urban ecology studies

OvERVIEW

Schoolyards – whether green havens or paved lots – can be fascinating places to study urban ecology. You can use your schoolyard to perform water quality tests, observe wildlife, conduct stormwater studies, or take part in other scientific field work. Working on your site will eliminate many of the challenges teachers often face in taking students outdoors to study ecology including transportation, time and budget constraints. Schoolyards are free to visit, easily accessible and places that you and your class can actively change.

Depending on your site and its natural resources, projects can include water quality, air quality or soil studies, stormwater studies, bird or plant biodiversity studies, macroinvertebrates studies, or sound, wildlife or tree mapping. Essentially any natural resource on your site can be observed, mapped, or monitored. The ultimate goal of many of these studies will be to inventory the site, determine its environmental health and take steps toward improving your schoolyard ecosystem.

Time

As with most schoolyard projects, time constraints for urban ecology field studies vary substantially depending on class’ needs, weather conditions, and the longevity of the project. Students could test air quality on one isolated occasion to learn the procedure, or become involved in a long-term study in which they test air quality once a week for a year and analyze variation by season, weather, time of day or other factors. Long-term studies are recommended as they allow students to become invested in the study, learn about trends and encourage stewardship of the schoolyard site.

land use

There are no specific site requires for environmental monitoring or urban ecology studies. Even in schoolyards that are mainly covered with blacktop, there is much wildlife to discover and observe.

Materials

Most environmental monitoring studies (air, water, soil) require a test kit. These can be purchased from suppliers or borrowed from local program providers. For mapping or stormwater studies it is useful to have rulers, maps, or even Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, depending on the complexity of the study.

EDUCATIONAL THEMES

Inquiry-based learning, urban ecology, ecological monitoring, environmental stewardship

Additional resources

Institute of Ecosystem Studies: Resources for Educators
The Institute of Ecosystem Studies is currently developing a curriculum for elementary and middle schools, The Schoolyard Ecosystem, which takes children through a series of explorations of their schoolyard as a model human or "urban" ecosystem. Drafts of the curriculum are available for review through visiting their Web site.

The Urban Ecology Institute (UEI)
UEI works with teachers and classrooms in Boston Public Schools and after school program to conduct ecology field studies in schoolyards and other local sites. UEI has developed curriculum and implemented studies focusing on bird biodiversity, water quality, stormwater, social ecology and behavioral ecology.