Crisis in biodiversity
 Sari Bacon |
| As someone who has lived her whole life in New York State, I decided that it was time for me to learn a little more about the native flora and fauna, and the ecology of my home state. I have recently become particularly interested in the number and variety of organisms that inhabit that concrete jungle known as New York City. Wherever and whenever conditions permit, life will arise. |
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I have taught Science, Math and Social Studies to junior high private school students since 1981. In June 2001, I was named a New York City Teaching Fellow and I now teach Living Environment and Health Science at an Alternative High School on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I am married for 28 years and I have five children. I have attended many summer institutes and programs throughout the years and have also worked on the New York State Intermediate Social Studies Exams. I love learning anything but I particularly love anything to do with science. A highlight of my first year as a New York City Public School teacher has been the warm relationships that I have made with my students. |
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| About
my experiences in the Woodrow Wilson Commuter Institute:
This workshop was a particularly wonderful learning experience, we were working with real scientists who are at the cutting edge of their fields, we got to do very interesting experiments in Pace's first class labs, and we were fortunate enough to work in one of the great cultural institutions, The American Museum of Natural History. Meeting and working with the other attendees of the institute was particularly rewarding because we were all able to share our ideas and experiences as teachers. A highlight was a trip to Constitution Marsh. I was pretty apprehensive about going out on a canoe, something I haven't done since elementary school! It was great, even though I had an unscheduled debarkation (into the water!) Here I am before the canoe trip, all ready for
takeoff! |
| Here are some of the great facilitators and
scientists who helped us out:
Thanks for everything! You were wonderful.
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| At Pace, we did many
projects in the biology lab. I did some experiments on the anti-microbial
effects of spices, something which will relate well to the biodiversity
project from the museum. (As the rain forest and habitats die off, are
we losing natural plants and other organisms that can cure disease?)
Here I am working in the lab with Anika,
looking at microbes with Dr. Michael Levendowsky, and the results of the
bacteria growth experiment - with (left) and without (right) spices.
I also did an experiment, The
Berlese Funnel Method for Obtaining Cryptozoa from Leaf Mold where I could find different organisms in leaf litter. At left is me setting it up. At right is a picture of what I found.
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| As a culminating project for the Museum of Natural History, I developed
a 10 lesson unit on human impact on the environment & the crisis in
biodiversity. There are labs, essays and a museum visit. Worksheets
and questions are included with all.
Click here to open these documents in Microsoft Word: Please let me know if you used any of the pages, and ask any questions you may have. You can visit my website, and email me from there! I hope to hear from you. |
