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General
Information
Project
Overview
From July 1996 to December 1996, two environmental
studies were conducted in the lockyers Water area, a
wilderness area located in the town of Avondale. One of
these was a salmon enhancement project designed to study
the ability of Avondale River to sustain salmon. The goal
is to restore some of the once plenty plentiful salmon
stock on this historical river.
The second project, the study of the erioderma lichen
population on the trees of the old growth forest area
encompassed by Lockyers Waters has gained international
attention. The Lockyers Waters site has been deemed to
contain up to 60% of this red-listed endangered lichen.
This past summer the site was visited and studied by two
internationally acclaimed lichenologist.
Now that the project is over, the project team is
searching for ways to maintain interest in the project
and to retain public support, especially for the
protection of the wilderness area containing the lichen.
Groups have visited the school and made presentations to
most of our classes. It is hoped to maintain a web site
containing historical data of the area as well as the
data obtained during the recent six month study.
Plans are underway to conduct student field trips in
the spring to collect more data. It is hoped that this
can become a permanent project , especially after the
building of the proposed smelter in Argentia. Lichen are
very sensitive indicators of air quality. It is hoped
that students from our school will visit the area on a
resolution basis to collect further data on lichen
quality.
Curriculum
Connections
Learning outcomes include, but are not limited to the
following curriculum areas.
From the perspective of Language Arts students will:
- Develop awareness of the power of spoken language
to influence, manipulate and reveal ideas, values
and attitudes.
- Gain experience in the interpretation and
selection of information using a variety of
resources, strategies and technologies.
- Experiment with the use of technology in
communicating for a range of purpose with a
variety of audiences.
From the perspective of the science curriculum
students will:
- Understand the nature of science and and
scientific knowledge and the nature of
technology.
- Understand that science, technology, society the
environment are interrelated.
- Develop a understanding of the interdependence of
global social, economic and ecological systems.
- Use scientific knowledge, cognitive and technical
skills to investigate the natural world.
- Develop scientific attitudes and positive
attitudes towards science and technology.
From the perspective of Social Studies students will:
- Understand that people interact with their
physical environment to create and refine their
social environment.
- Understand that natural resources help to shape
the decisions that people make so they meet their
needs and wants.
- Understand that global interdependence and
technological change affect sustainable living
and cultural understanding.
From the perspective of Technology Education students
will:
- develop an understanding of the nature of modem
technology, including the basics technological
and scientific principles which underlie
technology activities, process, resource
utilization, technological tools, and systems.
- solve technological problems by employing the
design process to identify needs and
opportunities, generate solution ideas, make and
fabricate solutions, and evaluate and reflect on
them.
- understand the impact of technology and technical
change on self, society, the workplace, and the
environment.
- read, comprehend, write and use the language and
terminology of technological problem solving and
will make appropriate use of technological
products.
- understand the role of technology to enhance the
learning process, will use technology as learning
tools, and develop active learning strategies to
employ technology for lifelong learning.
- understand the role of information and
communications technology in managing
technological process and recourses, and will use
them to manage and communicate effectively about
technology.
- develop an understanding of the nature of modern
technology, including the basic technological and
scientific principles which underlie technology
activities, process, resource utilization,
technological tools, and systems.
Resource
Connections
The erioderma lichen is of international significance
due to its rarity. Some lichen web pages currently exist,
but none are permanent to the lichen population in the
Newfoundland region known as Lockyer's Waters. Roncalli
Central High has provided support for this project since
its inception in July of 1997. We feel that though the
Stellar Schools Project, a web site based in our school
would provide an avenue for the international science
community to communicate with the people closely
associated with the Lockyer's Water's Area.
The project co-ordinator, Christine Mousseau, has
already approached the school with plans to continue
awareness of the project through field trips and through
training out students to monitor and record indicators of
the lichen growth.
We propose to work with the Lockyer's Water Project
Team to create, maintain, and update a web page dedicated
to providing the international scientific community with
information pertinent to erioderma pedicellatum.
Evaluation
- Each student will do a written project based on
primary and secondary research.
- Students will give an oral presentation of the
material in the water project.
- A test will be given at the end of the project.
- In groups of four, students will collect data
revenant to the lichen growth and organize and
communicate their findings through graphs,
charts, tables.
- Students will each write a letter to a local
paper or their MHA expressing concern for this
wilderness area and requesting it be protected.
- Students will use a variety of instruments to
collect quantitative data. Video cameras,
photographs, digital cameras, field guides, tape
measures, and magnifying glasses will be used.
- Students will work impairs to produce a type
written 2 page report using Coral 7.0. This
report will include appropriate graphics, tables,
charts, and graphics.
- Using Coral 7.0. students will convert some of
the collected data into a web page.
- Students will access the international lichen web
pages and link them to their locally created web
pages.
- Students will work as a class to develop
questions relevant to the critically endangered
lichen species. These questions will form the
basis of an interview which will be e-mailed to
experts international lichen sites.
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