Format
The ranger will introduce themselves and give a brief overview of Zion National Park and the National Park Service. The ranger will lay out the guidelines (no video, chat to answer questions) and ask participants to type where they’re calling in from, as well as test the vote function on Zoom.
1. Plants and Pollination: Rangers will introduce some of the plant life found in Zion National Park and how they have adapted to grow in a desert. The life cycle of a plant is examined- starting with what is needed to grow a plant, a seed. Students will learn about how seeds are created and explore the process of pollination.
2. Pollinators: The role of pollinators in the process of pollination is established. Students share pollinators they are already familiar with and learn about three pollinators found in Zion National Park. Rangers discuss what makes these pollinators successful.
3. How do Flowers Attract Pollinators: Students learn what makes flowers attractive to pollinators. Color, Size, shape, arrangement of flowers, bloom time, and scent are examined as things flowers use to draw specific pollinators closer.
4. Matching Activity: In this activity students are given information about four different pollinators found in Zion. They are then presented with flowers and asked to identify the “pollination partner” from the previous choices. Based on information given by the ranger about the flower and what the students have learned they are able to make observations which point to the correct pairing.
5. Critical Thinking Activity: Students are asked to draw on what they have learned and collaboratively “build” the ideal pollinator. Rangers present a picture of a Leopard Lily, a flower found in Zion, and ask for observations. The ranger then elicits suggestions from participants to build a pollinator adapted to the Leopard Lily.
6. Why Pollination is Important: Rangers examine what Zion National Park look like without it’s pollinators. Extending the situation to the students environment as well, rangers impress the importance of pollinators in a healthy ecosystem. To conclude the program, strategies are presented to protect pollinators in Zion National Park and in students’ own backyards.
Objectives
At the end of the program students will:
• Be able to name four different species of pollinators
• Make observations to determine why a pollinator is attracted to a specific flower
• Describe the process of pollination and the role a pollinator plays
• Understand the importance of a pollinator and list two ways they can help protect them
Standards Alignment
National Standards
3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive
less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of
plants and animals that live there may change.*
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS4-2. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same
species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.