“When the sun peeped over the Sierra Madre, it slanted across a hundred miles of lovely desolation, a vast flat bowl of wilderness rimmed by jagged peaks.”
–Aldo Leopold, “The Green Lagoons,” A Sand County Almanac
Habitat Discovery Series
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (FWS photo)
Deserts
The Leopold Education Project (LEP) Habitat Discovery Series was funded by an educational outreach grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that was written by Pheasants Forever, Inc.
Table of ContentsTeaching Like Leopold............................................................1
Related LEP Lessons...............................................................3
Deserts Overview....................................................................4
Lesson: Desert Plant Exploration.............................................5
Lesson: Desert Values..............................................................7
Lesson: Look Out, Quail!........................................................9
Lesson: Thinking Like a Desert...............................................11
Lessons were conceived by Marc C. Hirrel, LEP State Coordinator, ARWith input from LEP State Coordinators:
Suzanne Hirrel, AR; Teri Rogoway, CA; Teresa Higgins, CO; Mary Moulton, CT; Curt Carter, IL; Celeste Prussia, MO;
Yancey Ranspot, NM; Susie Ruby, OKand Phoebe Atkinson, Laura Bonneau, Ken Forman,
Janine Kohn, and Lori Nicholson
Additional writing and review by: Maria Kopecky, Aldo Leopold Foundation Education Staff
Saguaro cactus (Jen Kobylecky)
Chainfruit cholla (FWS photo)
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Teaching Like LeopoldAs a non-formal educator, you may or may not have extensive academic training or a scientific background. Regardless, you teach because you have a passion for using the natural world to ignite a spark in your students, creating memorable field-based experiences that are hard to replicate in a more formal setting like the classroom. You and Leopold have much in common. Leopold once wrote that his objective as a professor was: “To teach the student to see the land, to understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands.” Leopold had an informal style of teaching that made his students want to learn. He employed many methods of instruction including visual aids, handouts, lectures, and inquiry-based discussions. He also held his classes in the field whenever possible. Leopold was genuinely interested in his students, creating opportunities for independent learning. He fostered an atmosphere of curiosity and exploration.
The activities in the LEP Habitat Discovery Series are inspired by the writings in Leopold’s classic book A Sand County Almanac. They explore five different habitats (Deserts, Forests, Prairies, Urban Areas, and Wetlands) with simple, fun, and inviting activities designed to engage students in inquiry-based learning, very much in the style of Leopold.
Aldo Leopold with students in the field (Aldo Leopold Foundation archives)
“As a teacher, Leopold always exercised restraint. He was keenly aware of the thrill of personal discovery and did not rob those around him of the pleasure of learning.”
–J. Baird Callicott, Leopold scholarAldo Leopold at the Shack (Aldo Leopold Foundation archives)
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Deserts OverviewWhat is a desert? Deserts are extremely dry areas that get less than 10 inches of rain annually and evaporate more water than they receive! Deserts cover one-fifth of the land surface and feature temperatures that are some of the most extreme on Earth. Although many people think of deserts as barren wastelands, they are far from it! Deserts can support diverse communities of plants and animals that have found ways to solve the challenges of extreme temperatures and lack of water. Desert plants are drought-tolerant and have succulent (thick and fleshy) tissues to retain water. Desert wildlife feed on a wide variety of things, taking advantage of resources when they can be found. Decomposers are less important in the desert than in other terrestrial systems.
What deserts are in the United States? There are four distinct deserts in the southwest United States that have an annual rainfall between three and five inches. The north slope of the Brooks Range in Alaska also receives less than ten inches of rain per year and is classified as a cold desert. • The Sonoran Desert is the hottest desert in the United States and
extends from Sonora, Mexico into southern California and southwestern Arizona.
• The Mojave Desert lies in southern California and southern Nevada and is known for its Joshua trees.
• The Great Basin Desert is the largest desert in the United States and extends from Nevada into western Utah and northern Idaho.
• The Chihuahuan Desert extends from southern New Mexico to west Texas and into the Chihuahua region of northern Mexico.
Related LEP Lessons
Sonoran Desert (FWS photo)
Discovery Series Lessons in a Land Ethic Curriculum
Exploring the Outdoors with Aldo Leopold CD
Desert Plant Exploration
• Prairie Birthday• Look, See, Discover• Botany Scavenger Hunt• Aliens and Invaders
Desert Values• What’s it Worth?• My Special Place
Look Out, Quail! • Sky Dance • Habitat High Rise• Rules of Wild Things
Thinking Like a Desert
• What’s it Worth?
Lessons in a Land Ethic is the original LEP curriculum guide. It consists of 21 interdisciplinary lesson plans designed to align with the essays found in Aldo Leopold’s conservation classic, A Sand County Almanac. Each lesson includes learning objectives, vocabulary, material lists, procedures, additional extensions, and student worksheets that have both indoor and outdoor activity options. Lessons are designed for use by classroom teachers, but can be adapted for use in non-formal educational settings as well.
