Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

LESSON 9: ACTION IN URBAN ECOLOGY

OVERVIEW
Students will be provided with a framework for thinking about and planning for directed action
based on the science of urban ecology. They will examine and discuss a case study that follows
this framework, and will also have the opportunity to apply the framework in an example project,
that of making the case for paper recycling in a fictional high school.

This framework is a consistent feature of the curriculum, and is a part of every module. Each
subsequent module will explore one aspect of the action planning framework in greater detail in
conjunction with the understanding goals of the modules. Throughout, students will be able to
gain a better understanding of the framework and directed action based on the science of urban
ecology, as well as build towards a final culminating project plan. The final module of the
curriculum, module 8, is centered on this framework.

SUB-QUESTION
How can we plan for action in urban ecosystems?

Students will…
Understand • Recognize the connections between urban ecology and environmental
action.
• Understand the importance of planning in environmental action.
Talk • Consider the intended audience when presenting a plan for
environmental action.
Do No specific goals connected with doing the science of urban ecology in
this lesson.
Act • Analyze a case study based on the Action Planning Framework.
• Construct a simple plan for environmental action based on the Action
Planning Framework.

SAFETY GUIDELINES
No specific safety issues are associated with this lesson.

PREPARATION
Time

2 class periods
• Day 1
o Activity 9.1
o Activity 9.2
• Day 2
o Activity 9.3

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Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Materials

Activity 9.1
• Student worksheets (one for each student)
• Computer and projector (optional)
• Action Plan PowerPoint (optional)

Activity 9.2
• Student worksheets (one for each student)
• Highlighters (preferred), pens, or pencils

Activity 9.3
• Student worksheets (one for each student)
• Butcher paper or poster board (optional)
• Markers (optional)

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
Activity 9.1: What’s an Action Plan?
1. Introduce the idea of an Action Plan
a. Ask them what they think it may mean to take environmental action. Why would
someone want to take action based on what they are learning about urban ecology?
b. Ask them what they see as the value of drawing up a plan based on science in
order to take environmental action.
2. Distribute the 9.1 student worksheet. Tell your students to refer to the Action Plan Process
graphic in the 9.1 worksheet for this lesson and/or project the image for the class. Give
them a few minutes to look it over.
a. Ask if they have any questions.
b. Go over each stage in the planning process utilizing the PowerPoint presentation if
you wish. Feel free to refer to the explanations below (which are also provided on
the student sheet).
i. Science Knowledge: What do we need to know in order to understand the
site? What science concepts and facts do we need to draw upon in order to
write up our action plan?
ii. Investigate Site: What’s the site like now? You may use several different
ways to describe the site, through the scientific data you will be collecting,
written descriptions, photographs, drawings, etc.
iii. Envision Possibilities: How could your site be? Can it be maintained so
that environmental and ecological health is sustained, or can the site be
improved to make the site even better for the ecological community, and
the neighborhood around the site?
iv. Identify Stakeholders: Who’s involved? Who is impacted by the action
plan, and who needs to approve it? Who owns the site?
v. Identify Resources: What do you need to make your plan happen? What
materials do you need? Are there any community or city-wide
organizations or agencies who might be able to help? Are there any

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Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

companies, stores, or agencies which might donate supplies, time, or

money?
vi. Construct Actionable Steps: How are you going to make it happen?
What can be done? When can you do it?
vii. Motivate and Implement: If you’re able, motivate everyone to get
involved, and make it happen!

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Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

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Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Activity 9.2: Action Plan Case Study: Making Some Noise

1. Let your students know that they will be looking at the action plan for a project that has
been completed successfully by a college-level urban ecology class.
2. Allow your students to read over the completed action plan individually, in groups, or as a
class. You may want to go over each section of the process individually rather than read
the plan in its entirety.
3. Prompt your students to highlight or underline key words or phrases in each section that
are important for providing information for that particular section of the Action Plan
Process. For example, in the Science Knowledge section, one group may highlight the
following phrases:
Science Knowledge:
What do I need to know?
We need to find out how chemicals in the environment can impact the health of
people, especially ones that can cause asthma and cancer. We also need to find
out how these chemicals are measured, and how counts of people with asthma
and cancer are conducted, and what the actual amounts of chemicals are and
what the actual rates of asthma and cancer are. Lastly, we need to find out
how the chemicals can be cleaned up safely and effectively, and if there are
other things that can be done in the community itself to help the process (like
planting plants or trees).

4. After each section, discuss the plan and what is represented in each section. Point out the
defining attributes of each section. Refer back to the diagram of the Action Plan Process
as well as the accompanying guiding questions.

Activity 9.3: Your Turn: Bringing Paper Recycling to Central High School
1. Tell your students that they will now be creating an Action Plan of their own. This is an
exercise to allow students to become familiar with the Action Plan Process, so the plans at
this point do not need to be very detailed. The Action Plan Process is a consistent feature
throughout the curriculum, so there will be opportunities in each module to revisit the
Action Plan Process and improve the level of detail and understanding.
2. Break the students into small groups of 2-3 students each. Read over the scenario with the
students, that they have been asked to help an urban ecology class at the fictional Central
High School to set up a paper recycling program.
3. Tell them that, if time allows, they will be “pitching their ideas” to the rest of the class.
While reminding them that there is no “right” answer for this process, they do need to
make a compelling case. Therefore, ask them to think about who their audience for this
plan may be, and how to present their plan in a way that might “work” for this audience.
4. Let the groups fill in the Action Plan Process sheet and provide guidance when needed.
Please remind your students that there is not a “right” answer for this process, and each
group may come up with a different plan. There is also some “guess work” involved, as
they do not know much about Central High School, but encourage your students at this
point to include some generic responses (e.g., the principal is a good stakeholder to

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involve to get permission to move forward on the project, even if they don’t think of
custodial staff or district-level administrators who are also stakeholders and may need to
be consulted and give permission).
5. If time allows, encourage the groups to present their plans to the rest of the class. They
may simply read from their sheets or create posters using butcher paper. Ask them who
they saw as their audience, as the idea is get them to start thinking about how to “pitch”
their plan in a way that is compelling to the intended audience (school officials, scientists,
other students, community members, etc.).

