This video goes into detail about genetic and biological diversity, the many types of conservation and restoration ecology, and the ways we can repair the ecosystems we have damaged.
Students will learn about the importance of this work, see examples of how it is being done, and gain an appreciation for protecting natural environments.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video is thorough and engaging.
Students will gain an understanding of two related fields of scientific study that are helping to remediate or protect natural environments.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should have some knowledge of ecology and biology.
The video moves quickly, so you may want to use subtitles or be prepared to pause between sections.
Differentiation
Cross-curricular connections can be made in social studies classes considering the roles of individuals, communities, and governments in restoring ecosystems that have been damaged by human activity.
Biology and health classes could look into the health impacts of various activities that pollute or degrade our environment. Consider having students watch this video about chemical pollution or this one about many types of pollution and then have them apply the strategies from this video to develop a restoration plan to address one of the pollutants.
This resource introduces students to career opportunities in the sciences that could be explored by science and social studies classes.
After watching, have students look up a Superfund site through the EPA's website and determine what type of remediation is being done. Could conservation biology or restoration ecology play a role?
Scientist Notes
The video introduces the concept of conservation biology and restoration ecology to students to understand how they work and to choose which is most suitable for improving biodiversity and sustaining the health of ecosystems. This resource is void of scientific misconceptions and is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
HS-LS2-8 Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
HS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
HS-LS4-5 Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Speaking & Listening (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
