Potatoes, Pesticides, and Biodiversity
Get this Guide
Find Training
Students will develop an understanding of some of the costs and benefits of using pesticides and of how those products affect biodiversity. They will research pesticides and learn about alternatives to the reliance on pesticides for growing potatoes.
This is one of 3 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity module. To get the activity, attend a training or purchase the module now from shop.plt.org. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
EE Resources
BioInteractive’s Science Education Resources
At BioInteractive, you can find hundreds of free multimedia resources for science education targeted to a high school and undergraduate audience. Topics range from evolution to ecology, to diversity of organisms and earth and environment, to biotechnology and the scientific process. The resources include apps, animations, videos, interactive tutorials, and virtual labs to help engage... Read more »
Ordinary Extraordinary Junco
Introduce yourself to one of North America’s most common groups of songbirds, the Juncos. Readily observed in backyards, city parks, and forests alike, these little gray birds—sometimes called “Snowbirds”—can be easily overlooked. But for scientists who study animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology, the Junco is a rockstar. Use these video shorts from The Junco... Read more »
WildLab Bird
A free app that can be downloaded onto any Apple device (try iBird Lite for Android). Use WildLab Bird to learn the basics of bird identification. This application uses audio, photographs, maps, and the process of elimination to help identify over 200 bird species. Sightings can also be entered into a national bird watching database for... Read more »
Biointeractive’s Holiday Lectures on Science
Biointeractive’s Holiday Lectures on Science series brings current research into the classroom, bridging the gap between textbook science and real life science. The Biodiversity in the Age of Humans series asks powerful questions, such as: Are we witnessing a sixth mass extinction? What factors threaten ecosystems on land and in the sea? What are researchers... Read more »
Bears of the World: Interactive Range Map
Blue Raster and Bear Trust International’s interactive world map shows students and educators in grades 9-12 where eight different species of wild bears live. The map includes photos and facts on American and Asiatic black bears, brown bears, giant pandas, polar bears, sloth bears, and sun bears.
Login to download supporting materials such as appendices and teaching tips.
LoginYou Might Also Like
Environmental Quality Investigation
Students investigate areas where improvements can be made in indoor air quality, transportation, chemical use, and more.
Energy Investigation
Students investigate how much energy their school uses, the main sources of that energy, and ways to implement energy-saving strategies.
Learn About Forests: Web of Life
This Learn About Forest activity is perfect for forest sector professionals leading educational events, career days, or field visits with youth. By creating a physical web, learners model the interconnectedness of organisms in an ecosystem.
Learn About Forests: Tree Cookies
This Learn About Forest activity is perfect for forest sector professionals leading educational events, career days, or field visits with youth. Learners examine cross-sections of trees and infer from a tree’s growth rings.