February 2016 Interactions – Ontario Society for Environmental Education

interactions header feb

Ice Sun Catchers – An Investigation in Freezing and Melting
Students will create, observe and make predictions about the freezing and melting of ice disks with embedded natural objects. By Sherri Owens

Climate Change
Making changes in our behaviours and attitudes to adapt to the necessities of the planet now and in the future. By Astrid Steele

Resources Available for Teachers to Borrow
Organizations with physical equipment necessary to further investigation in the field and classroom. By Christine Chapel

Funding School Projects
How to write successful grant applications for school-based environmental projects. By Ecosource

Upcoming Events

Teacher Resources

Sherri Owens

Ice Sun Catchers – An Investigation in Freezing and Melting

In this activity students will create ice discs with found natural objects embedded. These discs can be left in the sun outside and their melting observed. During this process students will have opportunities to make predictions about freezing and melting and then compare those predictions to observations.

Background Information:

Freezing Physics

(Gretchen Noyes-Hull, Education Place from Houghton Mifflin www.eduplace.com/kids/hmxs/g6/weatherwater/cricket/sect2cc.shtml)

This article describes the details of why and how substances freeze and gives an explanation for why solutions freeze at lower temperatures than pure substances. As a bonus, there is an ice-cream recipe at the end!

Q&A: Why Do Liquids Freeze?

(Mike Weissman, 10/22/2007, Ask the Van: Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chamapign, https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=162)

Curriculum Expectations:

Grade 2, Science
Understanding Matter and Energy: Property of Liquids and Solids

Overall Expectations

investigate the properties of and interactions among liquids and solids;
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of liquids and solids.

Grade 5, Science
Understanding Matter and Energy: Properties of and Changes in Matter

Overall Expectations

conduct investigations that explore the properties of matter and changes in matter;
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter, changes of state, and physical and chemical change.

Grade 7, Science

Understanding Matter and Energy: Pure Substances and Mixtures

Overall Expectations

investigate the properties and applications of pure substances and mixtures;
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of pure substances and mixtures, and describe these characteristics using the particle theory.

Materials:

All Grades:

Water
Measuring cups or graduated cylinders
Round aluminum foil cake tins
String
Found materials (twigs, small cones, leaves, flowers)
Access to the outdoors during below zero temperatures

Grade 5/7:

Salt
Baking soda
Sugar
Rubbing alcohol

Optional:

Food colouring

Procedure:

Show the students an example of the ice disc ‘sun catcher’. Inform them that the class will be making more discs using natural materials found outside. Have them imagine what they would like to include in their own.

Possible questions:

What would you like to include in your disc?
What is available this time of year?
– In the winter materials will be limited, many plants are under the snow, leaves and flowers will be brown and dead.
What will we be able to find on our walk?
– Are you going to a forest? meadow? The place you go will determine what will be available.
How much can we include in each disc?
– Only about a handful, there is no need to gather more than can be used.
Can we gather live material?
– You may choose to limit gathering to dead material only. You may choose to allow the gathering of live material within certain limits. Limits may include taking only one of something, each person taking from a different plant, taking only very small samples of live material.

Go outside and gather materials
- If students are working in groups, divide them up before going out
- Review gathering rules and boundaries
Have students put their gathered objects into their cake pans
Making predictions
- Grade 2: Each pan will be filled with a measured amount of water
- Grade 5/7: Each pan will be filled with the same amount of water, or, a solution of water and another material
- See Predictions Chart
- The groups must predict how long it will take for each amount of water to freeze

Possible questions:

Which pan will freeze first?
Which pan will freeze last?
Why do you think this will happen?

