Welcome!



Please put your sticky
note at the front of
your desk so I can
see it.
Please pass forward
your signed safety
contract.
Please get out map
of Houston
ecoregions and your
ecoregion
description
Class Procedures
 If



you miss class:
Check the binder for details and handouts
Double check with your neighbor
Power point notes available on class website
Objective


Sheets:
Calendar
A study guide for the unit
Houston
 Intersection





of four ecological zones:
Prairies
Bayous
Forests
Galveston Bay
How did these areas shape the growth of
Houston? Do they still matter today? Could
they have brought your family to the area?
Were any of the reasons to
move here related to our
natural resources?
Houston 10,000 years ago
 Akoskia



nation
Spring/summer – oysters, clams and fish
from the Bay
Fall/Winter – small animals and plants from
the prairie
Why did they move with the seasons?
Battle! Texas becomes a nation.

Santa Anna retreated
from San Antonio to
San Jacinto
Tall grass prairie – 6 to 9 feet tall!
Did it play a role in the victory?
Waterways were used for
transportation
Official founding of Houston
 Allen
Brothers – confluence (meeting point)
of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak bayou –
farthest point upstream where a barge
could turn around.
What resources are
emphasized in this painting?
Early economies
 Cattle
 Cotton
 Sugar
 Timber
 PLUS
waterways to
move them!
1870’s: Railroads carried goods to
ships and to markets east.
 “Houston
– where
17 railroads meet
the sea.” (late
1800’s marketing
moto)
Rice fields were established
after barbed wire was
invented.
 Rice
fields must be
flooded, so rainfall
is important.
How were the early
Houstonians reliant on the four
ecosystems?
 Prairie
 Forest
 Bayou
 Bay
How about these?
shop keepers
home builders
doctors
teachers
Oil! Spindletop well in
Beaumont starts Texas oil
boom 1901
Port of Houston built 1914 –
today it moves the most foreign tonnage in
the US
1945 – Texas Medical Center
Houston, we have a space
program. (1961)
Soooo . . . .that sticky note
 Color
your sticky and put it back on the
timeline:






Brown: agriculture, ranching
Green: timber
Red: oil/energy
Blue: medical
Leave uncolored: supporting industries
Others?
Graph – Houston’s population
growth





What units are on the X axis?
How many people were in Houston at the last
census?
How long ago was the population half what it
is today?
How many people might there be by 2070?
Mark the following on the graph:




Building the railroads
Spindletop
Medical Center established
NASA established
Houston’s natural resources
have contributed to the
area’s growth.
 Evidence
for:
 Evidence
against:
Expected Houston
demographic trends for the
next 50 years:
 City
will grow
 City will continue to diversify jobs, ethnicity
 City is getting younger on average
Houston is an
amazing place
to live!
Our Big Questions:
 What
environmental issues will we face as
our city continues to grow?
 What is your role in our city and our
ecosystems?
We each depend on natural
resources
 Food
 Air
 Water
 Energy
 How
does
increased
population affect
our resources?
 Which resources
do you think
Houstonians should
be most
concerned about?
Sustainability
Keeping an ecological
balance by conserving our
natural resources
We each depend on natural
resources
 Food
 Air
 Water
 Energy
 How
does
increased
population affect
our resources?
 Which resources
do you think
Houstonians should
be most
concerned about?
Objective Sheet time – wrap
up