WJEC LEVEL 1/2 AWARD IN APPLIED SCIENCE
Unit Specific Teacher Guidance
Unit 4 - Science of Human Activity on the Environment
The examples below are formative activities which can be incorporated
into the delivery of this unit. The activities promote a holistic approach to
unit delivery rather than addressing individual Learning Outcomes or
Assessment Criteria. You can use these activities to create a scheme of
work to suit your centre, your learners and the local context
The activities below do not attempt to cover all the learning required for
this unit and teachers must refer to the unit to ensure all learning
outcomes and assessment criteria have been covered before learners
undertake the controlled assessment for this unit. A time frame is
estimated for each set of activities but centres should always check that
the time suggested for learners to complete activities is appropriate for
the learners in their group.
Version: Nov 2011
A1. Introduction to the unit
Overall aim
To ensure that learners develop a sound awareness and understanding of
all the learning outcomes for this unit.
To introduce some of the initial concepts related to the interactions of
organisms and their environment
Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) to complete these activities
For both activity 1 and 2, maximum of 2 hours
Suggested activities
1. Pollution from transport: first ask learners to think about how they
got to school today-cars, buses, trains and the pollution that may
have been caused. Then ask learners to think car pollution
specifically, ask them to think about car production, car use and the
disposal of cars (and car parts). Assign learners into groups (of
three or four) to research the types of pollution produced by cars
(each group could focus on a specific area such as production or
use or disposal).
Ask learners to draw a flip chart poster to display the findings of
their research. Ask learners to include as many suggestions as they
can think of reducing the pollution caused by cars.
The flip charts can then be displayed, shared and photographed for
learner’s files. Answers could be reinforced through the use of a
PowerPoint presentation listing the pollution caused by cars. Further
discussion could focus on a specific area known to learners, i.e. a
local park. As an additional task learners could be asked to consider
how car pollution and the effect of human activity in general affects
the wildlife in the park—learners could undertake this as an
extension or homework activity
2. Provide learners with newspaper articles associated with habitat
destruction (such as the articles are given in appendix 1). Ask
learners to highlight the causes of environmental damage and
biodiversity reduction. Learners can then go on to consider how we
can balance human need for resources with conservation. They
could then suggest ways that reduction of biodiversity can be
reduced.
For homework, learners could be asked to look at endangered
species (either plants or animals) and find out why they are
endangered. Their research could be communicated as a
PowerPoint presentation, news article etc…
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A2. New learning to develop knowledge and understanding
Overall aim
To develop the learners knowledge and understanding of the causes of
Biodiversity
Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) to complete these activities:
Activity 1, 2 and 5 up to 2 hours maximum
Activity 3 and 4 should take approximately 2 hours each
Suggested activities
1. Learners should be aware that the human population is increasing and
this increased population uses up more land for building, farming and
quarrying. They should recognise that this increase also results in more
dumping of waste and that all of these contribute to the loss of natural
habitats. (a quick recap on this, use of a suitable video, could be used to
introduce this idea)
Working in pairs or small groups ask learners to list as many different
uses for land in urban areas and in rural areas as they can think of, they
could write these on two separate pieces of flip chart paper. Once learners
have a list for each area ask them to compare the difference between the
two. Ask learners to consider what the consequences would be if the land
were not used for the reasons suggested.
2. Provide learners with pictures of a fish (e.g. trout), a legged amphibian
(e.g. newt), a legged reptile (e.g. lizard), a bird (e.g. pigeon) and a
mammal (e.g. dog). Ask learners to work in pairs and to arrange the
animals into a logical sequence. Ask them to explain their logic. Bring in
ideas about evolution and organisms having a common ancestor.
3. Discuss what organisms need to be in order to survive – i.e. adapt. If
the adaptation is to be inherited by future generations explain how it has
to be encoded for in the genes. Also explain how genes can be changed by
mutations.
Most wildlife parks have websites describing their animals. These two
websites provide useful information about how organisms are adapted to
let them survive. Learners could make use of these to find out how
organisms are adapted.
http://www.chesterzoo.org/animals/reptiles/turtles-and-tortoises
http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/cassowaries
Ask each learner in the class to choose an animal and then describe how it
is adapted for the following:
• to get its food
• to find a mate
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• to defend its territory or build its nest, shelter or burrow.
Learners can present their findings to the rest of the class
4. Show learners some images of a polluted river and an unpolluted one.
Ask them how they can tell which is which. Introduce the idea of pollution
indicators. Show students samples / pictures of lichens and invertebrates.
