Analysis Of Bacteria In Aquatic And Terrestrial Ecosystems
My students need materials for sampling the presence and identification of bacteria in soil and water.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. HEWITT's classroom raised $320
This project is fully funded
Germs! Germs! Germs! Are they (bacteria) really useful/necessary?
I teach 11th/12th grade Environmental Science and Anatomy/Physiology in a rural farming county in eastern Virginia. We are a diversified school with about 40% Caucasian and 65% African-American students. Most of our students receive free or assisted-payment lunches.
In recent years the state of Virginia has required students to take three Science courses in high school in order to graduate instead of two. One of the new Sciences that we added is Environmental Science. The new state course requirements have meant that we have to spread our already short funds around even more.
Three years ago I was given Environmental Science as a priority course to teach. Basically all I have had to work with is a textbook. I have not managed to have more than three relevant labs per year due to the shortage of supplies for our other Sciences, and funds were diluted per course offering in order to cover all of our Sciences with the addition of the new courses.
I am trying to introduce my students to the various biota that make Earth's ecosystems work. An upcoming topic is microbial ecology. Students commonly think that bacteria (germs) are a bad thing. I want students to discover how really important 'germs' are to having a healthy Earth.
I will need various growth media for growing bacteria from different aquatic and terrestrial environments. In addition, I will need culture (Petri) dishes to grow the bacteria in. The kits I am requesting will supply these materials.
We are going to sample water from various sources such as well water and 'puddle' water, to count and identify the bacteria present. We will also sample soil samples from lawns, wooded areas, fallow fields, and pastures for that purpose.
I want the students to see how numerous the bacterial populations are, and, after identification, discover the species that are of the most important to our rural, country ecosystems.
Our county has just announced that all funds for Science supplies have been cut off for the year. Without funding from donors it will be impossible to have more challenging, relevant labs this year.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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