Ecology
Start with the short videos, explore the educational resources, and expand your knowledge with the scientist interviews and lectures.
Explore model lessons, classroom tools, and professional development opportunities available from CU-Boulder. Use the search function above to find even more climate resources and information.
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Model Lessons
Mountain Pine BeetlesA team of Colorado teachers with CU-Boulder scientists and science educators collaborated to develop "Mountain Pine Beetles" - a model lesson for 9th-12th grade students (adaptable to middle school) about Colorado's growing pine beetle population. Each lesson has been taught and tested in classrooms and is based on content from the "Colorado's Forests and the Pine Beetle Epidemic" video featured on this website. Learn More
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Biotic Change on the Front Range: Weeds & Weevils Unit
Do life cycles really matter? How do species interactions affect land management decisions? In this middle school unit, explore the science behind invasive species management through hands-on investigation of plant and insect life cycles. These lessons were developed by the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR). Learn More
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Cool Tools
Burning Issues
CU-Boulder's Biogeography Lab in the Department of Geography has created a website dedicated to studying the 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire in Boulder County, Colorado. This site features videos and explains wildfire fundamentals and fire history. Learn More
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Screaming Trees
This National Journal article connects the West's unprecedented mountain pine beetle epidemic to climate change, water resources, and wildfire. Jeff Mitton, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU-Boulder, explains how temperature drives pine beetle regeneration and why this epidemic differs from past outbreaks.
'Screaming Trees' article
Jeff Mitton's Research in The American Naturalist
Jeff Mitton's 'The Beetles Are Coming' handout for schools - "Beetles, Water & Climate" from the Western Water Assessment
Beetles, Water & Climate (BWC) is a multi-purpose web resource intended for researchers, forest managers, water managers, public officials, and other professionals who are investigating and responding to impacts of the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) infestation and other bark beetle infestations in the mid-Rocky Mountain region (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah). Learn More
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Professional Development
The Biological Sciences Initiative (BSI)The University of Colorado at Boulder offers multiple programs for students and teachers of the biological sciences. With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we are able to offer many free programs for K-12 teachers. Learn More
for Climate and Energy
CU-Boulder's Mountain Research Station is an interdisciplinary facility of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research that provides mountain ecosystem research and educational opportunities for scientists, students, and the general public. http://www.colorado.edu/mrs/ |
The Front Range Pika Project through the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEBIO) involves monitoring certain pika habitats along the Colorado Front Range to determine how these habitats are changing and whether pikas are still present. Data collected by volunteers are made available through an interactive website, providing informative maps and supporting data useful for researchers, land managers, and the general public. http://www.citsci.org/(...) |
The Natural Hazards Center works to advance and communicate knowledge on hazards mitigation and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Using an all-hazards and interdisciplinary framework, the center fosters information sharing and integration of activities among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers from around the world; supports and conducts research; and provides educational opportunities for the next generation of hazards scholars and professionals. http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/ |