Ask students to classify the pollution indicators. To extend the activity
learners could be provided with additional data associated with distance to
the town centre and levels of air pollution, and asked to display this
graphically. To promote the vocational relevance of this activity a
representative from the local water authority could be invited to talk to
the class about ways that they test for water pollution. n
A3. Consolidation of knowledge and understanding
Overall aim
To draw together learning for this unit by considering of how organisms
interact with their surroundings and how human activities affect those
organisms
Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) to complete these activities
For activities 1,2 and 3 maximum of 5 hours
Suggested Activities
1. Visit a site which is proposed for development and study the organisms
within it. (this could be part of the school grounds or a local park/field
etc. and just used for model purposes). This allows opportunities for field
work using standard procedures (quadrats, transects etc.). Learners
should be encouraged to identify unknown organisms. This activity also
gives opportunities for data handling and analysis. Once all the data has
been analysed, learners could then work in pairs and be asked to write an
e-mail to the local planning officer about the potential effects (i.e. the
environmental impact) of building the proposed development.
2. Developing a timeline for a new development on a Greenfield site.
(Learners should be given a context applicable to their own community
and wherever possible this activity should be linked with the site chosen
for activity one). Ask learners to research the different planning
requirements / environmental impact studies required before development
can take place. This research could be undertaken through presentations
to the class from local planning officers, architects, local community
groups etc..
3. How could you make modifications to a development to avoid further
reduction of biodiversity? Continuing on the same theme as activities one
and two learners could be given the article about dormouse bridges
(appendix 3) to illustrate how such modifications could be made. They
could use one of the organisms identified in activity one or could be given
an additional one by the teacher (e.g. an endangered species of bat).
Learners then produce a poster / model to show how the proposed
development could be modified to ensure the continued survival of the
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particular organism. Learners could then present their ideas to one of the
representatives who supported activity two
Further sources of support
The unit specification gives a list of useful websites to support the delivery
of this unit. A model assignment is also available for this unit.
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Unit 4: Resources for Activities
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Appendix 1
Conservation and farming must learn to live together
Agriculture and conservation are on collision course, and that has to change, says the UN
Environment Programme director
MILLIONS of people in Africa live in unremitting poverty and hunger. For the foreseeable future,
the only way to alleviate their misery is through agricultural development. So it is heartening that
the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank see great potential for expansion
throughout the Guinea Savannah Zone, an area larger than India that stretches across 25
countries from Senegal to Mozambique.
The prospect of development is to be welcomed, but its manner requires careful consideration to
avoid threats to sustainability. For example, though Africa retains much of its biodiversity, certain
trends are cause for concern. Agricultural expansion into sensitive areas could aggravate declines
that are already taking place.
The tension between agricultural development and conservation is not unique to Africa. Increased
agricultural production is needed the world over. Between now and 2050, the global population is
projected to grow from 6.9 billion to between 8.0 and 9.7 billion. Demand for cereal, oil and sugar
crops is expected to double in this time as people consume more meat and calories, and
governments set biofuel targets.
Meeting this demand will be challenging. Gains in yield are likely to be much harder to achieve
than those during the green revolution of the 1960s, which was driven by large volumes of fertiliser
and water. Higher yields will not be enough; large amounts of new agricultural land will also be
required. Estimates of the extra land needed by 2050 relative to 2000 range from 6 to 17 million
square kilometres. The higher figure equates to an area larger than Russia.
But land, water and fertilisers are already in short supply in many areas, and expansion of
agricultural land will put further pressure on biodiversity, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and
perhaps bring us closer to ecological tipping points that could strain the global life-support systems
upon which agriculture itself depends.
New approaches are clearly needed if we are to address the needs of the billion people who go to
bed hungry each night. Integrated action by conservation and agriculture is long overdue.
First and foremost we need a "new agriculture". The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), of which I am executive director, contends that for agriculture to meet our future needs
sustainably, ecosystem services such as water provision, pollination and maintenance of soil
fertility must be enhanced. At present, the value of these services is not built into the cost of food
production. The result is that farmers are not rewarded for stewarding their land for future
generations, and food production and distribution are often environmentally damaging.
We need to find ways to put a value on the full range of ecosystem services and implement
monitoring and payment systems to reward those managing land sustainably - for example, by
offering incentives for carbon sequestration or water catchment services. The environmental costs
of production need to be factored into the price of goods and services.
It is not only agriculture that needs to change. A "new conservation" is also required that
acknowledges the importance of agriculture.
Although agriculture sometimes leads to an increase in species richness, all too often it does the
opposite. That is one reason why conservationists remain focused on establishing nature reserves
and other protected areas. While these can be important, recent analyses have shown that they
are not large or representative enough to encompass all threatened species. Moreover, protected
areas are sometimes established at a cost to local people, which makes them socially and
economically contentious.
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Conservationists need to broaden their outlook and work with farmers, agricultural scientists and
agribusiness to support the integration of biodiversity with agriculture. Together, conservationists
and agriculturalists can move forwards.
There are signs of progress. In December 2010, the UN General Assembly created a body to do
for biodiversity and ecosystem services what the IPCC does for the global climate. The
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will
be a forum to integrate agriculture and conservation knowledge, and translate it into policy.