Fill the pans
- Grade 2: Write the amount of water used for each pan on a piece of tape
- Grade 5/7: Write the material added to the water on a piece of tape
- Use a waterproof ink if possible. Fold the tape over a 15 cm length of sturdy string or twine
- Fill the pans with water and place the ends of the string in the water and a loop hanging out. This loop can be used to hang the disc as well as holding the tape showing how much water was used. Arrange the natural materials in the water. Add a few drops of food colouring if desired.
Place pans outside to freeze
- Choose a sheltered location that won’t be disturbed during recess
- If possible, place the pans near the classroom window so the students can watch through the day
Observe
- During breaks, check the pans to see which has frozen and record
- See the observations chart
Discuss
- Once the pans have all frozen, or at the end of the day, look over the predictions and observations
- Grade 2:
- Which pans froze the quickest?
  - Probably the pans with the least amount of water
  - The greater the amount of water (mass) the longer it takes for the heat in the water to conduct (travel) into the air and ground lowering the temperature of that water to freezing
- Grade 5/7:
- Which pans froze the quickest?
  - The solutions will freeze more slowly
  - It is more difficult to make a mixture of different molecules crystallize (or freeze) than a sample of pure molecules. When the molecules of water are mixed with the molecules of another material in solution, it makes it more difficult to make the liquid freeze, requiring a lower temperature. (See the University of Illinois Physics Department ‘Ask the Van’ website at van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1598 for a fuller explanation)
- Were your predictions accurate? Why or why not?
- Note: Pans with more objects may freeze more slowly, especially on a sunny day, as dark objects will transform the light energy of the sun into heat energy and warm the water slightly
Hang the pans as ‘sun catchers’ outside
- Using the strings frozen into the ice discs, you can hang them in the sun
Predict melting
- If you wish to continue this activity, you may set up a prediction chart on the order that the discs will melt
- In the case of melting, the thickness of the disc (determined by the amount of water used) and the material put in solution is a factor, but so is the amount of dark material frozen in. Dark objects in the ice will convert the sun’s light into heat more effectively than the clear ice and melting will occur more quickly in that spot.

Possible Assessment Questions:

Grade 2

Circle in red the bucket that will freeze first
Circle in green the bucket that will freeze last

bucket

You must colour in 8 bars of water in these glasses. Fill them in so that the water would all freeze as quickly as possible.

bars

You must colour in 5 bars of water in these glasses. Fill them in so that the water would all freeze as slowly as possible.

bars

Grade 5

Two glasses containing the same amount of liquid are put into a freezer. One contains pure water, the other contains a solution of water and sugar. Which will freeze first? Why?
Why do people add antifreeze to the liquids in their car engine?
Why would you spread salt on an icy path?
If you don’t have salt, what else could you spread or pour on an icy path?
Which will freeze first, the ocean or a freshwater lake?

Astrid Steele

Climate Change

Christmas Day, 2015

“If we can’t go for a skate on the lake for lack of ice, or a snowshoe in the woods for lack of snow, then we might as well go for a paddle.”

Those were my words this Christmas past, to my husband – and they were a first, as was our Christmas day activity. Decked out in Christmas sweaters, with our golden retriever Jess on board, we paddled the shoreline of the lake. The sky was a lovely cobalt blue and the air almost balmy. Over and over we remarked on how unusually warm the fall had been, how there was no snow and the ground wasn’t even frozen and on how this really didn’t seem like Christmas at all, without winter. Perhaps that was a familiar conversation for many of you this holiday season.

We should not have been surprised though – we’ve known since the 1960’s that atmospheric chemistry was changing and that there would be consequences. Now, over 50 years later, according to NASA, as of November, 2015, atmospheric CO2 reached 402 ppm¹. That’s the highest it has been in 800,000 years² – during which time it averaged around 250 ppm. Indeed, as you likely know, the level of CO2 began its inexorable climb in tandem with the fossil fuelling of the Industrial Revolution. CO2 is second only to water vapour in its ability to trap heat on the planet, in other words, that is, to act like a cozy warm blanket. The evidence shows that human activity is responsible for its increase. The current and future impacts of climate change are well established, but I don’t intend to dwell on them here. Rather, I want to address what we are going to do about it.

Unfortunately, humans have not been nearly as eager or ambitious in their efforts to mitigate CO2 levels, and the rising global temperatures, as we were to climb on the fossil fuel bandwagon, with its promise of wealth and a better standard of living. In Canada, for the last nine years Harper’s Conservative Government virtually hamstrung the efforts of climate scientists to provide accurate information, while supporting the relentless juggernaut of a fossil fuel driven economy. So it is with cautious optimism that I applaud Trudeau’s Liberal government for putting Canada back on the world stage as a country willing to take a leadership role in addressing the issues of climate change. That is, to curb carbon emissions; to transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy; and to support other countries in doing so as well.³ But what does that mean for us as individual citizens? What is our role in the mitigation of CO2 emissions increases, and transitioning to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy? And what do we tell our students?

