(Have parents spread poker chips prior to start.)

Transcription

1 (Have parents spread poker chips prior to start.) I. WHAT IS A PEST? A. What harm can pests do? Lead discussion with kids/parents, generating a list of things experienced. Write volunteered answers down for all to see. Be sure to include... spread of diseases destruction of property competition with people for resources any type of nuisance anything doing something unwanted or in an unwanted place B. Who are the pests in our world? Again lead discussion with kids/parents, generating a list of examples (this list could possibly also be added to during above discussion/examples given). Write volunteered answers down for all to see. Be sure to include... insects (mosquitoes, ants, roaches, flies, wasps, grubs, bees, grasshoppers) small animals/rodents (rats, mice, bats, shrews, etc.) weeds fungi (mushrooms) microorganisms (cause and spread disease) larger animals (Deer in USC, raccoons, ground hogs, squirrels, gophers, baboons in South Africa roam about the community C. Why are there so many pests today? DIVERSE HABITATS SIMPLE HABITATS (WHERE MOST HAVE NATURAL ENEMIES ELIMINATED TO CONTROL POPULATIONS) (WHERE NATURAL ENEMIES ARE ELIMINATED AND SINGLE POPULATIONS FLOURISH) (Refer to graphics on poster for examples.) *FORESTS *MEADOWS *WETLANDS *WOODS *TREE FARMS *LAWNS *FARM FIELDS *ORCHARDS *PARKING LOTS *ROADS/MALLS/ETC.

2 II. WHAT IS A PESTICIDE? A. What are the cides? CIDE by definition = KILLER so PESTICIDE = PEST KILLER Lead discussion with kids/parents, generating a list of known pesticides. Try to get kids to state the purpose of each pesticide if possible. Be sure to include... Insecticides (insects) Herbicides (weeds) Nematicides (worms) Fungicides (fungus) Rodenticides (rodents) B. What are the positives of using pesticides? Lead discussion with kids/parents, regarding why use of pesticides is necessary and can have positive effects. Write discussed answers down for all to see. Be sure to include... saves lives (preventing disease-spread) providing more food for the world make money/enhanced economy C. What are the negatives of using pesticides? Lead discussion with kids/parents, regarding why use of pesticides is potentially damaging and irreversible. Write discussed answers down for all to see. Be sure to include... can affect the health of other organisms persist/remain in the environment and within environmental cycles (don t break down) move up through the food chain and become concentrated/piled up, harming all in the chain or web (REFER TO HUMAN FOOD CHAIN CONSTRUCTED BY MR. CLARK PRIOR TO LESSON AS A MEANS TO SET UP FOOD CHAIN GAME)

3 FOOD CHAIN GAME... OUTSIDE: * Split up by homerooms to given areas. * Have all sit as you explain rules. * Establish boundaries, behavioral expectations and object of food chain game (to eat!). * Assign roles of hawks, then shrews, then grasshoppers. Remind all they must give up food if tagged and then sit outside boundaries established. * Call out GO GRASSHOPPERS / GO SHREWS / GO HAWKS in roughly 2-minute intervals. * Ask group to meet in front of you. Explain that all survivors will go in and count chips (colors separated). Nonsurvivors can help those with a lot to count. INSIDE: * Be sure all surviving organisms have finished counting and begin discussion. * Inform students you forgot to tell them that the colored poker chips were pesticides spread over a farm fields to ensure the growth of valuable crops. 1) Ask surviving grasshoppers to stand and share totals. Any grasshoppers with pesticide chips is killed and should sit. Have one of those students come to the front to reenact the death or play dead. 2) Ask surviving shrews to stand and share totals. Judge chip totals accordingly. A few pesticides may simply make the shrew sick. Many may kill the shrew. Shrews with a lot of pesticide chips should sit (dead). Others with little or no pesticides should stay standing. Have 1 or 2 of those survivors come up and reenact their illness/healthiness. Point out that while surviving shrews may be happy, check out your food supply (no grasshoppers to eat!). 3) Ask Hawks to stand and share totals. Judge chip totals accordingly. While being a stronger organism, the pesticides built up in the grasshoppers into the shrews and pile up in the hawk. This could lead to illness, eventual death or cause harm to the young. Have a survivor or 2 come up and reenact the illness or tragic harm of the young. 4) Ask all in front to reenact the chain simultaneously. Point out how the food chain has changed dramatically from Mr. Clark s food chain before the lesson due to the pesticides.

4 III. OUR MESSAGE: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) (Point out that our food chain game was a dramatic reenactment warning against the misuse of pesticides. We recognize the necessity and sometimes positive outcomes from use of pesticides in certain situations. However, to ensure such proper use and to avoid such results as we had with our food chain game, our message is to promote something called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM.) A. Know Your Enemy! Lead discussion with kids/parents, regarding researching the unwanted pest. Be sure to point out the questions you must be able to answer to implement IPM (on the poster)... How does it live? What does it eat? What is its life cycle? Where is its habitat? Who are its natural enemies? What doesn t it like? Knowing these answers will help us remove its life support systems. Which means? B. The IPM Pyramid Lead discussion with kids/parents, regarding use of the IPM Pyramid. Be sure to point out the following controls and the order they should be implemented. Allow kids/parents to generate various examples of each. If struggling, examples are listed below. 4 Last Resort; Least Toxic Chemical Controls 3 Biological Controls 2 Cultural Controls 1 Physical Controls Example Notes: 1) Physical: * barriers * traps *vacuums *our hands (pick off pests) 2) Cultural: * design of garden or field * plant selection * proper care (healthy lawn) * remove goods (pet food, bird seed) * remove garbage/debris (habitats for rodents, etc.) 3) Biological: * natural predators (even if fake) * removal of life supports * cayenne pepper (deer) * marigolds (can kill unwanted insects/attract natural predators) *nematodes (parasitic) 4) Least Toxic Chemicals: * LAST RESORT! * Read EPA labels/directions * Consider potential harms

5 BASIL: Flies CATNIP: Ants CHIVES: Aphids LAVENDER: Moths LEMON BALM: Aphids MINTS: Snakes/Ants ROSEMARY: Many Pests RUE: Flies TANSY: Ants/Mosquitos WORMWOOD: Many Pests CAYENNE/PEPPERS: Deer/Bunnies Do you know any? Write it down for us!

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