The Exploring the Outdoors with Aldo Leopold CD includes 16 outdoor activities designed to teach observation skills, plant and animal identification, natural history, land stewardship, and outdoors skills. Each activity is based on an essay from A Sand County Almanac. This activity guide can be used by interpreters, naturalists, park rangers, zoo educators, teachers, youth group leaders, and others who want to offer a unique learning experience for early childhood through high school age students in an outdoor setting.
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Desert Plant Exploration
Audience: 7th-12th grade
Time Needed:45-75 min.
Students will be able to… • Differentiate between the four primary desert plant types• Identify at least three desert plants • Collect and analyze data • Discuss the impact of invasive species
Educator Background Information: Desert vegetation can be classified into four main categories: wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and succulents. Succulent plants (such as cacti, agave, and aloe) have thick and fleshy leaves, stems, and roots that can quickly absorb and store large amounts of water. Their waxy surfaces prevent excess water loss through evaporation. Like other habitats, deserts are not free of invasive species. Invasive species are usually non-native species that can adapt to new habitats quickly and dominate the landscape by various survival strategies. Commonly, it is a lack of predators or high reproductive potential (or
Barrel cactus in bloom (Jen Kobylecky)
a combination of both) that gives invasive species an edge over native species. Visitors to parks, wildlife refuges, and other natural areas can unknowingly introduce invasive plants that are hitchhiking or stowing away unseen on clothing or shoes.
Materials Needed: Pencils, paper, clipboards, string, calculators
Activity: Visit a desert. Discuss and identify examples of the four primary plant types: wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and succulents. Split students up into groups of two. Give each group a piece of string 10 feet in length. Instruct groups to radiate outward from one central point, tallying the number of each of the four plant types they encounter. Total all groups’ tallies to determine the total number of each type of plant encountered, then calculate the percentage of each plant type in the area.
Discussion Questions: • What distribution patterns did you notice in various plant types? • What factors might influence the plant densities you observed? • If you did this activity in a different location, would you expect
similar or different results? Why?
Extension: Aldo Leopold wrote that “just as there is honor among thieves, so there is solidarity and co-operation among plant and animal pests. Where one pest is stopped by natural barriers, another arrives to breach the same wall by a new approach. In the end every region and every resource get their quota of uninvited ecological guests.” Discuss what “uninvited ecological guests” might be present at your site, how they may have arrived, and their strategies for success. If an invasive plant is easily accessible, examine it to find characteristics that might make it invasive. If you will have time and the site has resources to support it, consider arranging a service project for the students that focuses on invasive species removal and control.
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the natural world. Environmental values are as diverse as the people that hold them. This activity explores these multiple perspectives.
Materials Needed:
Paper, pencils, clipboard
Activity:
Visit a desert. Ask students to find a solitary place to sit, staying close enough that they can hear your instructions. Lead students through a silent observation exercise. Instruct group to write down everything they see for one minute, then repeat for other senses, including hearing, smell, and touch. Discuss observations and values as a group. For the last 15 minutes, instruct students to either sketch or journal about their perspective on this desert’s value. Encourage students to consider the views and values shared by their classmates in addition to their first impressions of the desert.
Discussion Questions:
• Did you notice different things about the desert during the different parts of this activity? What were they?
• Did any parts of the activity make you feel more connected to this desert? What parts, and how?
• What did hearing other students’ perceptions about this desert do to your own perception of its value?
Extension:
Allow students five minutes to find and stand next to the thing they find most valuable in a defined area. Have students explain to the group what they chose and why. Discuss the different types of values as they emerge. Ask students to brainstorm additional reasons why someone might value this desert. Talk with the group about how people value land in different ways and how that affects the decisions they make.
Desert Values
Audience: 7th-12th grade
Time Needed:50-80 min.
Students will be able to… • Silently observe and document a natural area• Discuss values in terms of land and the environment
Educator Background Information: In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold recognizes that there are many different types of values that land holds for different people. These values might include, but are not limited to, aesthetic, ecological, scientific, historical, and cultural values. Many people, including artists, are drawn to the desert for its beauty, or aesthetics. The unique plants, animals, and soils found in desert environments lead many, including scientists, to value the desert for ecological and scientific reasons. Many desert sites have historic or cultural significance and are valued by historians, Native Americans, and other first peoples for these same reasons. Each individual’s set of land values forms their land ethic and influences how they interact with
Desert view (FWS photo)
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Activity: Find an open area large enough to play the Look Out, Quail! Game. Assign one student to be the Lookout Quail and two students to play the Predators (foxes). The rest of the students will be the Quail covey. Start the game with the Lookout Quail standing on a “hill” (marked by cardboard or a hula hoop on the ground at the edge of the game boundaries). The Quail covey should gather in a group in front of the Lookout Quail so that all are facing in same direction. The Foxes should stand behind the Lookout Quail. Explain that the Lookout Quail is not allowed to turn his/her head. To start the game, the foxes try to sneak past the Lookout Quail. As soon as he/she sees them, the Lookout Quail warns the rest of the quail with a yell. These quail must run to shelter (marked by cardboard or hula hoops) before they are tagged or “eaten” by the foxes. Any quail who are eaten become foxes and return to the space behind the Lookout Quail. The game can be made harder by removing bases, limiting how many quail can hide in one, and by saying that any fox that doesn’t catch a quail by its third attempt then dies and becomes a quail again. Keep a record of changes and graph the populations over time.
