Size of available area determines number of students. The Program Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between living things. This lab focuses on the interrelationships between pollinators and flowers as one aspect of ecology. An understanding and appreciation for how the natural world operates leads to better environmental decision-making. This activity can be done in a meadow, prairie, or any field where there are a variety of pollinators and flowers.
Students spend approximately ten minutes on each lab seeking observations for each question.
Their observations are recorded on student data sheets. If they don't know the proper names of organisms they see, they can give descriptive names to each organism. Overall Value Used as an introduction to an ecology unit, this activity allows students to discover living interrelationships. The experience is valuable to the students because they observe nature in a new, scientific way, rather than simply reading information from a textbook or hearing a lecture. This lab was developed based on an activity from Dr. Craig Nelson from the Biology Department at Indiana University.