North Carolina River Basins Project
This project is designed to meet the following goals:
1. You will become familiar with the characteristics of a North Carolina River Basin
2. You will be aware of the impact that land development has on a river basin
3. You will be able to describe ways in which development can be done with minimal
impact on the environment.
4. You will become familiar with eco-friendly building practices and how to deal with
pollutants associated with human activity.
In this project you may work independently or in a pair. If you choose to work as a pair, be aware that
much of the work on this project will be done outside of class, it is your responsibility to plan times
and arrange meetings to get work done if you cannot do this, then you should work alone!
Description of the Project:
You are a land developer and you are planning to build a housing development, resort, shopping
center, university/college, or amusement park in one of North Carolina’s river basins (we will have “draft”
to decide which river basin you will work in). You will need to create an informational product that will:
1. Describe the planned development, for example if you choose housing development: how
many homes, types of homes, streets, lot size, layout, etc..
2. Describe the reasons that this river basin was chosen (sales pitch)
3. What would attract buyers to this location
4. How your building plan minimizes damage to the local watersheds and river basin
5. Information on how you will prevent/minimize pollution of the local watershed/river basin
and how you will deal with any pollution that is generated.
You can create any of the following products:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A website for your development
A video (shot outside of school)
Plan book (multiple pages)
Any other idea that you might think of… present your plan to the teacher prior to beginning.
Research Component:
In order to do a good job on this project you will need to do a lot of research. We will provide 2 days in
the computer lab at school. When doing research it is important to properly cite your sources. You may
use the website: www.oslis.org to create a proper works cited page. It is also important that you use
reputable sources ( do not simply “Google” it or use Wikipedia) that are research based.
Grading Rubric
Area
Description of Building Plan
10 points
Visual representation of the
layout of your development.
Highly detailed description of
location, proximity to local
water sources, topography, land
area utilized, impact on local
forests, number of buildings,
sizes of buildings, types of
buildings, etc…
8 points
Visual representation of the
layout of your development.
Detailed description of location,
proximity to local water
sources, topography, land area
utilized, impact on local forests,
number of buildings, sizes of
buildings, types of buildings,
etc… (missing up to 2
components).
Why you chose your river basin
Detailed and persuasive
description of the reasons why
this river basin is a great place to
put your development. Include
items such as: climate,
recreational activities,
ecosystems nearby, major cities,
tourist attractions, local plant
and animal life of interest, etc…
What will attract buyers
Detailed and persuasive
description of the development.
Inclusions will vary based on
what type of development you
are creating. This is the part
where you sell your
development to potential
buyers/investors.
Building plan that minimizes
damage to the watershed/river
basin
Detailed description of what
building practices you will
utilize to prevent: increased
runoff, increased erosion, impact
on native species, changes to the
water temperature, impact on
habitat of local plants and
animals, and pollution levels in
the river.
Moderately detailed and
informative (not persuasive)
description of the reasons why
this river basin is a great place to
put your development. Include
items such as: climate,
recreational activities,
ecosystems nearby, major cities,
tourist attractions, local plant
and animal life of interest, etc…
(missing up to 2 components).
Moderately detailed and
informative (not persuasive)
description of the development.
Inclusions will vary based on
what type of development you
are creating. This is the part
where you sell your
development to potential
buyers/investors.
Detailed description of what
building practices you will
utilize to prevent: increased
runoff, increased erosion, impact
on native species, changes to the
water temperature, impact on
habitat of local plants and
animals, and pollution levels in
the river. (Missing 2
components).
Plan for dealing with pollution
Detailed and research based
approach for dealing with
pollutants associated with your
development. Describes, in
detail, the steps that will be
taken to deal with the pollution
that is created.
Product shows time and effort.
Creative design, sells the
development as a great place to
live/visit, has a clear audience,
and includes excellent detail in
all of the above categories.
8 or more references (Google
and Wikipedia do not count)
cited correctly.
Overall appearance/effectiveness
of your product
Works Cited Page
Research based approach for
dealing with pollutants
associated with your
development. Describes the
steps that will be taken to deal
with the pollution that is
created, but not in great detail.
Product shows time and effort.
Creative design, does a
reasonable, but not great job, of
selling the development. Is
weak in 2 or less of the above
categories.
5-7 references cited correctly or
8 or more references cited in a
list format.
6 points
Visual representation of the
layout of your development.
Little detail included in
description of location,
proximity to local water
sources, topography, land area
utilized, impact on local forests,
number of buildings, sizes of
buildings, types of buildings,
etc… (missing more than 2
components).
Informative (not persuasive) but
not detailed description of the
reasons why this river basin is a
great place to put your
development. Include items
such as: climate, recreational
activities, ecosystems nearby,
major cities, tourist attractions,
local plant and animal life of
interest, etc… (missing more
than 2 components).
Informative (not persuasive) but
not detailed development.
Inclusions will vary based on
what type of development you
are creating. This is the part
where you sell your
development to potential
buyers/investors.
Description of what building
practices you will utilize to
prevent: increased runoff,
increased erosion, impact on
native species, changes to the
water temperature, impact on
habitat of local plants and
animals, and pollution levels in
the river is not very detailed.
(missing more than 2
components)
A description of a plan is given,
but steps are not well described
or are not research based.
Product shows little time or
effort. Not overly creative and
does not sell the product well. 2
or more of the above categories
fall into the 6 point category.
Fewer than 5 references cited
correctly or 5-7 references cited
in a list format.