urban park rangers • education program botany - …urban park rangers the new york city department...

BBOOTTAANNYYPPllaanntt PPoowweerr

BBOOTTAANNYY

City of New YorkParks & Recreation

City of New YorkParks & RecreationUrban Park Rangers

The New York CityDepartment of Education

urban park rangers • educat ion program

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation presents

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The Natural Classroom is a series of educational programs developed by the Urban ParkRangers to immerse students in the living laboratory of the natural world. These programs combinestandards-based education with hands-on field lessons taught by Urban Park Rangers.

Based on natural and cultural topics that are visibly brought to life in our parks, The NaturalClassroom is designed to stimulate, motivate and inspire your students to apply their developingskills in English, Math, Science and History to real-life critical thinking challenges.

Key Botany Vocabulary Words

photosynthesis gymnosperms anther native chlorophyll spores stigma non-nativecellular respiration pollinated pollen invasiveoxidizing germinating fruitangiosperms seed dispersal*Words will be italicized throughout program

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FFiinndd YYoouurr LLeevveell:: Level One = Grades K-2 Level Two = Grades 2-6 Level Three = Grades 6-8

WWoorrdd CChhaalllleennggee:: Important vocabulary words are pro-vided and listed in order of appearance. Let your studentsfind the definitions and begin their adventure.

FFooccuuss oonn TThhee BBiigg PPiiccttuurree:: Read the teacher text tolearn about the three main program concepts, introducethem to your class and get them thinking in context.

TTaakkee AAccttiioonn:: Have your students research, write, meas-ure, build, and create using the pre-visit activities. Each proj-ect is designed to actively engage the group in planning fortheir park visit.

PPrreeppaarree ffoorr AAddvveennttuurree:: Review the park visit descrip-tion a few days before the trip so you will be aware of theday’s anticipated activities. Let your students know how todress for the weather, the bugs, and the terrain – you will beoutdoors in the “wilds” of New York City parks.

WWrraapp iitt uupp:: Have your students map, graph, illustrate,chart and analyze their way to thoughtful conclusions usingthe post-visit activities.

OOnn aanndd BBeeyyoonndd:: Loved your park experience and thelearning topic so much that you want more? We have includ-ed extension activities that expand the scope of the in-classprogram.

The activities in Botany: Plant Power!focus on the following skills:

• Creating and Reading Graphs, Measuring, and Making Calculations

• Exploring Living Science Concepts by creating Field Guides, andGathering Data in the field

Writing and Drawing

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bottany_dan 2/16/06 2:54 PM

CONC

EPT 2

CONCEPT1

Botany is the science or study of plants

Plants, unlike animals, are able to make theirown food. Plants capture energy found in sun-light through a process called Photosynthesis.Photosynthesis means “putting together” (syn-thesis) using “light” (photo).

The energy from the sun’s rays is captured, orabsorbed, by the pigment chlorophyll, found inleaves. Chlorophyll causes the plant to appeargreen. This energy is then used to synthesize asugar molecule from molecules of water andcarbon dioxide.

This equation illustrates the chemistry of photo-synthesis:

Plants do not use all of the energy captured forgrowth; some is expended as the plant"breathes," which is called cellular respiration(cellular respiration is the process of oxidizingfood molecules into carbon dioxide and water.)

All animals rely on the energy plants have cap-tured. When an animal, such as a squirrel, eatsa plant, such as an acorn, it converts the plantto energy essential for growth. Animals cannotdigest all the parts of a plant, so some energy islost.

When a second animal (such as ahawk) eats the first animal, thesecond animal converts the firstanimal to energy, thus ulti-mately using energy that wasoriginally stored in the plant.The hawk does not use allthe energy stored in thesquirrel. In the transferof energy along thefood chain, some ofthe energy is lost.

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The majority of plants are called Angiosperms,meaning they have flowers. Unlike ferns (orGymnosperms) that have spores, angiospermsproduce flowers, when pollinated.

