Conservation Projects?

[tortoise]

Deb, he wants to write a paper on an aquatic plant invasive species. Writing is difficult for him - although he's getting better. He needs to learn to write a research paper this year. He's working on writing supporting details for a persuasive essay now. He understands adding more information in details, but he is just beginning to figure out how to support a claim. Some of his results are comical, since he's writing outlines for prompts that he doesn't have enough information on and I'm encouraging him to "make it up" rather than get bogged down in correctness and research. (That's the next step after he figures out how to support a claim.) He's on the way to that project. We are along a river and near lakes with tourism traffic, and visited a local water conservation consulting office. The man there challenged DS8 to write a paper on it! <3

 

[tortoise]

Bee hotel! Thanks for that! They're beautiful! and a small project he would be capable of with little help. And he can build from found materials. He will love this project. Thank you!

 

[Denim Deb]

Which plant is he planning on writing about?

 

[tortoise]

Which plant is he planning on writing about?

Last time we talked about it, he picked hydrilla even though it's not in our area. He seemed to want to write about a small leafed algae like plant but only had a short listing of plants to pick from. Next time the topic comes up I might guide him towards duckweed. It's local to us and fits his mental image. (Is it invasive? I don't really know). It has interesting small scale agriculture implications to add some bulk to his report.

 

[Denim Deb]

I don't know off the top of my head whether or not it's native, but it can be a real problem. It can completely cover the surface of a body of water causing an oxygen depletion, which then can cause a fish kill. I seem to recall it can be a real problem if there's a lot of nitrogen in the water-which can happen from run-off from fertilizers.

But, it also has its good points. It can be used as a food source for some animals and people, can help remove pollutants from water, help w/evaporation loss and used as a biofuel. I'd be interested in what he learns about it.