Name _____________________________________                                   ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

SEMESTER PROJECT OVERVIEW                                                                                          GAGNE                                                                     FALL 2010

MY OWN PRIVATE ISLAND!

PROJECT DUE:  NOVEMBER 28, 2011

This project is the major independent work of the course.  Its purpose requires ongoing regular attention, and probably CANNOT be accomplished at the last minute.

You have to observe the ecology of a piece of land of your choosing and keep a nature diary of its condition and evolution over the course of the semester.  The "island" you choose can be a corner of a public park, your back yard (if it isn't too "manicured"), a neighborhood green space, or some piece of undeveloped land that  you have permission to observe benignly.  Since this is autumn, there should be something to observe, but the changes will not be as dramatic as they would be in the spring.

Step 1 will be to make a preliminary report on your "patch of ground," its location and its condition.  A good way to help document what you observe is to take pictures.  This preliminary report will be expected to the teacher in two weeks.  Among the items you should document would be the kind, amount and condition of the plant life, and the kind and amount of the animal life, including insects.  You should observe what human activity impinges on your ecosystem, and its effects.

PRELIMINARY REPORT DATE: SEPTEMBER 26, 2011.

Step 2 will be to devote at least an hour a week to studying the changes as closely as you can see them as time passes.  It is expected that this diary/journal will have at least one substantial weekly entry.  Again, feel free to take pictures.  Note changes in both flora and fauna, and any changes brought about as a result of human activity.

Step 3 will be to finally collect all your evidence and package your report in as simple a folder as is practicable.  You will add a final reflection about any sort of learning you have gained as a result of this effort, and in what way your project has caused you to understand better the concepts and theory we have studied together during the semester.