This video defines sustainability and discusses various environmental indicators that can be used to assess the health of ecosystems.
The examples of sustainability in agriculture and fishing are specifically highlighted and there is an interactive quiz included on the topic.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video introduces sustainability clearly and concisely by defining the concept and providing multiple examples.
This is a great video that connects certain activities to many environmental side effects.
This is a great introduction to the concept of sustainability and environmental science.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with ecosystems and the basics of ecology.
Differentiation
After watching this video, students could research environmental indicators that are used in their area to monitor the health of ecosystems and determine if current practices are sustainable.
Teachers could use this video as an introduction to the problems of sustainability in agriculture and fishing and task students with proposing potential solutions to alleviate the stress on affected ecosystems.
Cross-curricular connections could be made with economics by discussing the costs and trade-offs in using sustainable practices in sectors like agriculture and fishing.
This video would pair well with the game Lakeland, which allows students to explore the effects of agriculture on lake ecosystems.
This resource is a primer on the principle of sustainability, how to identify it, and how to apply it to our practices. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-3 Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
HS-ESS3-6 Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
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-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
