Bringing the Stories Together

Part of the Ecology Disrupted Curriculum Collection.

Side-by-side photos of a fenced highway and a group of bighorn sheep

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Bringing the Stories Together teacher's guide

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TEACHER'S GUIDE

Convene a final discussion of the Science Bulletins bringing the stories together through a discussion of:

How mundane or ordinary aspects of daily life can lead to environmental issues by disrupting ecological function (in this case harming populations by disrupting habitats).

Discussion

Key Idea: The daily lives of people disrupt habitats in many unforeseen ways, but there are solutions.

Question:  After watching the Science Bulletins on environmental issues that result from people changing habitat, give examples of some of the unexpected ways that people disrupt habitats and their consequences?

Answer: People disrupt habitats by:

  • Building highways and roads to connect human population centers.
  • Building cities and towns
  • Cutting down trees for homes and wood products.
  • Driving cars, flying, etc.
  • Throwing away plastic garbage and littering.
  • Constructing malls, roads, and single-family homes spread out across the landscape (suburban sprawl).

Question: What are some possible ways to reduce habitat disruption?

Answer:

  • Building animal crossings.
  • Breeding populations from different areas (doesn’t affect habitat as much as some of its effects)
  • Replanting trees and protecting important forests.
  • Recycling and reducing the use of plastic in ways like turning down plastic shopping bags.
  • Reduce our carbon footprint by driving less.

Smart city planning that limits suburban sprawl and living in dense areas like New York City (this also helps with our carbon footprint because it increases use of public transportation. Also smaller multi-dwelling housing use lets energy to heat and cool).