Nature and Food part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Liz Campbell, Seattle Central Community College
In this activity students read articles or excerpts of books to explore the topic of sustainability in terms of food webs, roles of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria and their own food choices. Students continue their exploration of these kingdoms with a visit to a farmers' market and a grocery store to compare locally grown foods and grocery store selections.

What is Local? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
William R. Teska, Pacific Lutheran University
Through a hands-on examination of a nature preserve/park in a nearby urban setting and with classroom discussions and activities, students become aware that individuals are affected differently by the preservation of nature or by development of natural resources.

Mapping Place, Writing Home: Using Interactive Compositions On and Off the Trail part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Kate Reavey, Peninsula College
Students will choose a physical place to study, a site that is close enough to visit at least four times during the quarter/semester. Using writing prompts, text-based research, and close observations in the "field" (the chosen place), students will create a "mashup" of spatially referenced pop-up balloons. These will include researched and narrative prose, citations and links, and some visual images, embedded into a map via Google Earth technology. Through this unique presentation, the research and writing can encourage viewers to better understand the place they have chosen to study.

How Many Plants Make a Future? The Carbon Dioxide Challenge part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Rus Higley, Highline Community College Marine Science and Technology Center, Vanessa Hunt and Timothy Sorey, Central Washington University
This activity focuses on the role of photosynthesis in a sustainable future. Students explore the effect of photosynthesis and respiration in a 'closed systems' containing plankton, marine plants, and fish. By calculating carbon dioxide uptake and production in these systems, they predict a plant: animal ratio sufficient to maintain a system in carbon dioxide 'balance' for one hour.