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This section provides students with a brief introduction to Project E.R. and to three key environmental concepts—ecosystem, biodiversity, and conservation.
Field Studies
With scientists as their guides, students virtually explore three ecosystems and see how the project teams are making a difference by
- learning how the ecosystem of Illinois’s Swallow Cliff Woods Forest Preserve is responding to restoration efforts;
- studying how lions in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park behave and interact with their ecosystem; and
- preserving river turtles that are rapidly disappearing from the Aguarico River in Ecuador’s Rainforest Preserve at Zábalo.
Activities
Students explore the three ecosystems by making observations, developing hypotheses, questioning assumptions, testing ideas, and coming to conclusions. They will be working on
 identifying the living and non-living components that make up the Swallow Cliff Woods ecosystem
- charting the relationships among plants, animals, and people in the Tsavo ecosystem and
- examining how the Cofan people have become stewards of the Rainforest Preserve at Zábalo.
Each activity has a link to a downloadable version of the handouts—Eco Analysis, Eco Web, and Eco Issue—that students need.
Teacher Aids
This section provides curriculum instructions for each of the three student activities as well as links to national standards. For those teachers who would like a more in-depth experience, there is a description of the Field Museum Environmental Education Curriculum and other programs that can help your students get involved.
Bulletin
This section highlights the projects of students who see the need for change in the way their local environments are used. If your community or school has developed a conservation program, this area is the place to share your ideas!
Glossary
The Glossary is a quick reference tool for students as they move through the site.
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