On top of that, a huge international research project called The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity is drawing attention to the economic benefits of ecosystem services and calculating
the costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Thanks to TEEB, the multitrillion-dollar
value of the world's nature-based assets is rapidly being made clear.
If we are to have any chance of handing on a healthy, productive planet upon which more than 8
billion of us can survive and thrive, agriculturalists and conservationists must reconcile their
differences.
Achim Steiner is an under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of the
United Nations Environment Programme, based in Nairobi, Kenya
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028085.100-conservation-andfarming-must-learn-to-live-together.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=onlinenews
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Capercaillie population 'in a
perilous state' warns RSPB
Iconic Scottish bird struggling to survive due to habitat loss, climate and forestry
fencing
A capercaillie, member of the grouse family. Conservationists warn that their
population is shrinking. Photograph: PA
Conservationists have warned that one of Scotland's largest and most iconic birds, the
capercaillie, is in a perilous state after a new survey found its population is shrinking.
The study has found that the capercaillie, the largest and heaviest member of the
grouse family, is struggling to survive in many areas of the Highlands and its numbers
are still worryingly low.
In some parts of Scotland, around Loch Lomond and Glen Affric in the west, the
capercaillie has now effectively disappeared thanks to a combination of habitat loss,
forestry fencing and unsuitable climate. Its population is dramatically thinning out in
Perthshire to the south and Deeside, Moray and Nairn to the east.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Scottish Natural Heritage
(SNH) estimate that over the winter of 2009-10 there were only 1228 individual birds
remaining, down from an estimated (but unconfirmed) peak of up to 20,000 in the
early 1970s.
Its core territory has shrunk dramatically, with about 75% of the entire UK
capercaillie population now living in a small but carefully-managed area of the
Cairngorms around Badenoch and Strathspey.
The capercaillie is one of the UK's most distinctive birds, boasting a large fan-like tail
and a throaty call. A member of the grouse family, adult males are roughly the size of
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a turkey and, unlike the bullet-like speed of its smaller cousin the red grouse, it has a
slower, more ungainly style of flight.
It is also notoriously reclusive, sheltering in native pinewood forests of the Highlands
and venturing out to court, at large "leks", or groups, in sheltered areas of the forest,
only at dawn.
As a result, the SNH surveyors were unable to do an accurate headcount, so
conservationists are cautious about warning that its population is in sharp decline. The
last survey, in 2004, puts its population at an estimated 1,980 birds. Yet the most
worrying survey, in 1988-89, suggested there were just 1,073, triggering a concerted
conservation campaign funded with £5m by the European Union.
Pete Mayhew, of RSPB Scotland, said the study suggested the major concern was
about the erosion of the birds' most favoured habitat. Its shrinking range meant it was
even more vulnerable.
"We know we can manage a population in a fairly robust state if we get the
management right," he said. "But if you get it wrong, the population can be in a much
more perilous state and even disappear."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/20/rspb-warncapercaillie-population-shrinking
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Appendix 2
Bridges help dormice to cross
Church Village bypass
Dormice do not live on the ground so routes have to stretch between trees
Dormice will be able to cross a new bypass safely, thanks to three special
bridges costing £190,000.
The bridges are over the Church Village bypass near Pontypridd, Rhondda
Cynon Taf, and are part of plans to protect ecology along the 4.6-mile
road.
The bridges consist of wire mesh tubes suspended between trees and tall
poles.
When completed, the tubes will be solid mesh to stop the dormice falling
out.
As dormice live in trees as opposed to on the ground, their routes have to
stretch between trees instead of along underpasses used by, for example,
hedgehogs and badgers.
Newts, toads and slow worms have also been given new ponds along the
£90m route, which is due to open next month.
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The specialist work has been carried out by Rhondda Cynon Taf council
and contractors Costain, who were legally required to outline wildlife
protection plans before the bypass was approved.
The Welsh Assembly Government has funded the bypass, including the
dormice bridges.
A Rhondda Cynon Taf council spokesman said: "The council and Costain,
its contractor in delivering the bypass, is proud of the working relationship
it enjoys with the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment
Agency, who required the ecological work to be carried out before
planning permission could be secured for the road.
"Both statutory bodies fully endorsed the ecological work undertaken by
the team which enabled planning permission for the road to be built.
"Such measures are now commonplace across the country and adhere to
the current legislation in protecting species of this nature."
Dormice are protected under EU habitat regulations
As part of the specialist work, trees have been cleared along the route and
new ponds dug for the relocation of newts and other amphibians.
Costain also employs a principal ecologist who works closely with the
Countryside Council for Wales and an ecological adviser from Rhondda
Cynon Taf Council.
Other species provided for include badgers, bats and marsh fritillary
butterflies.
Reaction to the bridges was mixed among local residents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-11082007
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