Take a look at the Evolution power point and do the lab exercise at the end:
biodiversity evolution ecology bog restoration environmental advocacy sustainable design
.
Monday, September 21, 2026
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
BIRD NEST lab
This bushtit nest is extremely fragile. It was collected from a Vancouver sidewalk more than 5 years ago prior to the outbreak of the current mammalian variant of highly pathogenic avian flu. Also Flu viruses are not viable for the time that has elapsed. It is not advisable at this time to collect any bird nests due to potential exposure to HPAI.
Do not take it out of its container. Instead, use the petri dishes which contain parts of this nest to answer the questions.
FYI if you are working from home, I will upload clear pictures of the bushtit nest here on this blog and on TEAMS, so you may do this assignment.
Monday, September 14, 2026
NOTES ON CLASSIFICATION
Read these notes on classification
please correct the following in these notes: the notes show the old classification. today the new classification is:
Kingdoms archaea , bacteria (formerly monera ) and eukarya
and under the eukarya kingdoms kingdom animalia, fungi and plantae
Answer these questions
1. What is classification? Who invented it?
2. Explain the term binomial nomenclature
3. What are the taxons of life, in order of largest to smallest?
4. Define species.
5. Cell respiration is a universal energy equation. Where does it happen? Write the equation.
6. What is ATP, ADP. Give an analogy for how this works
7. Define Heterotroph and Autotroph
8. ACCORDING TO THESE NOTES, What is the definition of
a. Animal
b. plant
c. Fungus
d. Protozoa
e. Monera
Hey Eu! Eukaryotes vs Prokaryotes
watch this intro video on Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes
This video is an intro to some of the similarities and differences between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. It is meant to accompany our class notes.
Vocabulary words and ideas in the video:
Eukaryote Prokaryote DNA nuclear membrane protozoan multicellular organisms unicellular organisms cell membrane, cytoplasm, DNA, RNA, ribosome, protein, endoplasmic reticulum vacuole mitochondria Plant cell chloroplast cell wall made of cellulose cell wall made of peptidoglycan Bacteria in the environment and the gut
MAKE a model of the cell out of lego: Make one eukaryotic cell and one prokaryotic cell
Make a creative summary of these notes. The summary must cover all of the points below:
1. What are the 4 criteria to life?
2. What are the two main types of cells on earth?
3. Give an example of a. UNICELLULAR organism b. MULTICELLULAR organism
4. I gave an example of the cell as a chocolate factory. Make your own analogy of the cell and include EVERY ORGANELLE. You may choose a plant cell or an animal cell.
5. How are plant cells different from animal cells?
6. What are four ways that cells can interact with each other. below
Classification Activity
1. Read 196-199 in the Biology Textbook
and make point form notes on these pages, copying fig 7.2 an 7.3. Write all the definitions of words in bold: binomial nomenclature, species, dichotomous key, Taxa, phylogeny.
2. Examine all the specimens in class
a. draw the specimen using a half page per drawing
b. Identify the Kingdom or phylum and include as many taxons as possible
c. What are the adaptations?
d. What is your evidence for your answer for b?
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
: Dead or Alive
For your first assignment, I would like you to go outside and find the following objects Photograph them or draw them and write about them in a little paragraph of no more than a third of a page. You may answer in the form of a type written response under your photo, OR you may write it out in hand writing and draw your answers.
1. Find something dead. How do you know it is dead?
2. find something alive. What is it about this object that makes it alive?
3. Find something that has never, ever been alive. What characteristics does this object have that tells you that it is neither dead nor alive. It is nonliving.
4. Find something that is not alive, but an important PART of something alive. Explain your answer
5. What is something that is not alive but a living thing depends upon it to survive?
Look at your responses and ask yourself: What is the criteria of being alive?
Criteria for living things:
What are the criteria for living things?
1. MOTILITY - the ability to move
2. IRRITABILITY - it responds to stimulus
3. REPRODUCTION - it can reproduce and make offspring
a. it can grow
b. it can make another one of itself
4. It is made of CELLS
5. a. HAS METABOLISM -total of all biochemical reactions
occurring in a living thing. If metabolism stops...then thatis death.
b. TAKES IN NUTRIENTS and MAKES WASTE
CELLS (definition)
-A membrane bound organism that has cytoplasm and genetic material. It also has METABOLISM happening inside it.
