Carbon in the Classroom A teacher’s perspective

A Perspective

Calculating Carbon Sequestration Process Outcome

Carbon Storage Role Card GOALS : to create a user-friendly way for students and teachers to measure and calculate the carbon stored in school yard trees (MOR) and accruing in newly planted trees (P4C) KEY FEATURES (Assumptions): DBH Tree species Biomass Calculator from Natural Resources Canada Generates biomass for branches, foliage, wood and bark. (For roots multiply by 1.26) Multiply by 0.5 to convert to carbon (IPCC, 1996) Multiply by 3.7 to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by the tree (Colombo et al. 2007)

The Dragon Academy Urban Setting G trees growing along the avenue. Historical Data (1991)

Ontario Curriculum Opportunities Understanding Life Systems: Grade 1 – Needs and Characteristics of Living; Grade 3 – Growth and changes in Plants; Grade 4 – Habitats and Communities; Grade 6 – Biodiversity; Grade 7 – Interactions in the Environment. Biology: Grade 9 – Sustainable Ecosystems; Grade 11 – Diversity of Living Things; Plants: Anatomy, Growth and Function; Plants in the Natural Environment. Environmental Science – Grade 11 Math

Grade 9 Class lesson breakdown Unit: Sustainable Ecosystems (8 weeks) Ecosystem Services (5 Classes) Forest Services (1 Class) Local tree measurements (1 Class) Calculating Carbon Stored (1 Class) Relating to Human activities (1 Class) Future: Design and Explore STSE orientations associated with socio- environmental Action Projects.

Our Data – what does it mean? Setting our baseline (2013) – Carbon currently stored – 14,565 kg or 14.5 Tonnes – Carbon dioxide sequestered – 53,890kg or 54 Tonnes From the historical data (1991) one tree has increased DBH from 11cm to 48.5cm an increase in 580kg of carbon = 2700kg of carbon dioxide = not quite 2 of us getting to London and back

The Future Year-on-Year measurement Add to ACER’s database for Measuring our Resources. Process: collecting data on students engagement and relationships