The Living Systems Lab is a learning landscape and an experiential\u00a0learning tool for students of all ages. \u00a0We invite educators to contact us to figure out how we can fit a tour of the LSL into your curriculum. \u00a0To help you plan a lesson or a tour, we have posted several curriculum frameworks below. \u00a0Have more questions? \u00a0Check out our prep guide below.<\/p>\n
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS<\/strong><\/p>\n The lessons of the LSL can be applied to all classrooms. \u00a0Click on the topics below to see how a tour of the LSL can be incorporated into your curriculum. \u00a0Note that while the curriculum has been tailored to meet the MA Science and Technology\/Engineering Teaching Standards for specific grade levels, we are happy to work with you to create a tour experience to meet your teaching goals.<\/p>\n Biodiversity<\/a>\u00a0– Students will see firsthand the effects of human activity on ecosystems and consider the connection between nature and human society.\u00a0 Specifically, students will consider biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by the Blackstone River, and how industrial and urban contamination affects them.\u00a0 Students will then experience a novel restoration project that demonstrates how biodiversity can improve ecosystem resiliency and restore a damaged landscape.<\/p>\n Topics Covered:\u00a0<\/strong>biodiversity, ecosystem services, land use change, habitat degradation, protected areas management, pollution, ecological restoration, the Industrial Revolution, ecological design<\/p>\n Food Webs<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Students will experience an engineered ecosystem in which various strands of the food web are showcased and their function explained.\u00a0 The Eco Machine effectively shows the role of fungi, bacteria and plants in the recycling and of nutrients and energy transfer, allowing student to visualize how these elements are stored and transferred.\u00a0 Students will consider the methods of energy transfer and see firsthand how the different components of an ecosystem contribute to healthy ecosystem function, and how humans can foster healthy ecosystem development in order to promote public health.<\/p>\n Topics covered:<\/strong>\u00a0trophic levels, biomass and the building blocks of organisms, nutrient and energy flow, decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, autotrophs, pollution, food web dynamics and perturbations<\/p>\n Natural Cycles and Human Activity<\/a>\u00a0– Students review the water cycle in an outdoor environment, using the Fisherville Mill site to help identify how different factors will affect how water flows through the ecosystem.\u00a0 They will see the legacy of an industry that relied on both fossil fuels and renewable energy, and consider how these practices have affected the water cycle and other ecosystems in the area and globally.\u00a0 Finally, students will explore the Eco Machine and Canal Restorers and begin to consider how human engineered solutions may play a role in mitigating some of the water and weather related challenges that we face today.<\/p>\n Topics covered<\/b>: w<\/b>ater and the water cycle, runoff, erosion, human energy resources and their extraction, land use change, biodiversity loss, climate change and engineered environmental solutions<\/p>\n