Habitat

We all need a place to live. Preserving habitat for plants and animals is one of the single most important things you can do to help save the earth. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Find out how far the fruits/vegetables consumed by a school have to be flown to market.
• Start a campaign to buy local produce.
• Work with local farmers to get locally produced milk and milk products in vending machines in schools in exchange for farmers doing more conservation-friendly agriculture.

• Research your local parks, forests, camping spots, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, trails, and other natural or educational areas.
• Create a “Green Map” (either by hand or using a software program) describing each one and showing their locations.
• Distribute the map in your community.

If your yard is your rooftop

• Research the benefits of rooftop gardens.
• Establish one or more gardens.
• Measure and collect data (ex. temperature readings on rooftops and within buildings, air conditioning or heating bills, etc.) and compare to buildings without gardens.
• Educate apartment tenants and businesses about the benefits of rooftop gardens and volunteer to set up a garden for these buildings.

• Compare old and new aerial photographs of your community.
• Estimate the rate at which development and habitat loss is occurring.
• Present your findings to the department in charge of development planning in your town.

If you hate uninvited guests

• Identify non-native or invasive species in your local environment (some alien species such as English ivy can cause great damage in their non-native areas).
• Research and/or observe the effects of non-native species on native species.
• Monitor the decline of the non-native animal species or organize a plant cleanup where destructive, non-native plants are removed and native ones are planted.

If you've always dreamed of being a tour guide

• Identify and research species and the natural history of a local hiking trail, schoolyard habitat, park, or natural area.
• Create interpretive signs, field guides, or audiotapes for visitors.
• Develop activities for the trail or conduct guided tours.

If you like to stake a claim to an area

• Learn how to conduct a transect study (a transect is a straight-line profile that creates a cross-section of an area to study living and nonliving things).
• Conduct the transect study in a forest, a beach, a water source, etc. and compare various areas or the same area over time.
• Take photographs, create graphs, and evaluate the data to produce a PowerPoint presentation to show others what you’ve learned.

If you like getting your hands dirty

• Research composting and its many benefits.
• Compost different materials using different methods.
• Monitor compost and compare end products.
• Donate compost to community gardens, school grounds, etc.

Want some more ideas?

Check out our Animal Project Ideas, Water Project Ideas and Projects in Community Education.