Outdoor Education Program : Succession

Succession
It may not be obvious, but ecosystems do change through time, sometimes in both dramatic and surprising ways. Trace the evolution of our field ecosystems into mature hardwood forests by following the various stages of old field succession. See evidence of a wetland returning to grassland and find out the stories of the plants and animals that inhabit both.
Grade 7 (This program can be modified to suit any grade)

Life Systems - Interactions Within Ecosystems
7s11	investigate ways in which natural communities within ecosystems can change, and explain how such changes can affect animal and plant populations (e.g., changes affecting their life span, their gestation periods, or their ability to compete successfully);
7s12	identify signs of ecological succession in a local ecosystem (e.g., the presence of blueberries in an area recently devastated by fire; the presence of pioneer organisms that start the process of succession in sand dunes).

Succession