Presents protocols for setting up a Winogradsky column and biofilm slides, interpreting the chemical transformations that occur in the column as a result of color changes in the soil, identifying common microorganisms, and determining the microbial composition of the column over specified intervals of time. (WRM)

A Gathering of Waters is a community-based art and activism project to raise awareness that the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is a desperately endangered river, connect communities dependent on the river, and galvanize those communities into action. Activities provided actual and symbolic experiences of river water for American Indian, Hispanic, Anglo, and…

Introduces a research project on water quality in which students from two different high schools collaborate with university science methods students. Includes the analyses of air temperature, water temperature, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, phosphate level, turbidity, and pH level. Integrates biology, environmental sciences, physical…

Discusses the polluting effects of petroleum products. Introduces an activity for measuring the molecules of oleic acid that integrates mathematics and science. (YDS)

Describes Louisiana Sea Grant's most recent marine education program, the coastal Ecosystem Stewardship project. Its purpose is to provide students with background information on wetlands management issues; training in basic water quality monitoring methods, data collection, and manipulation; and opportunities to participate in a restoration…

Many analysts view collaborative institutions that attempt to forge consensus and build cooperation among conflicting stakeholders as a potential remedy to the pathologies of conventional environmental policy. However, few analyses have demonstrated that collaborative institutions actually increase levels of cooperation, and critics accuse…

In 1986, Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in Cameroon, released a huge amount of carbon dioxide gas, killing over 1,700 people in the surrounding area. This case study, developed for use in a limnology or aquatic biology course, explores that event, introducing students to concepts relating to lake formation, thermal stratification, and dissolved gases.…

Conditions producing stress are present in all colleges and universities. In this paper we report on an investigation utilizing heart rate as an indicator of stress in students when participating in activities encountered in a college classroom or laboratory. The activities included presenting an oral report, taking an exam, and participating in a…

The concept of Self-managing schools involving local community members, teachers and parents with the formation of School Management Committee is gaining ground in Nepal after the world conference on education for all (WCEFA) held in Jomtien, Thailand in the year 1990. Transferring the management of public schools in the hand of willing community…

A call for combining the strengths of geographic education with environmental education to produce an "education for sustainability" addresses local problems for sustainable development. A place-based approach encourages civic responsibility among students. Using service-learning to extend education beyond the classroom in this case study…

This book is based on the premise that students apply thinking skills to learning science concepts and principles by doing through direct, firsthand experiences in an interactive, open atmosphere; constructing by building their knowledge through guided inquiry; and connecting by relating their learning to the world around them. The contents of…

This guide, for a 4-H wetlands project, is designed for sixth to eighth grade youth and their leaders interested in learning and doing aquatic science activities that can help the environment. The project provides basic wetland information with one or more activities for each of six sections: (1) What is a wetland?; (2) value of wetlands; (3)…

Texas Hill Country is a land of fresh water springs, stony hills, and steep canyons and home to many rare plants and animals. Six activities for grades 3-5 and six activities for grades 6-12 are contained in this guide. Elementary activity highlights include using "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss to stimulate critical thinking about…

Soil is a natural resource of inestimable value. It is classified as a renewable resource, but because it may take from a few hundred years to a few thousand years to be renewed, it is more accurately termed an exhaustible resource. The emphasis of this teaching unit is the importance of soil and the need and means to conserve it. The constraining…

This curriculum guide presents an activity-oriented program designed to give students experiences that will help them understand concepts concerning the relationship between science, agriculture, and nutritional needs. Covered in the six units of the guide are reasons for eating certain foods (taste and smell); the nature of food (the concept of…