Flowering plants start life by germinating(sprouting) from a seed. The seed contains foodneeded to develop the roots and a shoot. Theroots transport water and nutrients from thesoil to the rest of the plant. The shoot growsand begins to develop leaves.

As the plant grows, it produces flowers andseeds. Some plants mature in just a fewmonths, while trees may take many years toreach maturity.

In order to produce seeds, pollination must

occur. Pollination is the process by which pollenfrom the male part of the flower, the anther, istransferred to the female part of the flower, thestigma. The flowers of some plants have fra-grances or bright colors that attract insects,bats, or birds. These animals then transfer thepollen from flower to flower. In other plants,pollen is transported by wind.

After pollination, parts of the flower swell toform a seed and a fruit. The seed is the embryoof a new plant, packaged with a supply of foodand protected by a hard coat. The fruit is theflesh surrounding the seeds that protects themand aids in dispersal. Seeds and fruits come inall shapes and sizes to facilitate seed dispersal.Seed dispersal is the transportation of the seedfrom its plant of origin to another location.

The Mathematics of Energy

Ecologists estimate only 10% of the energy at one trophiclevel (such as primary producers, or plants) is passed on tothe next higher trophic level (such as primary consumers, orherbivores).

By multiplying by 10 for each trophic level the energy had topass through, we can calculate how much plant material wasneeded to produce an organism at a particular trophic level.

CO2 + H2O in the presence of light & chlorophyll -> CH2O + O2

(Carbon Dioxide + Water + sunlight -> Sugar and Oxygen)

bottany_dan 2/16/06 2:54 PM Page 11

CONCEPT3

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Some seeds are dispersed by the wind. These seeds are either light and fluffy like parachutes (suchas dandelions) or have wings or blades like a helicopter (such as maples).

Plants with “discharge” seed dispersal have specialized parts that release their seeds into the envi-ronment around them. For example, jewelweed plants are sensitive to touch and release their seedswhen you brush past them.

Animals help disperse seeds in three ways. Some seeds, such as burrs, have tiny hooks on them tohold onto the fur of an animal until they are brushed off in a new location. Other seeds, like thoseencased in a fruit, are eaten by animals. These seeds then pass through the digestive tract of theanimal and are excreted in a new location. Finally, some seeds, like acorns, are buried and saved forfood by animals like squirrels. Not all of these seeds will be eaten; the uneaten seeds may germi-nate and grow into a plant.

Plants are an important part of life in a city.They are an important source of oxygen, andeven help clean the air by filtering out pollu-tants. In addition, plants, particularly trees, pro-vide shade from the sun, help keep noise down,and provide wildlife habitat.

Plants, such as trees and flowers, are alsoimportant because they are aesthetically pleas-ing and are a way for city dwellers to connectwith nature. Scientific studies have shown thataccess to greenspace can increase self-esteemand academic performance, and decrease vio-lent behaviors.

There are still many wild acres of parkland inNew York City. You can visit these areas and seenative plants growing in much the same waythey have grown for centuries.

In the manicured areas of our parks, you cansee many examples of non-native plants,admired and brought in from other regions andplanted for our enjoyment. Occasionally, theseplants do so well in their new homes that theygrow out of control and spread to other areaswhere they are not wanted. When this hap-pens, the plants are considered invasive.

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DID YOU KNOW?The London Plane tree is a hybrid (combination) of thenative Sycamore tree and the non-native Plane tree. Thistree can be found living all over New York City andalthough not native to this area, it was planted because itis resistant to pollution and disease.

Neighborhoods in New York City with moretrees have fewer children with asthma.

+ =London Plane

SycamorePlane


The following pre-park visit activities will pre-pare your students for their trip to the park.

SSeettttiinngg uupp aa FFiieelldd JJoouurrnnaallAll Levels

Objective: To give students the means to make apermanent record of their experience.

Materials: Stapler, 10 sheets of paper per stu-dent, pencils.

What To Do: Fold the sheets of paper in half andstaple along the folded edge.

Explain that the students will be using the journalsto record information and observations from thepark visit. Have each student write their name onthe cover of the journal, as well as the name ofthe park they are going to visit. Encourage themto draw a picture of what they expect to find atthe park.

