documentary of their work.
2. Examples of PowerPoint presentations done at Black Mountain can be found here.