Sustainability Columns

Investigating sustainability, water quality monitoring, stewardship, the replication of ecosystem services, and more ...

Environmental Science AP

Instructor: Ben Smith

Note: some repetition may result in your lab journal

Sustainability Column Lab Journal: Due Monday, June 4th:

Every student will hand in their own lab journal;

(Presentation must be organized and neat; handwritten or typed; use your

resourcefulness, ingenuity, and creativity)

Contents:

A.Lab title:

B.Introduction: to include: -- A description or discussion of “Sustainability”: What does this really mean, specifically? -- A Statement of Purpose:

C.Methods, Procedures, and Materials

-- Description of equipment/hardware, materials used and how information was collected; description of how you did the experiment or investigation; --- Procedures regarding the construction of your Sustainability Column

-- Procedures regarding measures or steps taken by your lab group to

enhance the sustainability regarding your column

D.Results: Qualitative data; Quantitative data

E.Photos of the entire process/three week investigation (May 14 – June 4)

F.Discussion & Summary.

Note: You are to record everything that you put in your Sustainability Column,

as well as everything that you remove, attempting to be as thorough and

specific aspossible.

Should your fish die, or should your lab group experience other mortality, you

are asked to pool your resources and invest 10 centsin a tiny feeder fish from

the fish store. You are encouraged to add anything to your column that you

think might enhance the sustainability of your lab set-up, though clearly a

human-built system.

Periods 0, 1, and 4 will have FOUR Lab Groups per class; Period 3 will have THREE Lab Groups. Lab Groups need to be formed on the condition that at least one student in each group is interested in, willing, and able to TAKE the ENTIRE SUSTAINABILITY CLOMN HOME on Monday, June 4th.

Carefully cut bottles as indicated on LEFT board. Please ask if/when unsure (e.g., how much “neck” do you need on bottles “B” and “E”?)

Stack all SIX bottle pieces (having more “shaft” on piece “F” typically makes for a more secure fit). Note: The cutting blade does not need to be very sharp; with the cap ON bottle, you may choose to “insert” blade through small piercing, then roll bottle, keeping hand still. Blade should not be at all close to lab tabletop.

Place ALL shrapnel and unwanted plastic pieces in the recycling container, including your caps. I’ll either give you holey caps, or drill new ones from your caps if you would rather not use pre-owned holey caps. Please let me know.

You should have a STRAW on your lab tray, but, if not, ask for one.

Cut filter paper inserts for holey caps. (Needless to say, you’ll poke through with the straw for that filter-paper-holy cap piece.

Pour Cup o’ Gravel in Chamber “A” (aquatic chamber). If it looks like you might want a little more gravel, please let me know.

Add 1,200 mL of Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water from the container at your lab station.

Nestle one sprig of Elodea in your gravel bed.

Place one cup of soil in BOTH your Decomposition(upper) chamber and your Seed (lower of the two “dirt” areas) chamber. Note: the level of the straw going through Decomposition Chamber holy cap is up to you.

The amount of moisture that you add to each soil chamber is up to your lab group, but you will need to record everything that you PUT IN the Sustainability Column and everything the you REMOVE, over the course of the next three weeks.

Mung beans in Seed Chamber(lower soil area): Plant “a” number of mung beans which your lab group thinks would be “appropriate” for that chamber.

Between the end of class today and before class tomorrow, look for leaves or other organic matter that has reached “that point” in the “circle of life” (sorry) and bring an appropriate amount of this to class tomorrow to place in your Decomposition chamber.

If time allows, we may introduce one small fish to your lab group’s Sustainability Column before leaving today (5/14).

Over the course of the next three weeks, your lab group will: -attempt to witness short-term ecosystem (a series of ecosystems) sustainability, taking actions & measures which your group thinks will enhance sustainability of the constructed ecosystem column, -monitor multiple factors such as dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, turbidity, pH, Hardness, and Nitrate.