Concluding the Lesson

Discuss the student’s responses to the Action Plan components. Were there similar trends
throughout the groups? Key differences? Why do they think their Action Plan will work? Is
there anything they have learned from other groups that they liked or found interesting, and may
consider including in their own Action Plans?

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Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Name: ________________________________Date: _________Class/Period:________

Lesson 9: Action in Urban Ecology

Action requires some planning. One way to bring about change in urban ecology
is to create an action plan following a set of steps. Below is a figure of the components
that make up an action plan.

♦ Science Knowledge- the scientific information needed to make changes

♦ Investigate Site and Envision Possibilities- goals for the site changes
♦ Identify Stakeholders- the people involved in the changes
♦ Identify Resources- materials needed to make changes
♦ Construct Actionable Steps- the process to make your planned changes
♦ Motivate and Implement Plan- making the changes happen
Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9
Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Action Plan Case Study: Making Some Noise

A college-level urban ecology class in Holyoke, Massachusetts, has met with community
members in their city. They have learned that many of their neighbors live in buildings
among old shut down factories, and that the rate of asthma among children and cancer
among adults in the community is much higher than the average. The community thinks
that these rates may be due to chemicals that have been left behind when the factories
closed which are leaking into the ground, the drinking water, and the air.

So, the college class wants to “make some noise” and raise awareness about these
problems and how health of the community is linked to the health of the environment.
This was a problem that exists and this plan was put into action.

Science Knowledge:
What do I need to know?
We need to find out how chemicals in the environment can impact the health of
people, especially those that can cause asthma and cancer. We also need to
find out how these chemicals are measured, and how counts of people with
asthma and cancer are conducted, and what the actual amounts of chemicals
are and what the actual rates of asthma and cancer are. Furthermore, we need
to find out how the chemicals can be cleaned up safely and effectively, and if
there are other things that can be done in the community itself to help the
process (like planting plants or trees).

Investigate Site and Envision Possibilities:

What is the site like now? How can the site be in the future?
There is a high rate of asthma among children and cancer among adults in the
community. There are also a number of old closed-down factories in the
neighborhood that used to use many chemicals when they were open. Nobody
knows exactly where the chemicals have gone, and they may still be in the
factories, now leaking. There are few trees and plants in the neighborhood,
and hardly any big green areas. We need to make a map that looks at where
the chemicals are and what the rates of cancer and asthma are.

We would like to see clean air and water, as free of chemicals as possible, as
well as a number of green areas where there are now abandoned lots. These
green areas can be planted with plants that help filter the chemicals from the
ground, the water, and the air.

Identify Stakeholders:
Who is involved?
We need to work in close contact with the community members as well as the
major community organization in the neighborhood. We need to contact the
city government and present our case to them. We also need to present our
case to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the US
Environmental Protection Agency.
Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Identify Resources:
What do you need?
Because our goal is to “make some noise,” the biggest resource we need is help
from people. The community members and the community organization are our
biggest social resources. We also want to recruit volunteers from our college.
We will also need computers and software to make maps, as well as equipment
to take soil and water samples and analyze them for chemicals There may be
companies in the neighborhood who want to help out.

Construct Actionable Steps:

How are you going to do it?
1. Learn as much as we can about the problem and collect data.
2. Create maps of the neighborhood that show the presence of the
chemicals and the rates of asthma and cancer.
3. Share our findings with the community and the community organization.
4. Contact city government to share our findings.
5. Send out a press release to the local newspaper, radio station, and
television station.
6. Help community to start a letter-writing campaign to the city
government and the EPA about our findings.

We will succeed in our action plan when we collect, analyze, and map our data;
present our findings to the city; send out the press releases; and organize the
letter writing campaign.

Implement the Plan:

Do it.
We are in the process of collecting and analyzing our data. The community and
the community organization are in full support of our work, and we have been
working closely with them. The community has provided photographs of the old
factories to help us make the case. We will be hosting an awareness-raising
rally at our college campus to bring in the support of students once the maps
have been made.

We look forward to seeing what the data tells us!

Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Your Turn: Bringing Paper Recycling to Central High School

Central High School throws away all of their paper: all of their copy paper, construction
paper, test papers, all of it, goes in the garbage. You have been asked to help Central
High School’s urban ecology class to start a paper recycling program at the school.

Construct an Action Plan using the framework provided. Remember that each group may
have a different Action Plan.

Science Knowledge:
What do I need to know?

Investigate Site and Envision Possibilities:

What is the site like now? How can the site be in the future?

Identify Stakeholders:
Who is involved?
Action in Urban Ecology Module 1 Lesson 9

Identify Resources:
What do you need?

Construct Actionable Steps:

How are you going to do it?

Implement the Plan:

Do it.