Case: Grandma complains BIODIVERSITY The lesson/

Categorie(s): Agriculture, Cases, Ecology, thematic lessons

“Jenny is staying with her grandparents. The weather is good, so they walk  in the countryside near their home. Suddenly Granny starts complaining: it is springtime, but much too silent. When she was young, there were many birds singing in spring, the cuckoo calling, and you would see maybe partridges in the fields, and a lark flying higher and higher, singing louder and louder. And lots of flowers in the meadows…     She starts telling about the many butterflies, the swarms of swallows coming together  in the end of summer, before flying to the south.”

Jenny wonders: is it true? Was it so much nicer outside fifty years ago? There was a world top conference  recently about ‘biodiversity’[1], so maybe it is really important. ”

We hear much about climate change, and we feel the warmer weather and see the news about nature fires, floodings, droughts. The impact is clear, but what is the impact of loss of biodiversity?

You can have many questions about this:

• What exactly is meant by the word biodiversity?
• Why is it so important – for nature, for people?
• What does it have to do with us, personally?
• What must change to protect the remaining biodiversity?
• How can we restore biodiversity?
• What can we do ourselves as young people?

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many questions. Good to find some answers

It is a good idea to split up the class in small groups (3 or 4 students) each concentrating on one or two of these questions. Agree who does what, report in a text, a presentation, or in any form you like.

Make it  a biodiversity project, maybe combine studying and discussing texts with studying the biodiversity around the school. Already counting how many organisms live in 1 square meter along the roadside or on a grassy spot will surprise you (if you count really everything, also the small ones under the surface).

Sarting a project it is best to work with a  working plan

If you look up things on the internet, it is good to make an  internetlog.  It helps you to find back your sources, or help others to find things.

On the sustainablefootprintsite you can find many pages that can be helpful:

Agroforestry is a form of agriculture that improves biodiversity already by growing different crops on the same field.

For instance about bees there is much to tell about biodiversity,

In home gardens there can be diversity too.   Why not study diversity in different gardens, may be older and younger ones…

In nature even dead animals play an important role for diversity

Small rests of forests and forgotten  bushes are important in the modern boring fields

Flowering meadows are not only beautiful, but important for birds and insects.

 

[1] Montréal December 2022 COP 15;  https://www.unep.org/un-biodiversity-conference-cop-15