Soil Biosolarization: Sustainable Weed Killer
Posted on November 23rd, 2016 by Mary Lord
In this three-part activity, students in grades 5 to 7 act as agricultural engineers, learning about and testing the effectiveness of a sustainable pest-control technique that uses organic waste and sunlight rather than toxic chemicals to reduce weeds.
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Soil Biosolarization: Sustainable Weed Killer
Tags: Agricultural Engineering, biosolarization, Class Activities, Environmental science, farming, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, growing, soil, sustainable agriculture
Students learn about the importance of using the right materials for the job by building three different sand castles and testing them for strength and resistance to weathering. They then discuss how the buildings are different and what engineers need to think about when using rocks, soils, and minerals for construction.
In this week-long activity, student teams in grades 5 – 7 study the effects of evaporation by observing and measuring the ongoing evaporation of water in pans that contain soil or other variables, then then assess what factors may affect evaporation.