Make some predictions before going in the field,and have students record these in their journals.Get students thinking by asking the followingquestions: Based on the time of year, what do youexpect to see at the park? What do you think youwill learn from the visit? Have students include afew questions and answers of their own on thefirst page of the journal.

The information the students collect and theobservations they make in the field will bedependent on many things, including the time ofyear, time of day, and weather conditions. As aresult, it is important to include the followinginformation for each field journal entry:

Date: Is it early spring? Late fall? The time of yearwill greatly affect what you find in the park (e.g.leaves change color in the fall).

Time: Is it early in the morning? High noon? Thetime of day will also affect what you are likely toobserve (e.g. morning glories close their petals atdawn and dusk).

Weather Conditions: Is it pouring rain? Blisteringhot? These conditions will also affect what youare likely to observe (e.g. plants may wilt inextreme heat).

Location: Are you standing in a forest? Lookingout over a body of water? Make note of the habi-tat features (forest/trees, meadow/grasses, pond,playground) in the area, as this will greatly affectwhat you see (e.g. you are unlikely to find largetrees in a meadow).

Observations: Are the trees just beginning tobud? Do you see many different kinds of seeds?Using the background information learned in thepre-visit activities, keep your eyes peeled andkeep track of any interesting observations.

Sketch: A picture is worth a thousand words.Students will practice capturing specific details inthe field by drawing what they see.

Don’t forget to bring the field journals with youto the park!

PPllaannttss ffoorr DDiinnnneerrAll Levels

Objective: To have students explore where theirfood comes from.

What To Do: Ask a student to describe whatthey had for dinner the night before.

Stop the student after he or she mentions thefirst food. Ask your students what animal orplant that kind of food comes from. Ask a vol-unteer to represent that plant or animal.

Ask your students where that plant or animalgets its energy. An animal will get it from plantsor other animals, and a plant would get it fromthe sun. Have a second student represent thisenergy source. Continue asking questions andform a food chain by having other students rep-resent these plants or animals and link hands inorder. Keep going until you get to the sun.

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Have the rest of your students create chains, allconnecting to a single sun, representing whereeach part of the meal came from.

Focus Questions:• Where does the energy for our food comefrom? • How many levels did the energy pass throughon its way to us?• What would happen to us if there were fewerplants? • What would happen to other animals?

WWiillddccaarrddssAll Levels

Objective: To learn more about plants and plantecology.

Materials: Paper, drawing and writing supplies,key rings, single hole punch, research resourcessuch as plant field guides and encyclopedias.

Before You Begin: Research which plants aremost common in the park you will be visiting.Think about the information that will beemphasized on the Wildcards – each card needsto have the same format in order to use them toplay games (e.g. plant height, range, life histo-ry, habitat requirements.)

What To Do: Ask each student to createWildcards for three or more plants.

Use index cards with a hole punched in one cor-ner for each Wildcard. Have the students fill ineach side of the index card as follows:

Side One:Illustration of the plant, including its flowers,seeds and fruit.

Side Two (this is an example, your class candecide what information is relevant):1. Name of plant2. Found in: Sun/Shade/Part Sun3. Type of plant: Tree/Shrub/Wildflower/Grass4. How tall it gets:

5. Flowers come out in: (month)6. Seeds come out in: (month)7. Student’s name

Have the students pass a keyring through theholes in their cards to make a booklet and sharetheir booklets with the class.

Don’t forget to bringthe Wildcards with you to yourpark visit!

Focus Questions:Level One• Which plants doyou expect tosee? • Will you seemany flowers on your visit?Seeds? Leaves?

Level TwoQuestions from Level Oneplus:• Which plants grow in full sun? Full shade?Part sun? • Which plants are native? Non-native?Invasive? • Which plants do you expect to see on yourpark visit at this time of year? • Which plants do you expect not to see?

Level ThreeQuestions from Levels One and Two plus:• Which plants can be found together?• Which plants couldn’t grow together? Why?• Which plants are more desirable in a park? • Which are less desirable? Why?


