How Nature Recycles (Decomposers) Class
Nature knows how to recycle!
Learn how nature makes good use of dead and decaying plants and animals, as a guide takes you hiking along the nature center trails. Participate in a demonstration about decomposers like fungi, worms, and insects. And for fun, play a worm relay game. View live decomposers, like roly-polies or millipedes. Extended program participants may add a related nature activity such as a game or demonstration.
Grades K - 5th
Group Minimum 10
Duration 2 Hours Fee $15.00/participant (children and adults)
Extended Program Duration 2.5-3 hours Fee $20/participant (children and adults)
Objectives
Students will:
Name some organisms that help nature recycle, such as fungi, worms, insects, and bacteria.
Describe how nature recycles a dead organism to benefit many other living organisms.
Observe decomposing logs, fungi, and other decaying matter in nature.
Identify ways that humans produce, consume, and recycle materials.
List and observe ways that humans can take care of the environment.
Vocabulary
Decomposer - something that helps break down dead or decaying matter.
Fungus - a living thing that grows somewhat like a plant but does not have chlorophyll (does not make its own food) often grows in a damp environment and helps break down the surrounding environment; mushrooms, molds, and yeast are examples.
Insect - invertebrate (animal with no bones) with six legs, two antennae, two eyes, and an exoskeleton.
Soil - top layer of earth's surface, made of rock, mineral and organic pieces (such as dead leaves or bark);most plants need soil to grow well.
Producers – plants, algae, phytoplankton or bacteria the make their own food from the sun or chemical sources (vents ocean floor where there is no light)
Consumers – Organisms that eat other organisms or organic matter
TEKS
Programs are adjusted to be age appropriate. All programs address the Science TEKS goal of engaging students in hands-on investigations of the natural world.
For specific, grade-level TEKS that may be included in our programs, see our Science TEKS chart below.
