Unit 4: Case Study Analysis part of Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception
Lisa Phillips, Texas Tech University; Kate Darby, Western Washington University; Michael Phillips, Illinois Valley Community College
In this unit, student groups will evaluate different environmental case studies to critically investigate qualitative and quantitative data analysis, collection, and inquiry. Students will begin to consider ...

Did Early Farmers Alter Climate? part of Teaching Activities
Sue Swanson, Beloit College
The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of ...

Prairie Eco Services part of Project EDDIE:Teaching Materials:Modules
Kelly Knight, Houston Community College System
As densely populated urban areas continue to expand, human activity is removing much-needed greenspaces from our communities; in turn, we are also removing critical buffers that are needed to combat air and water ...

Unit 1: Introduction to Soils and Society part of Soils, Systems, and Society
Kathryn Baldwin, Eastern Washington University; Jennifer Dechaine, Central Washington University; Rodger Hauge, American Geophysical Union; Gary Varrella, Washington State University-Spokane
In this unit, students engage in a scaffolded class discussion designed to encourage students to move from a broad focus on science relevancy to locally important societal issues relevant to soils. They then relate ...

Unit 3: Soil Investigation and Classification part of Soils, Systems, and Society
Jennifer Dechaine, Central Washington University; Kathryn Baldwin, Eastern Washington University; Rodger Hauge, American Geophysical Union; Gary Varrella, Washington State University-Spokane
In this unit, students work in small groups to collect and record data about soils using various soil testing and classification methods at a series of stations. The methods they use are relevant to the societal ...

Unit 2: Community-Based Participatory Solutions part of Food as the Foundation for Healthy Communities
Richard D. Schulterbrandt Gragg III, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; John Warford, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; Cynthia Hewitt, Morehouse College; Akin Akinyemi, Florida State University; Cheryl Young, Heritage University
The introduction and examination of the food, energy, and water connection—as a system in Unit 1—established the dictates of human dependency on and human modification of the environment. We continue a logical ...

Unit 7.2 - Agricultural Impacts part of Critical Zone Science
Ashlee Dere, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Susan Gill, Stroud Water Research Center
Humans not only reside in the Critical Zone, they depend upon the land and water to provide sustenance. This unit will examine how humans affect soil resources and ecosystem services in the Critical Zone through ...

Unit 3: Natural and Agricultural Erosion Rates part of A Growing Concern
Sarah Fortner, Carleton College; Martha Murphy, Santa Rosa Junior College; Hannah Scherer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ
Students will identify their perceptions of erosion by examining images of mountain and agricultural landscapes and discussing which environment is more erosive. They will use geospatial figures to compare erosion ...

Environmental Geochemistry Class Project part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Activities
Carey Gazis, Central Washington University
This is a inquiry-driven class research project on a local environmental geochemistry question that is accomplished during three-hour laboratory sessions each week. Students are divided into groups that will share ...

Soil Ecology Lab part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Activities
Becky Ball, Arizona State University at the West Campus
Students collect soil samples from places of interest around campus and run a series of basic soil analyses to make conclusions about how soil fertility relates to the biological community and human management.