AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2016
Somers High School Mrs. Palacio Part I: Summer Scavenger Hunt You must earn 100 points by completing tasks from the list below. Be sure to record the required evidence of each task by taking pictures, saving souvenirs, etc. You may choose any of the tasks to complete the required points.
Please compile your photographs (as evidence) into a single organized digital file. All pictures must be labeled! You may use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or an Excel spreadsheet.
You do not need to print the assignment, but you must bring a digital copy of the completed assignment to class on the first day of school. You will upload the completed assignment to your shared class folder (online) at that time.
Explore Your Environment (All of the following are 5-point options. You will earn 5 points for any one of the following tasks that you complete.) 1. Go to the beach. Take a picture. 2. Go fishing. Take a picture of you with a fish that you caught. 3. Go canoeing, kayaking, or paddle-boarding. Take a picture of yourself on/in your chosen method of water-transport. 4. Visit a local farm. Take a picture of yourself next to your favorite farm animal. 5. Visit Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and take a farm tour. Take a picture of yourself next to the egg-mobiles. 6. Plant a vegetable garden. Take a picture of you harvesting your vegetables. 7. Go for a hike in another state or country. Take a picture of yourself at the trail head, and then take a picture of yourself at the summit (if applicable). Be sure to include the view from the trail. 8. Go hiking or mountain biking at Minnewaska State Park and jump in Lake Awosting to cool off. Take a picture of you and the gorgeous views. 9. Climb Breakneck Ridge in Cold Spring. Take a picture by the flag pole. 10. Go hiking at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation and find Leatherman’s Cave. Take a picture in the cave entrance. 11. Visit Teatown Lake Reservation and see the birds of prey. Take a picture with the bald eagle. 12. Visit a national park. Take a picture of yourself next to the entrance sign for the park; or by the visitor’s center. 13. Walk over the Hudson River on the Walkway Over The Hudson. Take a picture of you and the river. 14. Visit Croton Gorge Park. Take a picture of the dam from both the bottom and the top. 15. Go camping (NOT in your backyard, or summer-home). Take a picture of you at your campsite; include the tent. 16. Visit a zoo. Take a picture of your favorite animal. 17. Visit the American Museum of Natural History. Take a picture of yourself in the Hall of Biodiversity. 18. Visit the New York Botanical Garden. Take a picture of your favorite plant, labeled with its Latin and common names. 19. Visit Lasdon Park and Arboretum. Take a picture of your favorite plant, labeled with its Latin and common names. 20. Visit Innisfree Garden in Millbrook. Take a picture of your favorite plant, labeled with its Latin and common names. Learn About Your Environment (All of the following are 10-point options. You will earn 10 points for any one of the following tasks that you complete.) 21. Find a plant that is an invasive species. Take two pictures: one of the plant; and a second picture after you have pulled it out. Be sure to identify it! 22. Find, and take a picture of, a (non-poisonous) reptile or amphibian. Look up the species you have found and define it as invasive or native. 23. Find a eutrophic body of water: take a picture. Find an oligotrophic lake: take a picture. 24. Find 5 species of insects. Take a picture of each one and identify the species. 25. Find 5 species of mammals. Take a picture of each one and identify the species. 26. Find 5 species of birds. Take a picture of each one and identify the species. 27. Find and take a picture of a carnivore consuming an herbivore and an herbivore consuming a producer. 28. Take a picture of yourself standing next to a glacial erratic in the local environment. 29. Take a picture of 2 motor vehicles that differ by more than 15MPG in their fuel efficiency. The two vehicles must be parked next to one another and you must also list the make, model, and MPG of each vehicle. 30. Find a news article detailing an environmental issue. Attach a brief synopsis of the article in your own words.
Help Your Environment (All of the following are 5-point options. You will earn 5 points for any one of the following tasks that you complete.) 31. Recycle. Take a picture of yourself putting the item that you are recycling into the appropriate place. 32. Ride public mass transit. Take a picture of yourself on the train/bus/subway. 33. Go grocery shopping with your family and use re-usable shopping bags. Take a picture of your groceries and bags at the checkout line. 34. Line-dry a load of laundry. Take a picture of your clothesline full of laundry. 35. Do part of your weekly food-shopping with your family at a farmers market. Take a picture of the items purchased there. 36. Use a re-usable water bottle and fill it with tap water. Take a picture of you and your water bottle in at least 5 different locations where you used it (instead of disposable bottled water).
(All of the following are 10-point options. You will earn 10 points for any one of the following tasks that you complete.) 37. Organize and/or attend a litter-cleanup. Take a picture of the group with your pile of litter once you are done.
38. Volunteer with a local organization that is doing something to help the environment (Minimum: 1 day, or 3 hours.). The following groups often have volunteer opportunities posted on their websites. Other organization are okay, too. Be sure to record evidence of your volunteer hours. a. Somers Land Trust b. Westchester Land Trust c. Somers Litter Task Force d. Hilltop Hanover Farm e. Muscoot Farm f. Teatown Lake Reservation g. CELF (student ambassador program) Part II: Summer Reading
Read the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Complete the following task list based on the book. Save your work for parts A, B, and C as a single Microsoft Word Document. You do not need to print the assignment, but you must bring a digital copy of the completed assignment to class on the first day of school. You will upload the completed assignment to your shared class folder (online) at that time.
A. Before you start reading, write a brief definition for ALL of the following terms. Type your list of definitions on a separate word document as a bulleted list.
Group 1 Integrated Pest Bioaccumulation Management Biomagnification Group 4 Runoff Persistent Organic Pollutant Watershed
Group 2 River System Toxicity Group 5 Synergism Ecosystem services
Chlorinated Keystone species hydrocarbons & Organic phosphates Invasive species Group 3 Group 6 Monoculture Pesticide treadmill
Nitrogen Cycle Natural selection Co-evolution
B. Choose 3 groups of terms from the list(s) above. For each group of terms, identify and summarize a portion of the book that applies those concepts to the environmental impacts of pesticides. Include at least one case study provided by the book as part of your explanation. The case study must incorporate and explain all of the terms within that group.
For each group of terms that you choose, the written explanation connecting the group of terms to the book must be no more than 1 double-spaced page. C. Rachel Carson has often been credited with starting the environmental movement, specifically because of the publication of Silent Spring. Write a brief synopsis of the events that unfolded following the publication of the book that led to a growing environmental movement in the United States. Your summary should be no more than 1 double-spaced page and must include a reference list (APA Format) for at least 2 sources of information.