In this lesson, students explore the components of a landfill, focusing on how landfill liners prevent leaks and learning how solid waste is one of the causes of climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn how long it takes for a plastic bottle to decompose and the importance of landfill design to protect groundwater.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn the components of landfill designs.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students experiment with different materials to find out which material is best at preventing water leakage and relate the experiment to landfill engineering.

In this lesson students learn how invasive species are detrimental to the ecosystem of native species and create a prevention poster.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students relate their knowledge about competition with competition among organisms within an ecosystem.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn how invasive species impact native species and biodiversity.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students develop a prevention poster describing how their invasive species was introduced into their community.