Can Beavers Help Mitigate Wildfire and Drought?
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Biology
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Provided by The Kid Should See This
What it is
- This video explains how beavers can help restore habitats, minimize wildfires, and fight droughts.
- Students will learn that beaver dams store water and carbon and improve water quality.
- Climate change and human activity have degraded many habitats, making it hard for beavers to survive, but scientists are now working to reintroduce beavers into several river ecosystems.
Teaching tips
Positives
- A short article below the video provides links to relevant sources.
- Students will learn from the scientists who are studying and working with the beavers.
- This engaging video uses animation as well as historic and present-day video footage to illustrate certain concepts.
Additional Prerequisites
- There may be ads during the video.
- Students should have a basic understanding of ecosystems and keystone species.
Differentiation
- Teachers could use this video in a biology class when discussing climate change and keystone species.
- Science classes could research other biomimicry climate change solutions.
- Other resources on this topic include this video and article on how scientists can use nature to help restore ecosystems, this video on the adverse impacts of human activity on the water cycle, and this video on how wildfires are affecting Oregon.
From the scientist review
This resource is a 10-minute video and article that examines how beavers can strengthen and manage healthy stream ecosystems. Beavers and their dams can retain water, enhance ecosystem health and resilience, and even reduce the damage done by droughts and fires. This resource is a comprehensive and hopeful look at a promising way to use natural resources (here, beavers) to restore habitats and enhance climate resilience. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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