GGoo WWiilldd!!All Levels

Objective: To play games with the Wildcards.

Materials: Wildcards made in the previousactivity.

What To Do:Level OneHave your students sort the Wildcards into cat-egories by their characteristics, (such as plantswith the same color flower or plants with thesame sun exposure requirements).

Play memory with the Wildcards, turning agroup of them with the text face down (pictureface up) and attempting to match up pairsbased on the categories your class explored.

Level(s) Two/ThreeBreak your students up into small groups. Haveeach group create a game using theirWildcards. “Go Fish” is a goodplace to start. Have thestudents categorize thecards into groups by oneof their characteristics,then attempt to collect allof a certain “suit” theyalready hold one of byasking the other playersor “fishing” in the deck.

Have team memberswrite down the rules totheir game as a field journalentry, including strategy, varia-tions, and props.

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Read through the following park-visit activitiesto get a sense of what your students will bedoing on the day of the trip.

PPllaannttss IInn TThhee PPaarrkkssAll Levels

Objective: To have students explore plants inthe park.

Materials: Student Wildcards, Plants In YourPark Worksheets for each student, plant fieldguides.

What To Do: Explore interesting plants in thepark and have the students identify them.Challenge students to find the plants on theirWildcards, and encourage them to use all theirsenses while they are observing and examiningthe plants.

All students will collect data on the plants. Usethe worksheets to record all data, and the fieldjournals to record general observations.Depending on the season, the leaves, seeds,flowers, or stems may be the most visible andinteresting part of the plant(s) you are observ-ing.

PPllaanntt DDiivveerrssiittyyAll Levels

Objective: To have students understand thatpark areas can have high or low plant diversity.

Materials: Plant field guides, field journals.

What To Do: Go to a site in the park with manyplants, such as a forested area, a wildflowermeadow, or a garden area. Have the studentscount the number of plants they find at the siteidentify them and record their observations intheir field journals.

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Next, go to a second site in the park with a lowdensity of plants, such as a lawn or ballfield.Have the students count the number of differ-ent plants they find at the site, identify themand record their observations in their field jour-nals.

While exploring the two sites, students will takethe temperature in a sunny area and in a shad-ed area with trees. Have students experiencethe difference shade (and trees) make in ourlives!

Focus Questions:Level One• What kinds of plants did you find at each site?

Level Two/Three• Did you find similar plants at each site?• Did you find more of one kind of plant at onesite? What was it? Why do you think this wasthe case?

The following post-park visit activities will helpyou wrap up the park visit by using data collect-ed at the park to draw conclusions. Extensionactivities are also included.

PPllaannttss iinn GGrraapphhiicc DDeettaaiillAll Levels

Objective: To analyze the data collected in thepark using graphs, charts, and other graphics.

Materials: Plants in Your Park Worksheet,graph paper, pencils.

What To Do: Using the data collected on theworksheet, have your students create chartsand graphs.

Level OneWork as a class to calculate the total number ofplants by seed dispersal method observed whilein the park. Create a numerical chart on theboard. Next, work as a class to turn these totalsinto a bar graph.

Level(s) Two/ThreeWorking individually, have each student calcu-late the total number of plants by seed disper-sal method observed in the park. Have eachstudent create a numerical chart of these totalsand then a graph. Next, have each student cre-ate charts and graphs comparing the total num-ber of invasive versus non-invasive plants in thepark.

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Objective: To understand the habitat require-ments of plants.

Materials: Pre-cut squares of red, yellow, andblue construction paper.

What To Do: Have students stand about threefeet apart from each other, with one foot “root-ed” to the floor at all times. Scatter unevenlyamong the “trees” small squares of blue, yellow,and red paper, representing:

Blue = waterYellow = sunlightRed = nutrients

Give the group 15 seconds to gather theirrequirements – 3 squares of each color – withoutmoving their “root” feet.

When the time is up, have each tree report onwhether or not it survived. Discuss why sometrees survived and others did not.

