Gaia Hypothesis Lesson Plans

1. Daisyworld: Stella Mac or PC
...es as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service Project Summary Daisyworld is a very simple planet that has only two species of life on its surface - white and black daisies, and bare ground. Daisyworld is a good example of homeostasis and was first proposed by James Lovelock as a plausible example of his Gaia hypothesis. With guidance, students build a Stella model of Daisyworld from scratch. After constructing the model they perform guided experiments to explore the behavior of Daisyworld to changes in model parameters and assumptions. Learning Goals Students explore: Concepts and terms such as: + Stefan-Boltzman'...

2. Building an Ecologically Balanced Living Space
...litter on the forest floor. Here the fungus and the bacteria decompose the the litter formed in one cycle (leaves, animal waste, and dead animal bodies) into nutrients for the next. The litter supplies the earth beneath with nutrients. The earth itself is a living substance (an investigation of the Gaia hypothesis may be a good extension at this point) which further transforms the nutrients into usable substances. The root sytem transfers the nutrients from the soil back into the vegetation in preparation for the next growth cycle. (Other forests, such as the coniferous forests and temperate rain forests foll...

3. Fungus Among Us « Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Fall 2005 « Ecology Center
...use SPONSORED PROJECTS: Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) Berkeley Biodiesel Collective Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative Catalog Choice Community Water Rights Project Farmers' Market EBT Project Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Indigenous Permaculture Project International Plastics Task Force (IPTF) Non-GMO Project Plastics Task Force West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs Fall 2005 Terrain for Schools Home Lesson Plans About Us Sign Up Links Advanced Search Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Fall Science :: Fall 2005...

4. Strange Brew « Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Spring 2006 « Ecology Center
...use SPONSORED PROJECTS: Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) Berkeley Biodiesel Collective Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative Catalog Choice Community Water Rights Project Farmers' Market EBT Project Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Indigenous Permaculture Project International Plastics Task Force (IPTF) Non-GMO Project Plastics Task Force West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs Spring 2006 Terrain for Schools Home Lesson Plans About Us Sign Up Links Advanced Search Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Spring Science :: Sprin...