In this activity, student teams explore connections between parts of the Earth system, by examining a time series of environmental data maps. By examining scientific visualizations of a data pair in two time slices, they will see that the environment is the result of the interplay among many processes that take place on varying time and spatial scales. This is one of six interrelated learning activities associated with the GLOBE Earth System Poster, Exploring Connections in Year 2007, which also includes a series of assessment and extension activities. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program.

This activity is a field investigation where students make observations of the pebble beach, lava flows, and wetland restoration at Sugarloaf Cove to generate questions to be addressed throughout the earth science curriculum.

During this module students use multiple experiences (reading, video,
the outdoors, a survey of their water footprints, writing, and lots of
discussion) to examine how life today, in comparison to pre-industrial
times, makes our connections to water virtually invisible. Students use
the class's water footprint results to find out how agricultural and
industrial water uses link us to people distant in both place and time.
They weigh the consequences of these invisible connections in creating
the lost sense of dependence and responsibility that typifies
unsustainability. Students study the variability of water footprints
within our class to help identify more sustainable personal choices.
They consider the activity of a local watershed association to educate
and involve people in improving the quality of local streams as a model
of how community action can accomplish what individuals cannot.

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A Curriculum for Enhancing Farmer Microbial Literacy

Short Description:
The primary purpose of this course is to render the invisible world of microbes visible to farmers. This course provides scientific-based instruction exploring how microbes can assist agriculture. Although the course is designed for farmers, this material can also help extension agents, curious citizen scientists, and other non-experts interested in enhancing their microbial literacy.

Long Description:
The invisibility, complexity, and general opaqueness of soil microbial life makes learning about the “black box of soil” difficult. To address this challenge, my project-based biology senior thesis endeavors to develop a biology-based curriculum for farmers to increase microbial literacy. A transition to a microbially centric agriculture necessitates the development of a new knowledge infrastructure. My senior thesis project aspires to contribute to this new, necessary, and expanding infrastructure. It is critical that farmers recognize their unique role as stewards of not only plants and animals but also as shepherds of an unfathomably complex, necessary, and wondrous herd of microbes.

Word Count: 10617

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In this activity, students examine global climate model output and consider the potential impact of global warming on tropical cyclone initiation and evolution. As a follow-up, students read two short articles on the connection between hurricanes and global warming and discuss these articles in context of what they have learned from model output.

Once the pride of the German Navy, this 700 foot long heavy cruiser was used by the U.S. as a test target for not one but two atom bombs at Bikini atoll. Today, at the bottom of the ocean, the radiation levels of the Prinz Eugen are low enough for safe exploration. In this video, Jonathan joins historian Mark Miller on a trip to explore this mysterious shipwreck. What they find about the condition of this wreck is surprising. Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.

This is a collaborative learning activity based on the documentaries "King Corn" and "Big River" in which students explore and propose solutions to sustainability issues associated with industrial agriculture and food systems.

Students read an article titled "The Sixth Extinction" by Niles Eldredge on past mass extinctions and the current rate of loss of species. The instructor can choose from a suite of activities which include having students respond to discussion and extension questions about the article, write an essay on the article defending Eldredge's view, create an extinction chart, and debate the actions of stakeholders faced with an endangered species vs. human water needs scenario. Students will need to research additional references to complete the activities and be prepared to defend their positions.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Managing wastewater is a major logistical puzzle that impacts the environment, the climate, and public health. While metropolitan wastewater typically undergoes complex processing and sanitation, rural livestock wastewater is often simply composted for fertilizer, but composting can release harmful contaminants like ammonia, CO₂, and methane. One way to still capture the nutrients with fewer harmful byproducts is by cultivating microalgae, which actually absorb CO₂ via photosynthesis rather than producing it. But how do microalgae impact pathogens? A recent pilot study using raw piggery wastewater found that microalgae cultivation dramatically reduced the pathogen load while also triggering a dramatic shift in the overall bacterial community composition. Further investigation using the most abundant pathogen, Oligella, found that the microalgae weren’t impacting Oligella directly. Rather, microalgae cultivation reduced Oligella abundance through a network of other bacterial species..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this activity, students investigate how scientists monitor changes in Earth's glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets. The activity is linked to 2009 PBS Nova program entitled Extreme Ice.

In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, astronaut John Young experiences extreme temperatures on the Moon that are a result of the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere.

This video explores what scientists know about how changes in global climate and increasing temperatures affect different extreme weather events.

This video documents the scope of changes in the Arctic, focusing on the impacts of warming and climate change on the indigenous Inuit population.

FoodSpan
This free, downloadable curriculum provides high school students with a deep understanding of critical food system issues, empowers them to make healthy and responsible food choices, and encourages them to become advocates for food system change.
The food system spans the activities, people, and resources involved in getting food from field to plate. Along the way, it intersects with aspects of public health, equity and the environment.

The learning resources presented here have been developed through an ERASMUS+ project for adult education entitled “FARMINFIN: Farming concepts and innovative funding/financing” (Project Nº: 2019-1-BE01-KA202-050397) carried out between 2019 and 2021.

The FARMINFIN project provides farmers with the needed competences for the implementation of innovative financing means tailored adequately for their own farms, entrepreneurial approach and personal circumstances.

FARMINFIN training material is aimed at young farmers taking over the business of their parents or simply aiming at business development. For them it is very important to have a solid financial basis for their agricultural businesses!

FARMINFIN has developed a web-based app where you can access to all the project’s training materials which are available in 7 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech and Swedish. Through our learning platform you will be able to:

1. Get an overview of the actual situation of innovative financing in family farms in Europe and the available financing tools.
2. Gain knowledge and experience from selected best practices across Europe.
3. Foster professional handling of innovative financing means by farmers.
4. Strengthen economic and socio-economic viability of family farms, and therefore deliver added value to rural development.

