Just like you need personal space, plants need space to grow, but unlike you they cannot walk away when something invades their territory. Experiment with what happens to plants when they are planted too close together. Plant several bean, mustard or radish seeds in a plastic cup or small pot without much space between. Plant one or two in another container spaced according to the directions on the package. Place them in a sunny, airy location and water them daily. Once they sprout, draw or take pictures and measure every day to track plant growth. Observe the color, the stem size and strength, the number and appearance of the leaves together with overall plant size after seven, 10 and 21 days to gauge the plant's health. Record your conclusions about how the amount of growing space affects a plant's general well-being and lifespan.
Many factors, such as drought or an unusually rainy season, irrigation and pollution, affect the water levels in streams and rivers. These levels, in turn, affect the amount of living space available for fish that live in these waters. Find out how water levels affect the survival rate of fish by filling four to eight small fish bowls with water, some quarter-full, some half-full and some full. Place a small goldfish in each bowl. Clean the fish bowls regularly and feed the fish daily. Measure the fish once a week to determine how water levels affect fish growth and health.
Punch two holes opposite one another around the sides of a small, clear plastic container with a lid. Insert a bendable straw in each holes and tape if necessary to ensure a tight seal. Cut the center out of the lid. Stretch clear plastic wrap tightly over the container and secure the lid in place to hold the plastic wrap. Cover one of the straws with an old piece of nylon as a filter. Identify an area in your yard, garden or local wildlife preserve or wildnerness area to study. Locate a bug in your study area and "vacuum" it up by placing the unfiltered straw near the bug and sucking on the filtered straw. Take pictures of the bugs you catch and note color, number of wings, if any, whether it has antenna or not and how many of this type you catch.
The "American Heritage Science Dictionary" defines biodiversity as, "The number, variety, and genetic variation of different organisms found within a specified geographic region." Maintaining the natural balance of species within an ecosystem is one of the primary goals of environmental biologists and recording simple observations of what you see in a certain area helps scientists understand the ecological shifts within a system that affect biodiversity. Visit a wildlife area with hiking trails or set up an observation station in your own backyard. Make a chart with columns for the name of the animal and area where you saw it (in the grass, in a tree, near a pond) and notes about what it was doing when you saw it. Record the time of day you start and stop the observation and the outdoor temperature during the observation. Draw the animal or take pictures of it in its natural habitat. For an additional challenge, try to identify the class and phylum of each animal later on. Repeat the observation at different times of day and temperatures to compare whether either affects the type or number of animals you see. Share your observations with a local wildlife officer to help her with her conservation efforts.