1

2017PLATEAUConferenceLessonPlan

PresenterBiography:

ChelseaSilva,presentingHumanEcologyandtheColoradoWatershed,hasaB.A.andB.S.fromUniversityofIdaho,Moscow,IDinEnvironmentalSciencesandSpanish,andaM.S.inEnvironmentalSciencesandPolicyfromNorthernArizonaUniversity,specializinginhumanperceptionsonlandusechangeandecosystemservicesinLatinAmerica.Chelseahasoverfiveyearsteachingexperiencefrompre-KtograduatelevelstudentsinArizonaandIdaho.ShecurrentlyservesasanAmeriCorpsVISTAmemberinFlagstaff,AZwiththeCityofFlagstaffSustainabilitySectionandtheFriendsoftheRiodeFlag.HerfocusisoncapacitybuildingandincreasingstudentinterestinSTEMcareersthroughoutdoorservice-learningprojectsandcitizenscience.MyinterestinteachingstemsfrommyloveforlearningandtheexcitementthatIseeifastudentthathaslearnedsomethingnew.Ichosetopresentonwatershedsbecausetheyshapeusgeographicallyanddefineusregionally.

WorkshopDescription:

Title:MappingHumanEcologyandtheColoradoWatershed

Presenter:ChelseaSilva

ParticipantswilllearnhowtoexplorethesocioecologicalelementsoftheColoradoWatershedusingGoogleEarth.Theywillalsolearnhowtobuildaneasily-storedwatershedtoexploresocioecologicalelementsoftheirlocalwatershed.Additionally,participantswilllearnabouthumanecologythroughagroupexercise.ParticipantswillreceivelessonplansfortheGoogleEarthandgroupexerciseandinstructionsforbuildingtheirwatershed.Thisworkshopisdesignedfor6th-12th,butcanbeadaptedforK-5.

2

LessonPlan:MappingHumanEcologyandtheColoradoWatershed

1) IntroductionhumanecologyasitrelatestotheColoradoRiverWatersheda. ShowmapofColoradoRiverWatershedonPage3ofthis2016AnnualReportforthe

ColoradoRiverWaterUsersAssociation(CRWUA)tointroducethewatershed.b. HumanEcologyisaninterdisciplinaryandtransdisciplinarystudyoftherelationship

betweenhumansandtheirnatural,social,andbuiltenvironments.c. FactsabouttheColoradoRiverWatershed:

i. 243,000squaremilesinsizeii. Spansacross7statesincludingAZ,CA,CO,NM,NV,UT,WYaswellasMexicoiii. 1,450milesofriverfrommountainsinColoradotoMexicoiv. 40millionpeopledependontheColoradoRiverforwatersupplyv. 22tribesuseandlivewithinthiswatershedvi. 7WildlifeRefugesvii. 4NationalRecreationAreasviii. 11NationalParksix. 4,200MegawattselectricityproducedbydamsontheColoradoRiver

d. Showbargraphof“FigureC-4:HistoricalColoradoRiverWaterConsumptiveUse”bysector(agricultural,municipalandindustrial,energy,minerals,fishandwildliferecreation,etc.)onPageC-9ofthe2012“ColoradoRiverBasinWaterSupplyandDemandStudy”fromtheBureauofReclamation

e. Showlinegraphof“Figure2:HistoricalSupplyandUseandProjectedFutureColoradoRiverBasinWaterSupplyandDemand”fromtheExecutiveSummaryforthe“ColoradoRiverBasinWaterSupplyandDemandStudy”fromtheBureauofReclamation(seeFigureC-8onPageC-25ofthefullreportformoredetails)

f. ColoradoRiverCompact:1912agreementtowaterrightsfromtheColoradoRiverbetweensevenstates:WikipediaPage