Try altering the game: move the trees closertogether (as in a forest), thus increasing compe-tition; or limit the various resources (less water ina desert, less sunlight in a forest, etc.).

Focus Questions:Level One• What do plants need to survive?

Level Two/Three• Were all the trees able to survive? Why weresome able to survive and some not?• What could prevent a plant from getting whatit needs to survive in the real world?• How can you change the game so more treessurvive? How about fewer?• What could happen as the trees grow bigger?(Hint: shade)

GGeett IInnvvoollvveedd:: GGrreeeenn uupp yyoouurr SScchhooooll!!All Levels

Objective: To plant native plants and attractnative animals to your school.

What To Do: Have students research nativeplants that attract birds and butterflies andinvestigate where these plants can be purchasedlocally.

Plant a garden on your school’s rooftop, in awindow box, or in the playground, and watch aswild birds and other animals come to call yourschoolyard home.

Before You Begin:Consider the following: Permission from schoolprincipal; water source; durability of plants tosurvive heat associated with rooftops; appropri-ate and durable containers.

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Objective: To experience plants in the city.

What To do: Schedule a field trip to one of thefollowing facilities:

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Objective: To experience plants in the city.

What To do: Contact a nursery near your schooland arrange to take your class on a tour of theirfacility.

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• Brooklyn Botanic Garden: (718) 623-7220 • Staten Island Botanical Garden: (718) 273-8200• New York Botanical Garden, Bronx: (718) 817-8700• Queens Botanical Garden: (718) 886-3800

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What To do:Record the following information for each plant encountered in the park:

SpeciesFlower

Y/NSeedY/N

LeavesY/N

InvasiveY/N

SeedDispersalMethod


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NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION

URBAN PARK RANGERS1234 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10029

Call 311 and ask for the Urban Park Rangers NOW to book your program.

Programs developed and written by the Urban Park Rangers with the support of the National Geographic Society.

Graphic Design by Shalini S. Matosall rights reserved 2004.

THE NATURAL CLASSROOM IS AVAILABLE AT THESE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION

NATURE CENTERS AND HISTORIC HOUSES

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BBRROONNXX PPAARRKKSSNATURE CENTERS1 CROTONA NATURE CENTER2 ORCHARD BEACH NATURE CENTER3 PELHAM BAY RANGER STATION4 VAN CORTLANDT NATURE CENTER

HISTORIC HOUSES1 BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM2 POE COTTAGE3 VALENTINE-VARIAN HOUSE4 VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE MUSEUM

BBRROOOOKKLLYYNN PPAARRKKSSNATURE CENTERS5 SALT MARSH NATURE CENTER

HISTORIC HOUSES5 LEFFERTS HOMESTEAD 6 OLD STONE HOUSE7 PIETER CLAESEN WYCKOFF HOUSE MUSEUM 8 HENDRICK I. LOTT HOUSE

MMAANNHHAATTTTAANN PPAARRKKSSNATURE CENTERS6 BELVEDERE CASTLE7 DANA DISCOVERY CENTER8 INWOOD HILL NATURE CENTER

HISTORIC HOUSES9 DYCKMAN FARMHOUSE MUSEUM 10 GRACIE MANSION11 THE LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE12 MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM13 MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION 14 THE SWEDISH COTTAGE

QQUUEEEENNSS PPAARRKKSSNATURE CENTERS9 URBAN PARK RANGER ADVENTURE CENTER10 FOREST PARK NATURE/VISITOR CENTER

HISTORIC HOUSES15 KING MANOR MUSEUM16 KINGSLAND HOMESTEAD17 QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM18 LEWIS H. LATIMER HOUSE

SSTTAATTEENN IISSLLAANNDD PPAARRKKSSNATURE CENTERS11 BLUE HERON NATURE CENTER12 HIGH ROCK RANGER STATION

HISTORIC HOUSES19 ALICE AUSTEN HOUSE MUSEUM20 CONFERENCE HOUSE21 HISTORIC RICHMONDTOWN22 SEGUINE MANSION

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