EcoExplorers: Finding the Perfect Spot for Our School Garden

🌱 Introduction

Our school wants to build a beautiful garden where we can grow plants and food, learn outdoors, and help local wildlife like bees and butterflies. But before we start digging and planting, we need your help!

You’ve been hired as a School Ecologist to explore the ecosystems around our school. You'll learn how plants, animals, and other living things depend on each other. You’ll also build a mini ecosystem in a bottle to see what happens when living things interact in a small environment. Each group of students will explore a different location around the school. Then, you’ll use what you’ve learned to help pick the best spot for the garden.

Good luck finding the best place for our new garden!

🌍 Task

Your job is to find the best location around the school to build a garden that supports healthy plants, animals, and the environment. You’ll:

• Build your own ecosystem in a bottle and observe it over time.
• Explore different outdoor areas around the school (like near the wood line, the field, or the playground edges).
• Collect data about living and non-living things in those places.
• Make a food chain or food web to show how everything is connected.
• Choose the best spot for the garden based on what you find.
• Create a final project using Canva, Google Slides, or a physical poster to share your recommendation with the school.

🐛 Process

Follow these steps to complete your mission as a School Ecologist:

Step 1: Learn About Ecosystems

• Watch a short video or read an article about ecosystems - Bing Videos
• Discuss the roles of producers, consumers, decomposers, and the flow of energy - Bing Videos

Step 2: Build Your Own Ecosystem in a Bottle

• In small groups, design and build a mini ecosystem using clear bottles, soil, plants, and small animals (like pill bugs or worms) from the section of school grounds that you've chosen.
• Place them in the classroom window for daily observations.
• Record data and observations in a digital journal using Google Sheets so graphing changes is possible.

Step 3: Explore Schoolyard Ecosystems

• Visit 2–3 possible locations around the school.
• Use clipboards or tablets with a checklist to record living and non-living things, sunlight, shade, water sources, and human impact.
• Take photos and upload them to your shared group folder.

Step 4: Create a Food Web

• Choose one area and design a simple food web showing how organisms in that area interact.
• Use drawing apps or hand-draw and upload it to your group folder. -
  • Creately is a great resource for food webs: 
    •  Food Web Maker | Food Web Diagram Templates | Creately

Step 5: Analyze Your Data

• Use Google Sheets to input environmental data (e.g., sunlight hours, types of organisms, moisture levels).
• Create bar graphs or charts to compare garden site options.

Step 6: Choose the Best Garden Spot

• Decide why your location would be best based on your data and observations
• Consider the balance of the ecosystem, the presence of pollinators, water availability, and minimal disruption to wildlife.

Step 7: Create and Share Your Final Project

• Work with your group to design a final product (Canva poster/presentation, Google Slides presentation, or a creative model).
• Your project must include:
  • Your recommended garden location.
  • A visual food web.
  • Graphs or photos supporting your findings.
  • 2–3 reasons for your choice.
  • Suggestions for how to make the garden eco-friendly (e.g., composting, pollinator plants).
  • What would you have done differently if you were to perform this project again?
• Present your project to the class and invite school staff to vote on the winning location.

📊 Evaluation

You will be graded using the following rubric:

🦋 Conclusion

Congratulations, Ecologists! You’ve built a working ecosystem, explored nature outside, and helped make a real decision for your school. Thanks to your hard work, the garden will be placed in the best location that has been carefully thought out and presented.

You’ve also learned something great! Every living thing matters, and we all depend on each other to stay alive and healthy. You are now a true EcoExplorer!

Follow this link for an example of the presentation conducted by the teacher showing the growth of the ecosystem in a bottle:

https://youtu.be/aIcnUB0DTqY

Here are some great reflection questions now that you have completed the project:

Student Reflection Questions 

Name:

Date: 

1. Understanding Relationships

• Which organisms depend on each other?

• What would happen if all producers disappeared?
  
   

2. Observations and Changes

• What changes did you observe?
  
   

• Did any organisms grow or decrease?
  
   

• How did the appearance change?
  
   

3. Problem Solving

• What challenges did you face in your group?
  
   

• How did you solve it?
  
   

• What would you do differently?
  
   

4. Real-World Connections

• How is your bottle similar to a natural ecosystem in the school yard?
  
   

• How is it different?

✏️Teacher Page

Grade Level: 5th Grade

Standards Addressed:

• NGSS 5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
• NGSS 5-ESS3-1: Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect Earth’s resources and environment.
• Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and system models, Energy and matter flow.

Digital Tools Suggested:

• Google Docs (journaling, note-taking)
• Google Sheets (data input and graphing)
• Canva (final presentation)
• Classroom devices for photography and research
• Creately (food web)

Student Roles:

• Observer/Recorder: Documents observations with digital photos and journaling.
• Analyzer: Uses spreadsheets and graphs to evaluate findings.
• Researcher: Supports group with ecosystem research.
• Presenter: Leads final project creation and delivery.

Tips for Implementation:

• Model how to use digital tools before project work begins.
• Provide vocabulary cards for science terms.
• Encourage multiple presentation formats to differentiate.
• Consider inviting school staff to view student presentations.

Materials Needed:

• Clear bottles/jars, soil, seeds, pill bugs/worms, water
• Clipboards, outdoor observation checklists, colored pencils
• Access to ecosystem videos and readings
• Devices with internet access for journaling and research
• Poster/slideshow tools, rubric printouts

🧩 Addressing the Digital Divide

In classrooms where digital technology is integrated, it's important to address what the plan is for the Digital Divide (the gap between students who have easy access to technology and those who don’t)

To make sure everyone is able to participate in this WebQuest:

• Digital Access Alternatives: All digital tasks (data tracking, journaling, presentation creation) can also be completed using printed journals, paper charts, and physical posters. Students without access to home internet can complete digital parts during school hours. Most work will be included in class where everyone has access to the same technology.

• Modified Tech Use: For students with limited device experience, I’ll provide instructions in small groups on how to take photos of their project, use Google Slides, or input data into a simple spreadsheet.

• Collaborative Groups: Students will be grouped with the mindset that those that are more tech-savvy with those who may need support. This promotes more teamwork and peer learning.

• Printed WebQuest Version: A printable version of the WebQuest will be made available, ensuring students can still complete the project fully without a device at home.

• Use of Classroom Devices: Devices such as Chromebooks, tablets, or laptops (if available in the classroom) will be prioritized for students who don’t have access at home.

By building flexibility into the WebQuest, every student can experience the project fully and engage meaningfully with science and technology.