2) UseTimelapsefromEarthEnginetoexplorechangesinlanduseandwaterbodiesthroughtimefrom1984-2016.Considershowingstudentschangesinthemouth/deltaoftheColoradoRiverasitflowsintotheGulfofCalifornia/SeaofCortez(therivernolongerreachesthegulfandhasn’tforatleastadecade).In2014,after16yearstheriverwasabletoconnecttothesea–checkoutthestoryofhowthiswaspossiblehere.

a. Timelapseisapowerfultool,andIrecommendusingitheretodiscusspopulationgrowthintheSouthwestwhichrequiresmoreland,energy,andfood.WecancorrelatethesethingswitheffectsontheColoradoRiverwhetheritbetheincreaseinwaterdemand,increaseinrecreation,orincreasein“indirect”effectsonthewatershedsuchasagriculturalproduction,energyproduction,municipalwateruse,etc.

3

3) IntroductiontoGoogleEarthLabsGoogleEarthLabscanbeusedbyyouandyourstudentstoexploretheEarthbytopic(climate,drought,fisheries,etc.).Hereisthemainmenu–seethesidebarforselectingdifferentlabsbytopic.HereisaUserGuideforGoogleEarthtohelpyouasyoufamiliarizeyourselfwithGoogleEarth.

a. WecanexploretheColoradoRiverWatershedunderthetopic“Droughts”Lab2B:ExploreYourWatershedinGoogleEarth(Clicktopic“Drought”à“Lab2What’saWatershed?”à“Lab2BExploreYourWatershedinGoogleEarth”).

i. FollowthedirectionsontheLab2BwebpagetodownloadGoogleEarthontoyourPCorMac(see“StartGoogleEarthonYourComputer”ontheLab2Bwebpage)

ii. AddwatersheddatalayertoGoogleEarth(seedirectionsunder“DownloadOutlinesoftheWatershedsoftheUnitedStates”[youwillberedirectedtotheUSGStodownloadthe.kmlfile])*

iii. Optional:AddUSStatelayerandArchaeologyofAmericalayer1. FollowthislinktotheUSCensusBureauforUSstatelayer(under

“Nation-basedFiles”)2. Followthislinktoclickonthe“ArchaeologyofAmericaandCanada”link

todownloadthislayerforGoogleEarthfromtheArchaeologicalInstituteofAmerica

iv. Onceyourdataisdownloaded,youcanexploreelevation,landcover,population,streams,andnearbyarchaeologicalsiteswithintheColoradoWatershed.

*Alternatively,youcandownloada.kmlfolder(onefiletypecompatiblewithGoogleEarth)labelled“MappingHumanEcologyandtheColoradoWatershed”fromtheFriendsoftheRiodeFlagwebsitehere.ThisfileincludestheColoradoWatershedUSGSfile,USStateCensusBureaufile,andArchaeologyofAmericafile.

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,donothesitatetoemailme,ChelseaSilva,atchelsangelina@gmail.com!

4) Limerick/Haiku:IndependentProjectThisportionofthelessonissplitintoPartAandB.

a. PartA:Onceyou’veintroducedwatershedsandhumanecology,giveyourstudentsabout10minutestotakeawalkoutside.HavethemthinkabouttheirhomewatershedorthelargerColoradoWatershed.Whiletheyarewalkingoutside,havethemmakealistofnouns,adjectives,andverbstheywouldusetotalkaboutthewatershedandhumanecology.Makesureyouletthestudentsknowthatthisisintendedtobeanindependentassignment(otherwise,theymightendupspendingtenminuteschattinginsteadofmakingobservationsJ).

4

b. PartB:Havethestudentssettheirlistofwordsasideandwewillcomebacktothemafterbuildingourwatershedmodels(seePart5below).Oncetheirmodelsarecomplete,introducelimericksandhaikus(youcanuseanytypeofpoemformathere–I’vechosenthesetwoformatsfortheirsimplicityandeaseofwriting;youmightalsochoosefreeverse).Explainhoweachtypeofpoemshouldbesetup(e.g.,numberofsyllables)andshowthemanexample(usetheonesbelowifyoulike).Closetheclassperiodbyhavingstudentssharetheirpoems.