The answers lie somewhere in the domain of rethinking behaviours and lifestyle choices. So I recently had another go at calculating my ecological footprint using the calculator on the Earthday website.⁴ Turns out I fall just below the 3.6 Planet Earths required by the average person living in Ontario, to maintain my lifestyle. If the calculator is to be believed, and the link between lifestyle and an unsustainable carbon-based economy is credible, then I might want to ask myself: “Could I make a decent life for myself using only one third of the resources that I currently use? Could I live with one third of the electricity or one third of the food and water? How about one third of my recreation or transportation? Could I get by with one third of my purchases?” Well, maybe that’s a simplistic perspective, and certainly open to criticism. But the questions point to the need for significant changes in attitudes, behaviours and lifestyle – changes that present overwhelming stumbling blocks for most of us. It doesn’t seem possible to change enough of our behaviours to make the kind of difference necessary to lessen the rise of CO2 emissions, and the impacts of climate change. It doesn’t seem possible, but I have to keep believing that it is. If we subscribe to the power of democratic politics, in which each citizen’s vote is important; if we teach our students the importance of democratic citizenship, in which each action has meaning, then we have already taken a position of positive personal impact on the larger world.

We will make those personal changes in our behaviours and attitudes, little by little, one at a time. And we will have those important conversations with colleagues, friends and students, about the ways in which we can live with less, yet have a richer life. We will continue to teach our students an ethic of care, for each other and for the natural world. We will notice and celebrate positive changes in ourselves, our students, and in our communities. We will adapt – it’s what life on the planet has done for millennia – adapt to the exigent necessities of the moment, and of the future.

And if we must, we will go paddling at Christmas, instead of snowshoeing or skating, because we will continue to celebrate this extraordinary life with which we have been privileged.

¹ http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/)
² http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the-last-time-co2-was-this-high-humans-didnt-exist-15938
³ http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=72F16A84-1
⁴ http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator

Christine Chapel

Resources available for Teachers to Borrow

Although many teachers are willing and enthusiastic to integrate elements of Environmental Education into their classroom curriculum, not all have the necessary physical equipment to take their studies into the field or to further their investigations in class. A number of organizations, though, have resources available for teachers to borrow. Some are Ontario wide, while others lend to schools in their district or school Board. Others offer in-school programming, bringing equipment to the site, specific to the program.

Following is a list of some of the organizations and their contact information:

Biodiversity Institute of Ontario – has a lending program, with a small cost. Requests are evaluated on an individual basis. Equipment availability may depend on season and scheduled programming, such as the School Malaise Trap Program.

Contact: Vanessa Breton, Education and Outreach
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph
bretonv@uoguelph.ca
School Malaise Trap Program: malaiseprogram.ca

EcoSchools – will lend Peel District School Board teachers waste audit kits, sent through Board courier, for a week at a time. They contain a spring scale and tarps which help schools who are working towards EcoSchools certification and choose to conduct a formal visual, whole-school, waste audit.

PDSB Contact: Tracy Appleton, EcoSchools Program Leader
tracy.appleton@peelsb.com

52 school Boards throughout Ontario have received EcoSchools certification. Contact your Board’s EcoSchools program leader to determine if they have the same lending practices.

EcoSpark – has an equipment lending program through their Changing Currents program: http://www.ecospark.ca/changingcurrents/teachers

Changing Currents is a citizen science program that offers training to teachers on a specific protocol to sample a waterway, identify benthic invertebrates and record this data. EcoSpark staff then visit the school or chosen water monitoring site and provide the equipment and run the study with the teachers and students. On rare occasions monitoring kits (benthic id kits, waders, nets, chemical tests, sieves, rinse bottles, pipettes, bins etc.) are leant to teachers who are far away, or if they want to run the program on a day EcoSpark staff are unavailable. Teachers must have been trained through EcoSpark (next free training date is April 9, 2016 at Terra Cotta Conservation Area) in order to borrow equipment.