-ORGANISMS CAN BE UNICELLULAR (made of a single cell) or MULTICELLULAR (made of many cells)
-ORGANISMS CAN BE EUKARYOTES or PROKARYOTES
Eukaryotic cells have DNA inside a nucleus. Prokaryotic cells have DNA in the cytoplasm but no nucleus. Prokaryotes are bacteria
Eukaryotes are animals, plants, fungi, unicellular protozoans, seaweed.
6. CELLS have HOMEOSTASIS - maintaining the status quo for temp,
pH, levels of hormones, levels of enzymes.
7. CELLS CAN adapt to change in the environment.
Organelle systems provide everything for the cell
1. energy for the cell - this is in the form of ATP made
by mitochondria.The mitochondria needs GLUCOSE and OXYGEN.
GLUCOSE IS FROM DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
OXYGEN IS FROM SYSTEM AND
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.
2. eating and drinking - cell receives building blocks such as
AMINO ACIDS, LIPIDS, NUCLEIC ACIDS from the
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
3. waste is taken away by diffusion
4. communication for the cell
5. cells defend themselves
6. Reproduction of the cell
ANY ANIMAL CELL inside a mammal...
Eating building material such as amino acids, lipids nucleic acids
Energy: glucose and oxygen goes to mitochondria and carbon
dioxide leaves mitochondria
Waste: ammonia
Drinking water
cell product: made by the cell as specified by the DNA. For example,
a pancreatic cell makes INSULIN
Monday, June 1, 2026
camosun bog
Take a look at my BOG PRESENTATION
Camosun Bog Restoration Group method for bog restoration: Watch this video. The teens in this video are my students when I taught at PW. They learned their plantae unit by joining a work party! You can also read about the history of camosun bog restoration here.Watch Elder Larry Grant's personal story: He is a language keeper of the Musqueam People.
Transcript of Elder Larry Grant video:
The bog is an integral part of Musqueam. In Musqueam history and the story of Musqueam. So that real connection. When that bog, it’s quite a few things actually when the bog shrinks, that means that people have drained the bog. For urbanization and use of land, removing what western culture called unusable land or unusable space, for I would say non cultural well, to us, non-cultural activity to the Musqueam people. Why would you drain a bog, it carries so much life, if it’s drained it’s allowed to shrink even more. That actually erases all the corroborating evidence of the story of Musqueam and it’s eradicating cultural identity, Aboriginal identity, it’s eradicating Aboriginal identity, in that sense where it removes all traces of any of the stories that we will be able to tell or we can still tell the story, but we won’t be able to say that this is where it originates. And if it’s completely drained, that’s just another step in removing all traces of First Nations People. I would like to see it grow actually but that takes a lot of effort, I would like to see it open up a little more and all those Indigenous plants that are there, allowed to expand a bit because then it becomes a teaching tool for all people. About the value of the bog, the biodiversity that’s in there is amazing, yeah, and it’s set up where people can walk though there and have a look and get very close to all the plants and the mallard ducks are still there. They sit in that center pond and just live be around up there and actually be part of the story of Musqueam. There is a mallard duck in there, there’s actually a little family of mallard ducks in there so.
BIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
DRAW a hand drawn cartoon summary of the videos which you see above as well as the meaning of the pole above. You should make at least three pages, one for each video. In your assignment, try to write in musqueam! Tell the story of Elder Larry Grant too, who is a Musqueam Elder (and a Musqueam-Chinese Canadian)
EVALUATION
60 - your work is outstanding and excellent. It looks amazing and stands out.
50-55 - your work is excellent showing attention to detail. You summarize the key points and you don't miss anything. Your drawings tell the story of the videos and links. Your writing summarizes the key points in an engaging writing style. You cite your sources and also you have posted your work on your blog, which you send to me. You show creativity.
40. your work shows a high standard of quality. your drawings are beautiful or your writing is excellent and engaging to the reader. You show creativity. you could have included a few more details or you did not cite your sources. You uploaded and handed this in on your blog.





