Students learn about population density within environments and ecosystems. They determine the density of a population and think about why population density and distribution information is useful to engineers for city planning and design as well as for resource allocation.

Coral reefs off the west coast of Maui are readily accessible and heavily used by visitors and locals alike. Managers needed a plan to boost the resilience of the reefs so they could continue providing critical habitat for marine species.

A key component of wildlife management is understanding the impact that humans have on their surrounding environment. In this activity students will begin to explore the human impacts that their school yard is experiencing from air, soil, and water pollution.

One of Southern California’s few remaining tidal marshes—and the habitat it provides for marine life and endangered birds—is threatened by sea level rise. A collaborative effort is underway to help these wetlands stay above water.

The Baka are a semi-nomadic forest people who live in the republic of Cameroon in central Africa. In this video from Africa, the Baka men meet with a government official for help to protect their forest.

"Then and Now," helps students to visualize the affects of human development on wildlife. How do human settlements (parking lots, apartment buildings, etc.) influence wildlife habitat and populations? What are the effects of man-made structures on native and non-native species? These questions are explored by interpreting aerial photographs and related information sources in an attempt to uncover some of the correlations between changes in habitat and types of wildlife.

NUTSHELL: In the optional Field Enhancement portion of the lesson, the class explores the living and nonliving parts of a forest while on a hike. Students spend individual quiet time observing and drawing parts of a forest. In main portion of the lesson, students match plant species with forest ecosystems and learn that living things are influenced by the nonliving things around them. They create a song or skit to show what they have learned about living and nonliving connections. The students conclude the lesson by creating a mural of different types of Wisconsin forests.
BIG IDEAS
Forests are ecosystems characterized by a dominance of tree cover and they contain a variety of other organisms (e.g., other plants, animals).Forests differ in composition (species within a forest) and structure (layers in a forest). These are both affected by biotic (e.g., animals, plants, humans) and abiotic (e.g., soil moisture, sunlight, climate) factors. 
OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain how living things in a forest depend on nonliving things.Recognize that all forests do not contain the same plants and animals.
SUBJECT AREAS: Arts, Language Arts, Science
LESSON/ACTIVITY TIME
Total Lesson Time: 190 minutes (including optional Field Enhancement)Time Breakdown: Field Enhancement (optional)--50 minutes; Introduction--15 minutes; Activity 1--35 minutes; Activity 2--45 minutes; Conclusion--45 minutes
TEACHING SITE Classroom; well-forested site for optional Field Enhancement

This video is slow-paced for all students to comprehend. The color is very vibrant and the content keeos students engaged.  It is narrated from the perspective of the animal and gives information describing the animal allowing students to use higher order level thinking skills.  Students will learn about a variety of animals and where they live.