ECOCOLUMNS: ASTONISHING DISCOVERY OF LIVING ORGANISMS
BY CATHRYN JIANG
Environmental Science has always been a prevalent first
choice for many junior students. This year in Shanghai
Livingston American School (SLAS), the Pre-AP and
regular Environmental Science classes had embarked
passionately on a popular experiment known as the
EcoColumn Project. The experiment was primarily
conducted to see the interactions between human
activities and environmental problems such as acid rain,
chemical runoff, and the introduction of non-native
insects.
Mr. Brian Delsandro, the environmental science teacher,
commented cheerfully, “This is a common
environmental science project that I adapted into my
classes. Surprisingly, everybody is extremely
enthusiastic and interested in this project!” He also
added, “The students are supposed to observe
connections between the terrestrial and marine sections
and further refine the project by applying their own
independent variables to the terrestrial section.”
The EcoColumns are made out of plastic bottles each
with 1.5 liters capacity. The bottles are further divided
into two sections: the terrestrial section with gravel, soil,
and five green bean plants; and the marine section with
gravel, dechlorinated water, and bits of algae. The
project has been running smoothly so far as the students
consistently collected data and applied their unique
independent variables such as diluted vinegar, diluted
soap water, and small insects to their own EcoColumns
on a weekly basis. Recently, an astonishing discovery was
noted as the two classes both observed living protists
(nematodes) and parasites (roundworms) in the marine
section of the EcoColumns.
Howard Yan, a junior in the Pre-AP Environmental
Science class stated, “I was astonished when I saw the
organisms swimming around in the water! It was also
the first time for me to be able to observe actual
nematodes and roundworms under a microscope!” He
also added humorously, “We even named one of the
roundworms King Tod I and tried to build a royal
roundworm dynasty!”
In essence, the EcoColumn Project truly gave the
students an authentic experience over the impact of
human activities on the environment. Moreover, it also
triggers the curiosity of the students, allowing them to
incorporate their observations into their class learning
objectives.
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