i. HAIKU:Thisancientformofpoemwritingisrenownedforitssmallsizeaswellastheprecisepunctuationandsyllablesneededonitsthreelines.ItisofancientAsianorigin.Haiku'sarecomposedof3lines,eachaphrase.Thefirstlinetypicallyhas5syllables,secondlinehas7andthe3rdandlastlinerepeatsanother5.Inaddition,thereisaseasonalreferenceincluded.EXAMPLEItfloodeditdriedRiodeFlagcamealiveManagersdecideWiththisexample,youcoulddiscussthehistoricalreroutingoftheRiodeFlaginthelate1800sandhowthishascreatedfloodingissuesontheSouthside.

ii. LIMERICK:Thisfive-linepoemalsofollowsasyllablecount.

Line1:7-10syllablesLine2:7-10syllablesLine3:5-7syllablesLine4:5-7syllablesLine5:7-10syllables

EXAMPLERunningoncewasastreamdowntheMountainThatthePeopleusedbacknear’athousandItmeanderedthroughprairiesAndfedmanyfruitberriesButnowfacesgreatthreatsohsodauntingWiththisexample,youcoulddiscussthefactthattheNorthernSinaguaoccupiedPictureCanyon(alongtheRiodeFlag)from700to1300A.D.,plusyoucoulddiscussanyofthefollowing:climatechangepredictedeffectsonsurfaceandgroundwaterinNorthernArizona;potentialimpactsoffuturedevelopments(increasedstormwaterrunoffleadingtoincreasedfloodingissues);implicationsofArmyCorpsofEngineersRiodeFlagFloodControlProject(RiosettobeundergoundedfromFrancesShortPondtoCityHallwithasmallcompositechannelabovegroundwherewaterwillflowonlysometimes[seasonalflowswouldnolongerbevisible,e.g.bigflowsfrommonsoonsandwinterstorms])

5

5) BuildingaWatershedModelDuringthisportionofthelesson,studentswillbuildwatershedmodelsoutofsaltdoughusingatopographicmapofthelocaltopography.Table1:SuppliesneededforWatershedModelsSUPPLY INSTRUCTIONSFORSUPPLYSaltDoughRecipe

Seerecipebelow.Onerecipemakesenoughfor~3watershedmodels,i.e.,youwillneedtotimestherecipeby5tomake15models,etc.

Cardboard“landscapes”

Eachstudentneedsalandscape.Cutoutrectangularlandscapes(roughly6”x12”)outofold,thickcardboardbox.Pokeholesintheareawherethesaltdoughwillbeplacedtomakesurethedoughcanbe“secured”tothelandscapeasitdries.

Paint OutdoorPaintorAcrylicworkswell.Paintbrushes Oneforeachstudent.TopographicMaps

Oneforeachstudentoronemapprojectedthatcanbeusedbytheentireclass.

a. FIRST,youwillneedtomakethesaltdough.Youcanmakeitbeforehandorhavethe

studentsmakeitduringclass.Eitherway,makesureyourefrigerateit(upto2or3daysaheadoftime)ifyoudonotuseitrightaway.Belowistherecipe,obtainedonline:

Recipe for Homemade Air Dry Salt Dough

By Chris Dunmire Salt Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup salt 1 cup cold water Directions: In a large bowl, mix table salt and flour together. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water and mix to desired consistency. Knead the dough on a flat surface, adding a few more drops of water as needed (but not making it too moist). Once the dough is made, you can divide it up into small portions to roll into 1/8" thick pieces with a rolling pin. Use cookie cutters to cut out a variety of shapes, and place the shapes on wax paper or other surface to dry. If you want to make hanging ornaments, pierce the dough through with a toothpick while it's wet. Allow the shapes to dry for a day or two, turning them over periodically to speed up the drying process. You may need to re-pierce the hole several times during the drying process. After the shapes dry, you can use a fine grit sandpaper to gently smooth any rough edges. Baking Alternative Instead of allowing the dough shapes to air dry, you can bake them in the oven at 200 degrees F until hard. Baking times varies depending on oven and dough thickness. Make sure the

6

dough is completely baked. You can cover the dough with aluminum foil if it starts to darken before completely baked through. Salt Dough Project Suggestions and Tips:

• You can store prepared salt dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a day or two before using.