Teachers may also borrow equipment by participating in a Nature Academy workshop (fee for service workshop), where information, lesson plans and resources are shared with teachers. A portion of the fee is follow-up and coaching support, and often teachers will borrow equipment to use in class after they have taken a workshop.

Teachers are asked to contact EcoSpark to organize a pick-up location and time.

Contact: Holly Brose, Environmental Education Coordinator
holly -at- ecospark.ca (647) 258-3280 ext. 2011
tracy.appleton@peelsb.com

Julia Martini Environmental Education Coordinator
julia.m -at- ecospark.ca ext. 2003

Peel District School Board Field Centres – will lend class sets of equipment such as binoculars, GPS units and snowshoes to schools within the Peel Board. In some cases, a small fee may be required.

Field Centre Instructors can also make on-site visits as part of their community based programming.

Contact: Rob Ridley, Coordinator
rob.ridley@peelsb.com

Toronto Region Conservation – offers free curriculum based programs to schools within the GTA. The Living City Classroom programs include Watershed on Wheels, the Aquatic Plants Program and the Yellow Fish Road program. TRCA staff will work with teachers offering in-school instruction and field work using equipment appropriate for the topic of study.

They also offer copies of the Natural Curiosity Handbook teacher resource available to loan www.naturalcuriosity.ca

Contact: Erica Nickels, Education, Training and Outreach Division
enickels@trca.on.ca │ www.trca.on.ca 416-457-7129

Colin Love, Supervisor – Education, Training and Outreach
clove@trca.on.ca

Simcoe County District School Board – have a waste audit kit that they loan out to schools and a set of Watt meters that schools can borrow to complete an appliance audit. The board is in the midst of producing a “what goes where” recycling video for our schools to use in assemblies.

Contact: Jessica Kukac, Environmental Systems Coordinator, Maintenance and Environmental Services
jkukac@scdsb.on.ca| 705-728-7570 (Switchboard)

Address:
Simcoe County District School Board
Education Centre
1170 Highway 26
Midhurst, ON L0L 1X0

Contact your local Conservation Authority to learn about their resource lending opportunities.

Ecosource

Funding School Projects

Are you working on an environmental project at your school that is ready to be developed into something bigger? Have you researched best practices, consulted your greater schoolcommunity, and engaged your students in visioning for the project? Implementing a large-scale school project can require investment in new materials or facilities. Applying for grants from charitable foundations and corporate or governmental agencies is one way to fundraise and take your school project to the next level. Check out our 5 steps to writing successful grant applications:

1. Begin with the vision and engage the whole school community:

Host meetings or make interactive posters to involve the whole school community in project visioning. Work on a project that matches your school needs and interests, not your own personal desires.

2. Create a manageable first step:

Small projects, piloted with a green team or class, can feed into large ones by showing a track record of success. Fundraising for the first step of a big project is a good way to build momentum towards a bigger project, rather than taking on too much at once.

3. Utilize current resources:

Identifying resources in your own community is called asset mapping. Consider the people, places, and supplies that are available to you. Partner with a local organization that can provide guidance and expertise.

4. Build capacity:

Consider the sustainability of the initiative. Strengthen the skills and knowledge of people within your community to have the know-how and confidence to continue the project into the future. Ensure that you have a team of project leaders involved, so the weight of maintaining a project over the long-term does not fall to one individual.

5. Understand your potential funder:

Ensure that you have done your homework and you meet the funder’s requirements. Be sure that the granting body has values and terms that align with yours.

When looking to implement a project that requires monetary resources, there are many grants ranging from $500–$20,000. Some grants are recurring, such as the TD Friends of the Environment grant. Other grants come up eposidically such as the Farm to School grant. Here are a few other funding opportunities to get you started!

If you’re interested in receiving more fundraising support, join Ecosource & York University for the Sustainability Education in Our Schools, Professional Development Course for teachers. There are still two modules remaining in 2016:

Ecosystems & Stewardship in School Communities, both March 5th and April 9th
Composting, Waste, and the Whole School Approach, both April 30th and May 14th

Both modules include a workshop on “Writing Grants for Environmental Projects” to get you started on fundraising with your school! To register, email teachered@ecosource.ca or call 905-274-6222.

Happy Fundraising!