Discussion Questions: • What was the hardest part of being a quail or a fox? • What did you notice when the populations shifted? • What happens when balance between the number of foxes and
quails is lost?
Extension: In his writings, Aldo Leopold often anthropomorphized the animals he observed, meaning he gave them human personalities and traits. Have students choose and observe a desert animal for five minutes. If you are not in the field, students can look for a video online showing the animal in action. After observing, ask the students to write a short story about what their animal was thinking or doing. Have students share their stories with the group.
Look Out, Quail!
Audience: 3rd-6th grade
Time Needed:45-60 min.
Students will be able to… • Emulate the behaviors of desert wildlife • Consider the connection between predators and prey• Write creatively about wildlife
Background Information: Quail are common desert birds who feed, nest, and travel primarily on the ground. They spend time in groups called coveys, which can include over twelve birds. To avoid predators such as foxes, quail appoint a lookout to protect the covey while they forage for seeds, leaves, fruits, and insects. The lookout quail will choose a high spot or point in the terrain to perch. They keep meticulous watch and alert the group if danger approaches.
Materials Needed: Hula hoops or cardboard, paper, pencils
Gambel’s quail (FWS photo)
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Thinking Like a Desert
Audience: 10th-12th grade
Time Needed:45-60 min.
Students will be able to… • Identify at least three predator and prey species • Discuss the impacts of removing a species from the ecosystem • Consider their personal land ethics
Background Information: Communities are composed of many different interactions between plants and animals, including predator-prey relationships. The white-winged dove, for instance, is not only prey to raptors, bobcats, and snakes, but it also is an important pollinator. Keystone species are those that have a disproportionately large effect on habitat relative to their abundance. Keystone species are often, but not always, predators. Wolves in the Rocky Mountains, sea otters of the Pacific Ocean, and elephants in African grasslands play important regulatory roles, affecting not only their prey but also the plant communities that support them. Removing a keystone species can cause a cascading effect that impacts the community and habitat at all levels.
Mojave yucca (FWS photo)
Materials Needed: A Sand County Almanac, specific information on predator and prey species in your desert (check with your local park, wildlife refuge, or non-profit educational center for resources)
Activity: Read Leopold’s essay “Thinking Like a Mountain” aloud. Discuss the predators and prey present in your desert ecosystem, including keystone species. Have students identify threats to each of these species. Split students into three small groups to discuss the effects of removing one species from the ecosystem. Group One should discuss what would happen if one of the predator species were removed from the area, Group Two should discuss the impacts if a prey species were removed, and Group Three should discuss the impacts if a keystone species were removed. Bring the groups back together and share your conclusions.
Discussion Questions: • How does Leopold’s essay relate to the small group discussions we
just had? • What do you think it means to “think like a mountain?”• In the essay, Leopold explains a major change in his thinking over
time. Why is it difficult to change our minds? • What do you think this desert is thinking today?
Extension: Aldo Leopold’s experience with the wolf in “Thinking Like a Mountain” added to the formation of his land ethic, which is explored further in other essays. To assist students in thinking about their own land ethic, visit www.aldoleopold.org/greenfire/quotes.shtml to select and print five Leopold quotes that are relatable to your group. Place printed quotes at least five feet apart, read each aloud, and ask students to stand by the one that resonates with them most. Ask students at each quote to discuss amongst themselves why they chose their quote and then share with the larger group what the quote means to them.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation P.O. Box 77 • Baraboo, WI 53913
608.355.0279 • www.aldoleopold.org
The LEP Habitat Discovery Series was designed for use by non-formal educators who want to introduce their students to various habitats, using Leopold’s inquiry-
based method of teaching and learning. Additional Discovery Series booklets apply to Forests, Wetlands, Prairies, and Urban Areas.
Did you enjoy the lessons? There are many more LEP resources available! LEP is administered by the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
Please visit our website or contact us for more information.
Habitat Discovery Series
Ocotillo, Chihuahuan Desert (Jeannine Richards)
