| Grade Level: |
Subject Areas |
|
High School |
- Earth Science
- Life Sciences (Botany)
- Art
- Industrial Arts
|
Description: Half
of the water used outdoors around the home is for watering lawns. It is
not uncommon to see timed sprinklers in use while it is raining, or to see
puddles of water on sidewalks and roads where someone's sprinkler has been
watering the pavement as well as the lawn. Students will learn how/where
lawn watering is wasted and how to prevent this. Students will landscape
an area utilizing learned xeriscape techniques.
Go directly to:
| Skill
Areas |
- Math
- Design
- Plant identification
|
| Vocabulary |
- Horticulture
- Xeriscape
- Landscape design
|
| Class
Time |
- Senior Project or class project
|
Goals and objectives
|
Materials and Equipment
- Internet
- Troubled Waters Video
|
Students will understand the reasons for changing landscaping techniques
to save water
Students will understand the seven principles of xeriscapes
Students will understand the design elements pertinent to landscape design
Students will produce a model terrain designed to save water while making
an attractive landscape
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Teaching
Preparation
Teachers
may determine whether to use this activity for a class project or a major
project for individual students. If used as a class project, divide students
into teams and assign each team an area of research. Students will then
share their areas of expertise with the rest of the class.
Assign each student a plant to research for its applicability to a xeriscape
in your locale. All the reports will be shared with the whole class.
Have each team come up with their proposed design (explained under "Student
Activity" below) and present it to the class as though they were bidding
for a landscape project. Plants to be used, costs, time investment, and
efficacy of design should be covered. The class will then adopt one of the
designs, or a modified design, and build the xeriscape as a group.
People often water their yards and plants in the
heat of the day, unwittingly losing a great deal of the moisture to evaporation,
rather than soaking the roots of the plants. The documentary "Troubled
Waters: The Illusion of Abundance" skillfully presents the world
water situation, pointing out the effects of the recent drought in the United
States and around the world, the chance of conflict between nations over
water rights, and the toll in disease and death due to the shortage of safe
water supplies in some parts of the world. Several American cites have come
within days of running out of water and have had to implement drastic water
restrictions. Lawn irrigation stresses the water supply greatly.
"We have larger homes and we have larger areas of turf, of green
lawns that people are irrigating. These have greatly increased the demands
for water at the household level and have put pressures on the water supplies,
the increased consumption in the homes and in the things that we buy.
We have rivers running dry because of the over pumping of ground water
to supply suburban lawn irrigation needs here in New England. So I think
the next big challenge will be using water more efficiently; not only
indoors in our homes, but also outdoors in our yards and surroundings."
--Sandra Postel, Director, Global Water Policy Project
Rather than facing the choice of either over-using water or watching lawns
and gardens die, it is possible to design more efficient yards that use
less water while still maintaining their beauty. Water-saving landscapes,
or xeriscapes, offer an alternative to traditional water-intensive yard
design. Using seven basic steps, including using native plants, less water-intensive
grasses, and good planning, yards can be both beautiful and water-efficient.
"Many times when people hear conservation, they think it means sacrifice.
What we've done is to work on a daily basis to educate customers that
it doesn't mean sacrifice, it just means improving your efficiency."
--Jennifer Platt, Water Conservation Manager, Cary, NC
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Student Activity
- Watch the video Troubled Waters.
- Research water conservation issues related to home outdoor water use.
- Research water saving landscaping techniques.
- Research lawn and garden design for visual appeal.
- Write a paper about your research. Relate the rationale for the
importance of saving water in landscaping and yard care. Include the elements of water saving
landscaping, the reasons for water saving landscaping, and the
advantages/disadvantages of such landscaping. Also include design elements that
make an attractive outdoor space.
- Project: Find a space on the school grounds that the administration
will allow you to use for a school beautification project. Design and plant a
water-saving garden combining the elements of landscape design and the
principles of xeriscape
design. As much as possible, use native plants. Identify the plants you use by
inserting markers into the ground near the plant with its name and why
it was used in your xeriscape.
- Portfolio: Include photographs of your project at each stage of
development. Include design sketches used and revised during the project. Show evidence of water savings in
the design of your xeriscape.
- Presentation: Give a tour of your xeriscape to students, teachers and
administrators. Your school board members and members of local water
conservation groups may also be invited. Maintain your landscape as a model for
the public in water-saving land use.
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Extension
“I
think the next big move in this country, in our home environment,
needs to be outdoors where we have a lot of water going to irrigate
lawns, to fill swimming pools. If you look out West, half or more
of the water being delivered to a home is being used outside.
”
Sandra Postel
Director, Global Water Policy Project |
Research
lawn and garden fertilization and pest control. Create a landscape that
does not use harmful chemicals or uses techniques to prevent fertilizer
and pesticide run-offs into rivers and streams.
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Additional
Resources
Local
agricultural extension service
Local nursuries
Web Sites on Xeriscapes:
Xeriscape
Seven
Principles of XeriscapeXeriscape
NC
Water-wise
Landscape Design
Eight
Water Saving Steps
Michael
Holigan (includes video)
Web Sites on Landscape Design:
Planning
the Home Landscape
Principles
of Landscape Design
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