Students are asked to explore their local flora and fauna - either on school grounds or as part of a field trip to a preserve. The questions ask students to look at different aspects of the ecosystem they live in, in more detail than they have done before. I ask students to do "random sampling" (some near the parking lot, some in the preserve, she by the river bank, etc.) and create a poster of what was found in their area. This can be used as an intro to an ecology unit, or just to explore