Editorial Issue 122, Winter 2020


General Editor Ian Shanahan


Editorial Assistant Sofía Vargas Nessi


Editing this issue Ian Shanahan


Proofing this issue Ian Shanahan Sara Vargas Nessi


Publisher Tim Grant


Regional Editors


Canada Gareth Thomson Laurelei Primeau Bob Adamson Raissa Marks Craig White Janet Barlow Remy Rodden


United States Karen Schedler Helen de la Maza Mary Lou Smith Dean Goodwin Cathy Meyer


Shelene Codner


Laura Downey-Skochdopole Jeanine Huss Christine Voyer


Sandra Ryack-Bell John Guyton Bob Coulter


Lauren Madden Kary Schumpert Lois Nixon Sara Ivey


Anne DiMonti Tim Brown Jen Cirillo


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of our collective fascination with mini-buildings, mini-people, and the like. Hobbyists collect miniature train sets, perhaps expanding on them to create miniature likenesses of entire communities. The same can be done with Lego, one of countless manifestations of the mini in the world of children’s toys. Perhaps children, in particular, are so drawn to small- scale representations of real life because they bring large, complex peo- ple, places, and systems into the immediate realm where they can then be observed and even controlled in real time. Shift this idea into environ- mental education and — Eureka! — opportunity awaits. If one were to run a word-association exercise starting with ecology,


I


it wouldn’t take long for cycles, systems, and processes to come to mind. As we are so familiar, the cycles, systems, and processes that we teach are indeed complex. Enter, miniaturization. Jimmy Karlan has embraced the small-


scale approach with his middle school students in their investigation of Earth’s systems during the Biosphere Challenge. Across six weeks, students carefully monitor life, water, soil, and carbon within ten-gal- lon terrariums. Especially illuminating is observing the significant impacts of seem- ingly small changes in temperature, light, moisture level, and soil type, and assessing each biosphere’s degree of resilience in the


face of these disruptions. The key is that all changes in a given terrarium represent large-scale disturbances such as drought or deforestation. The team at Colorado State University’s Education and Outreach Cen-


ter has focused on how to make the “plastic cycle” relatable for youths in their inquiry-based kit, Plankton to Plastic Pollution. Each kit is comprised of what amounts to a mini-science lab fit with such items as 3D-printed models, a pocket microscope, a beaker, and a sieve, all stored in a durable container meant for long-term use. With their portable sci- ence lab in tow, students partake in a self-guided discovery of plastic pol- lution and how it impacts marine environments. In the 2D realm, students are introduced to invasive and native species


via baseball-card-style species profiles in Kelly Armentrout’s Native/Inva- sive Species Speed-Dating activity. While some of the cards feature larg- er-than-life-size images of invertebrates, the majority depict smaller-than- life-size representations, another instance of scaling-down to enhance relatability and understanding for students. For best results, the speed-dat- ing is followed by an outdoor species search in a local green space. As with each of our issues, you will also find numerous ingenious


approaches to shifting learning outside, whether it be through Tracy Wheatley-Romano’s collaboration with fellow educators, Ann Palmer’s new EcoSanta initiative, or Graham Ducker’s use of a special natural place to enhance language learning among his kindergarten students. If the magnitude of the cycles, systems, or processes is beyond your


students’ reach, keep miniaturization in your back pocket — maybe right beside that pocket microscope.


-Ian Shanahan Page 2 Green Teacher 122


F SOMETHING IS TOO BIG to take with you, get your own min- iature version of it. We do this all the time with memorable places by way of making photos or videos. The souvenir industry exists because


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