STEM Project: Sustainability for the Future
Milestone #1- An Introduction to Sustainability: Ecosystems
In our first milestone, we reviewed about how ecosystems function. We looked closely at the key roles living (biotic) things played within ecosystems by creating food webs. We compared the different layers of the food web and explored how energy is transferred within the ecosystem.
My foodweb!
Milestone #2- What Makes Something Sustainable?
Part 1
We explore what sustainability means and how ecosystems are sustainable and when they start to become unsustainable. Learners explored a sample case study and analyzed the different factors that would affect sustainability within an ecosystem.
Part 2
Now that we understand a little more about sustainability, we began to expand our learning to sustainability within cities! To begin, we split our class into 4 different groups, each representing 4 different countries. Each group member will be responsible for designing a brochure for a specific area that makes their country attractive to others (e.g. Food).
Click here to download my brochure!
Milestone #3- Sustainable Development Goal #1: Poverty
Even though some countries are quite developed and attract millions of tourists, they are not sustainable. Why? In this milestone, we explore an underlying issue of poverty that affects even the most developed of countries. Each group represented their country well and made a presentation to a panel of judges. The presentation highlights the different obstacles each country has dealing with poverty as well as possible solutions that could be used to reduce poverty. In the end, our learners began to empathize and see the magnitude of poverty’s influence.
Click here to download our group’s presentation!
Milestone #4- Sustainability for the Future
We live in a world with a lot of unknowns. Sometimes, we forget how lucky we are compared to other people living in the same world. We have food to eat, a place to call home, and a family that loves us. Not everyone is so fortunate. In preparation for their final project, learners used their knowledge of blueprints to create an environmentally friendly rooftop design. They also learned how charters could help sustain cities by providing foundational rules for the population living within the city.
My blueprint for my final project!