Exemplar Type: MODULE
Title: An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
Grades: Undergraduate
Discipline: Interdisciplinary
Submitted By: David Gosselin
Courtesy Of: InTeGrate at Carleton College
Summary In this three-week module, students will investigate the ecosystem services associated with local land use and its relation to water. Students will be introduced to ecosystem services as a way of integrating the components of the hydrologic cycle as a system, synthesizing the interaction between the hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, and linking those processes to the needs and aspirations of particular communities in particular places. Rezoning, annexation, and land-use changes are some of the most common issues that come before local governing bodies; many of these changes involve natural areas and green spaces becoming industrial, commercial, or residential developments. By the end of the module, students will be equipped to actively engage in the public dialogues that are typically part of the process, from understanding and analyzing a problem to presenting reasonable solutions from particular stakeholders' perspectives.
BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR
Big Ideas
Humans are dependent on Earth’s life-support systems
The changes to the Earth’s surface environments made by human activity are causing unintended consequences on the health and well-being of human and other life on Earth (proposed Anthropocene Epoch)
A healthy and sustainable future for human and other life is possible
Applied Knowledge and Actions
Laws and Principles that govern the physical and biological world
System Dynamics and Change
Responsible Local and Global Citizenship
Higher Order Thinking Skills
Complex: [Living] Systems Thinking
Mindful: Metacognition
Emergent: Ecologically Design
Dispositions
Open Minded
Place/Community Conscious
Applications and Actions
Adapt to change and elude coping with decline
Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations
Serve your community
Community Connections
Develop sustainable community visions and revisions over time
Provide Independent and Curriculum Based Learning Sites (case studies, learning journeys, research sites)