The training resources you will find are the following:

SUMMARY REPORT: here you will find an overview of the situation of alternative ways of financing in the farming sector in Europe. The report provides a picture of the common findings across participating project countries, which have been analysed in more detail. You will find also in this section a downloadable annex that graphically shows all the data collected during the development of the report and can be viewed in detail segmented by country.

CATALOGUE: In the catalogue you will find not only a list of the main subsidies’ lines and general financing products, but also the financing products adapted to agriculture and more importantly, a large catalogue of the main products of alternative or innovative financing illustrated with a diagram showing the actors involved and the relationships between them. More specifically, the catalogue has identified:
- 14 of the main lines of subsidies.
- Main general funding products categorised into:
o Public sector (both European and national);
o Short-term private sector (11 tools identified);
o Long-term private sector (8 tools identified).
- Main financing products adapted to agriculture, for the agricultural, livestock and forestry sector.
- Main innovative financing products, where a total of 21 innovative financing tools have been catalogued in detail, including diagrams to illustrate how they work.

BEST PRACTICES: in this section you will find a series of 17 examples of farms across Europe that represent a wide range of best practices in the implementation of innovative financing schemes in the farming sector. Through this section you will learn from real experiences, reading about farmer’s problems related to financing and how they solved them. Learning from existing experiences will surely inspire you.

TRAINING MODULES: learning materials plenty of tips and suggestions on how to deal with relevant topics around the financing of your farm. In addition to the prepared contents of the modules, there is an opportunity to self-test your initial knowledge before taking the module and there is also a test at the end of the module to see whether you understood the contents. The modules also include useful templates, canvas and tools to be used in your learning pathway as well as in your professional activity.

For all components of the learning platform, information is provided in a comprehensive and user-friendly design and the materials can also be downloaded in PDF format.

 FFA Creed Grade Level: 8th-9thSubject: Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural ResourcesDuration: 150 minutesDOK Level: 4SAMR Level: Redefinition Indiana Standard: IAFNR-2.1 Acquire and demonstrate communication skills such as writing, public speaking, and listening while refining oral, written, and verbal skills IAFNR-2.2 Recognize and explain the role of the FFA in the development of leadership, education, employability, communications and human relations skills Objective: Essential Question: What is the importance of the FFA Creed?Procedure: Have the students create a statement about themselves that they feel strongly about.Have a class conversation on the purpose of a creedHave the students watch the video 85 Years of the FFA CreedAssign the FFA Creed as a Closed ReadGive the FFA Creed Closed Read through google classroomExplain the following directions for the closed read:Read the FFA creed 2-3 times. When you read it the first time, try to get a general sense of what E.M. Tiffany is trying to say and be ready to share Tiffany's 5 most important points.During the second read, pay close attention to the words and language used by Tiffany. Why did he choose to write this in the way that he did? Pay attention to words that stand out to you (highlight them) and be ready to analyze why they stand out. During your final read, connect the Creed to your own personal experiences and perspective on life. Pay special attention to the messages in this Creed that resonate with you and be ready to share why they stand out.7. Divide the class into groups of three. Have them answer the following questionsWhy do you think that E.M. Tiffany wrote the FFA Creed? What was he trying to accomplish? Underline the 3 most important lines of the FFA Creed and provide evidence for why you think these are the most important. What words and writing styles does E.M. Tiffany use to make the Creed more effective? Circle any words or phrases that are particularly impactful to you. The FFA Creed has language that is sometimes hard to grasp on the first try. How would the delivery of the message of the FFA Creed change if more common language and writing styles were used? In what ways does the Creed affect you? Is there a message in particular that you think is especially valuable? In your opinion, is there anything ineffective about the FFA Creed?8. Have the students create an artifact that will help them memorize the creed. The artifact will be turned in through google classroomProduct or Assessment: The students will be graded on their artifact and their ability to recite the creed. Credit: C. Kohn, Waterford Union High School, http://wuhsag.weebly.com/agriscience2.html

This image is a indicator of the importancE of protecting our forest resources. Illegal cutting of trees for urban expnasion, agricultural or any other huan activities should not be condonded. Forests should be protected as they have an important role in soil and water conservation.

This interactive visualization created by FRED (Free Energy Data), displays energy supply (by source) and demand (by use) for each state in the US from 1960 to 2010; forecasts through 2035 are available as well. FRED is an open platform to help state and local governments, energy planners and policy-makers, private industry, and others to effectively visualize, analyze, and compare energy-use data to make better energy decisions and form sustainable strategies.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Too much dietary fat can be bad for our health. Chronic high lipid intake results in the accumulation of triglycerides in the liver, causing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). One contributor to NAFLD is the inhibition of a process called autophagy, where the body’s cells clean up intracellular components that are damaged or no longer needed. Unfortunately, how autophagy inhibition results in NAFLD is unknown. A recent study aimed to determine what molecular pathways inhibit autophagy to cause NAFLD. Using yellow catfish as a model, they compared the effects of regular and high-lipid diets on autophagy and lipid metabolism. RNA sequencing showed that a high-fat diet altered the expression of many genes associated with lipid metabolism and autophagy. A pair of proteins, FXR and CREB, served as a switch to regulate these changes, maintaining a proper fatty acid balance and protecting cells from lipid-induced damage..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Did you know that broccoli, cauliflower, and artichokes make a lovely bouquet of flowers? The students will examine the functions of flowers and determine that some flowers are edible, even tasty! This K-2nd grade lesson includes background information, vocabulary words, step-by-step procedures, links to other lessons about plants, and plant lifecycle illustrations.