By Palau Conservation Society Teachers Edition
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Teachers Edition: A 5th Grade Conservation Education Resource Book for Palau TeachersTeachers Edition: Edition: A A 5th5th GradeGrade ConservationConservation Education ResourceResource Book Book for for Palau Palau ByBy PalauPalau ConservationConservation SocietySociety By Palau Conservation Society This project was made possible by funding from Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund and Produced in collaboration by Palau Conservation Society and the Ministry of Education OF EDU RY C T A S T I I N O I N M Palau Conservation R Society E U PU 1981 A B AL LIC OF P © Palau Conservation Society Teachers Edition: A 5th Grade Conservation Education Resource Book for Palau Revised by Joyce K. Beouch and Juliet Ngotel Illustrations by Heather Ketebengang and Shonda Kloulechad Edited by Ann Hillmann Kitalong, Ph.D. Inspired by the Ridge To Reef Road Show and The Biib’s Kids Program By Palau Conservation Society A Palau Conservation Society a mo oureor el obengkel a beluu el mengeluolu e mesebechakl a lukel a klengar me ng tkel a keruul me a klengar er a rechad er Belau er chelechang me a telcheroll el merael mei, e dirrek el koreomel el kirel a omesuub me a deuil a reng er a rebek el chad. -Mission Statement, Palau Conservation Society A Message from the Minister and PCS Dear 5th Grade Teacher: This is your Teacher’s Edition to the Ridge to Reef Education by Palau Conservation Society. It contains answers to the Review Questions and Classroom Activities at the end of each Chapter. Its purpose is to provide local information and facts about conservation to enhance your science and social studies curriculum. The next steps will be to develop other conservation education materials to supplement Palauan Studies which has very limited classroom resources. It is important for our community to understand both traditional and science based management approaches to be more effective. Today, we face a lot of challenges because we have limited resources, both human and funding, to be able to reach all community members with conservation facts and messages. By educating our young, we aim to build stewards of conservation who understand both traditional and science based conservation and resource management. The goal of Palau Conservation Society is to make its conservation education accessible to all students and will share information to all grade levels. Although this book was developed for 5th Grade, it will sow seeds, which will be nurtured in the grades thereafter. This will enhance knowledge about our unique island ecosystems and our interaction with our island environment as mentioned in the science curriculum framework. If the information is useful in Social Studies and Palauan Studies curriculum, that is even better. Together with this classroom resource are pre- and post assessment surveys, which Palau Conservation Society will deliver for you to administer in the beginning and end of the school year. These are not tests but necessary for Palau Conservation Society to assess conservation knowledge of students. There is also an evaluation form for you to complete at the end of the year. The results of this survey will help Palau Conservation Society improve conservation education materials to fit your curricular needs. They will be collected at the beginning and at the end of the school year for Palau Conservation Society to analyze and share results with you. This edition of the Ridge to Reef Education was developed with assistance from 5th Grade teachers like you. The teachers were selected by the Ministry and their principals and represent highly committed and innovative teachers who have used the previous Ridge to Reef Road Show materials in the 5th Grade and even other grade levels. They have also used it as supplement to their science, social studies and Palauan studies curriculum. Best Regards, OF EDU RY C T A S T I I N O I N M R Palau Conservation E U Society PU 1981 A B AL LIC OF P Table of Contents Acknowledgement.…………………………………………….................................. 1 Introduction..……………………………………………........................................… 2 Chapter 1: Watersheds and Freshwater............................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Forests............……………………………………………….................... 11 Chapter 3: Mangroves.......................................................................................... 24 Chapter 4: Sea Grass Beds.................................................................................. 32 Chapter 5: Coral Reefs......................................................................................... 40 Chapter 6: Climate Change.................................................................................. 52 Chapter 7: Conservation and Resource Management......................................... 58 Chapter 8: Waste Management........................................................................... 70 Glossary................................................................................................................ 76 References........................................................................................................... 85 1 Acknowledgement This conservation education resource was made possible by funding from Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund of Japan, and our partners from University of Guam—Sea Grant Program, especially Laura F. Biggs, Ph.D. We appreciate their donations which will help build conservation stewardship in Palau. We acknowledge our partners from Belau National Museum, especially Alan Olsen for contributing most of the bird photographs; Palau International Coral Reef Center and Coral Reef Research Foundation for photos from the previous editions of the Ridge to Reef Road Show; The Nature Conservancy—Palau Field Office, particularly Mike Aulerio for the protected areas maps; and Kabidor Taima, a Palauan Studies and a Biib’s Kids teacher who provided the cultural information. We acknowledge the teachers who spent evening hours after having taught all day to review the previous Ridge to Reef Road Show activity book and develop learning objectives for this edition. We were fortunate to have the Minister of Education, Mr. Sinton Soalablai, appointed just in time for this project to be launched. We recognize the support of Debbie Tkel-Sbal and Faith Swords from the Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction who made all possible by providing professional guidance and selecting a winning team of teachers who provided the needed input to develop this edition to fit the 5th Grade classroom better. These model teachers are Tiupida Tom and Jeanmarie Arurang from Koror Elementary School, Annabelle Madris and Clarinda Worswick from George B. Harris Elementary School, and Cheryl Adachi and Lily Marino from Meyuns Elementary School. Special acknowledgement goes to Deborah Nagata, MOE’s Science and Health Specialist who guided the development team and provided extra working space. The original Ridge to Reef Road Show book was authored by Yalap Yalap of PCS as a fun activity book for 5th grade students. Although it was a fun activity book, the teachers found it to be a useful resource because it provided a lot of local environment information that their classroom did not have. Environmental study is required by the 5th grade science curriculum but the science textbook is a U.S. textbook and no other classroom resource was available on local environment. Teachers from different grade levels and subject areas like Palauan and Social Studies were also using the book in their classrooms. By teachers’ request, PCS revised the Ridge to Reef Road Show materials to become more of classroom supplement. This revision of the Ridge to Reef Road Show education materials was inspired by the Biib’s Kids Program of Palau Conservation Society, an educational program that supports conservation education for grades 5-8. The Biib’s Kids program aims to build Conservation Stewards through conservation education in Palau. The program was initiated by Palau Conservation Society with support from University of Guam—Sea Grant Program. 2 Introduction The Palau Conservation Society (PCS) is an NGO that was founded in 1994 by Palauans who cared about our environment and concerned about development impact. As a community based organization, PCS worked with communities to identify and protect important marine areas such as spawning aggregation sites for important fish species like groupers. Later PCS began work on land by targeting birds. Soon after, PCS shifted its focus to Babeldaob and ecosystem based management. A study that was conducted by Palau International Coral Reef Center also concluded sediment as a major threat to our coral reefs in Babeldaob, and PCS developed its Ridge-to-Reef campaign to include community leaders, policy and decision makers, and the general public. Through this endeavor, PCS learned that it takes many consorted efforts and resources to educate the public about science and conservation issues. This is because not many Palauans are knowledgeable about biodiversity and ecosystems. It is why PCS decided to include students so that in the future it would be easier to focus on issues with our local audience already familiar with biodiversity, ecosystems and how they relate to us as humans and as a culture. In 2006, PCS began its Ridge To Reef education outreach to all elementary and high schools. At the same time, developed its Ridge To Reef Road Show program for 5th Grade students that fostered local conservation and environmental studies in our local elementary schools.