• Add color to the dough by mixing food coloring or paint into the water before adding it to the flour/salt mix. Alternatively, you can paint the finished baked dough with acrylic paint.

• Painted objects should be sealed on all sides with polyurethane spray or clear varnish to make them lasting gifts or keepsakes.

b. SECOND,prepthecardboard“landscapes”.Maketheseatleast6”x12”andcutfrom

old,thickcardboardboxes(thickerboxesarebetterforamorestablelandscape).Thesimplestlandscapescanberectangularinshape,butyoucangetcreativeandmakedifferentshapesfromwhichthestudentscanchoose.Makesurethecut-outislargeenoughtoincludesometext(e.g.,alegendforthemap,thestudent’spoem,factsaboutthewatershed,etc.).Pokeholesinthelandscapewherethedoughwillbeplacedtohelpthemodelstayputasitdries(makesurestudentsforcethedoughintothepokedholeswhentheyaremakingthemodelstoaideinthisprocess).

c. THIRD,printtopographicmapsforeachstudent.AppendixAisatopographicmapoftheSanFranciscoPeaks.Youcanfindothertopographicmapsbytypingthenameofyourgeographicpoint(e.g.,“MonumentValley”)and“topographicmap”intoanysearchengine.Youcanalsosimplyprojecttheimageofyourtopographicmapontoascreenfortheentireclasstouseatthesametime.

d. FOURTH,makeyourwatershedmodels!Youcanusethemodelstodiscuss:understandingelevationonatopographicmap;gravity;humaninfluencesonourwatershed;howalandscapedevelops(e.g.,SanFranciscoPeaksonceagiantvolcanoandalsocarvedbyglaciers[plusthecinderconesaroundthepeaks]);lifezones

i. Havestudentsusetheirtopographicmapstomakethemodelii. Theycanthenpaintthemodel.Here,youcanhavestudentspaintcreatively,

e.g.,generalcoloursofthemountain,ortheymightpainthedifferentlifezones(seeAppendixB).

e. FIFTH,letthemodelsdryfor1-2daysbeforehavingthestudentstakethemhomef. OPTIONAL:Youmightalsochoosetosubstitutethesesaltdoughmodelswithagroup

activitysuchasthatoutlinedinPartAoftheGoogleEarthLabs:i. Drought,Lab2A:MakeaWatershedModel

g. SeeAppendixCforexamples

6) ClosewithpoemsandshareOncethestudentshavecompletedtheirmodels,takethetimetohavethemwriteuptheirpoemsasperPart4Bofthislesson.Thestudentscanthensharetheirpoemswiththeclass.Theycanalsoglue/rewritethesepoemstobeincludedaspartoftheirwatershedsaltdoughmodel.

7

APPENDIXA:TopographicMapoftheSanFranciscoPeaks

8

APPENDIXB:LifeZonesoftheSanFranciscoPeaks

GraphSource:http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/biomes/azlifzon.html

GraphSource:http://written-in-stone-seen-through-my-lens.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-mount-humphreys-of-san-francisco.html

9

Table2:AdditionalLifeZoneInformation

ELEVATIONRANGE(FT)

VEGETATIONTYPE LIFEZONE

11,500-12,700 AlpineTundra Alpine11,000-12,000 Sub-AlpineorTimberlineZone Timberline9,500-11,500 Spruce-FirForest Hudsonian8,000-9,500 MixedConiferForest Canadian6,000-8,500 PonderosaPineForest Transition3,500-6,500 Pinyon-JuniperForest UpperSonoran3,500-6,500 Chaparral/GreatBasin

Desert/DesertGrasslandUpperSonoran

100-3,500 WarmDesert LowerSonoran

FACTSABOUTEACHLIFEZONE:

LIFEZONE FACTS

Alpine Thislifezoneisequivalenttothetundrafoundinextremenorthernlatitudes.Themean-maxtemperatureisonly66-77degreesF.Rainfallisfrom44-60incheswithmuchfallingassnow.Characteristicplantspeciesincludegrass,sedges,moss,lichens,willowandfloweringperennialplants.Thelonecommonmammalspeciesisthemarmot,alargewesternwoodchuck.Birdsarecommonduringthedaybutusuallyflybelowtreelineatnight.ThisisanuncommonlifezoneinArizona.ItcanbefoundonMt.BaldyintheWhiteMountains,andontheSanFranciscoPeaksnorthofFlagstaff.LargeareasofthiszonemaybeseeninSouthwesternColorado.

Timberline Seeabovedescription.Hudsonian Thislifezoneisroughlyequivalenttospruce-alpinefirforests.Itoccursat

elevationsof9,000-11,000feet.Precipitationaverages30-35inchesannually.ItoccursatappropriateelevationsonSanFranciscoForest,WhiteMountains,ChiricahuaMountains,andtheGrahamMountains.OtherplantsincludetheEnglemensSpruce.AnimalsarethesameastheCanadianlifezone.Mean-maxtemp:70-82degreesF.

Canadian ThislifezoneisroughlyequivalenttoDouglasfirforest.Elevationofthislifezoneisfrom8,000-9,500feet.Precipitationisfrom25-30inchesannually.Othertreescharacteristicofthislifezoneincludewhitefirandquakingaspen.ThislifezoneisfoundatapproximateelevationsonthemountainsofArizona.Characteristicanimals:elk,deer,andbear.Mean-maxtemp:75-85degreesF.

Transition Flagstaff(6,900ft);Rainfallvariesfrom19-25inchesannually.ThislifezonecoversmuchoftheKaibabPlateau,theareaabovetheMogollonRim,andtheappropriateelevationsinthefollowingmountainranges:Pinal,Gila,

10

Pinalenos,Galiuros,SantaCatalina’s,SantaRita’s,Huachuca’s,andtheChiracahuas.Fewdifferentspeciesofplantsarefoundinthiszoneincludingoak,grass,andIndianpaintbrush.Characteristicanimals:deer’s,mountainlion,andSteller’sjay.Mean-maxtemp:86-90degreesF.

UpperSonoran

Seedescriptionbelow.

UpperSonoran

Thislifezoneincludeswoodland,chaparral,grassland,andGreatBasinDesertvegetation.ThesouthernmostpartoftheGreatBasinDesertliesinNorthernArizona,mainlynorthandeastofFlagstaffaswellasinthenorthwesternpartofthestateintheArizonaStripcountry.Rainfallvariesfrom12-20inches.Characteristicplants:includePinyon,juniper,oak,manzanita,andsagebrush.Characteristicanimals:coyote,groundsquirrel,javalina,anddeer,rabbit.Mean-maxtemp.90-100degreesF.

LowerSonoran

Thislifezoneisroughlyequivalenttodesert.ThreedifferentdesertsarerepresentedinArizona.TheyaretheSonoran,Chihuahuan,andMohavedeserts.Annualprecipitationvariesfrom3-11inches,increasinginamountfromwesttoeast.Characteristicplantsinclude:PaloVerde,cholla,saguaro,yucca,mesquite,andocotillo.Characteristicanimals:scorpion,reptiles,coyote,quail,hawk,andtarantula,rabbit.Mean-Max.Temp.100-110degreesF.

“Facts”obtainedfrom:http://www.mpsaz.org/rmhs/staff/aeullman/class1/biologycalendar/files/life_zones_of_arizona.pdf

11

AppendixC:SaltDoughWatershedModelExamples

Above:VegetationonpeakswithRiodeFlagflowingthroughFlagstaff;factsaboutthewatershedonright.

Above:Lifezonesdrawnonsaltdoughwatershedmodel.