Unit 7 Reflection

        This unit's focus was ecology. We learned about how the whole ecosystem works and all the effects of not just trash, but also "stuff" in general. Some themes and essential understandings were that the ecosystem cannot run properly if it is unbalanced and that we need to be very aware of what we are buying and consuming in order to preserve our planet and our natural resources. The ecosystem is actually very sensitive to any sort of changes in the environment. For example, a small temperature change or a new addition of a species could cause a whole ecosystem to collapse. Another theme of this unit was how the population rises and falls in somewhat of a pattern. Usually, when the population rises, over the course of the next few years, it falls again. Then the population rises again, falls again, and it continues this pattern unless there is a major epidemic or a crisis. In addition, we learned about food webs and food chains. Within the food chain, we learned how energy flows from each organism to another and how only 10% of the energy is actually retained. We also learned about all the different trophic levels and how organisms are categorized into their specific group.
          I want to learn more about how humans are affecting the ecosystems and what we can do to prevent/lessen the damage we are doing. Although we did learn about different ways to help save the condition of our world, I think that there is always more to do and that the little things I do will really make a difference. An unanswered question that I have is whether the world will be covered in waste maybe a couple hundred years from now or maybe even sooner. I wonder about how many more years people can live on Earth before it starts becoming too polluted and trashed to be capable of sustaining life.
          The conservation biology project went really well in my opinion. I think our group worked really well together. One thing that went really well was our efficiency in filming and editing our video. Another thing that went well was that all of us pulled our weight and I think that for the most part we all did similar amounts of work. However, one thing that didn't go so well was that we sometimes butted heads but in the end, we finished strong and I am really proud of our finished product. Through this project, I learned about the many endangered environments in the world and also how to work/collaborate with others better. I think that overall our group's collaboration was very good.
          As for my progress with my New Year's Goals, I think that I am continuing to improve.  I feel that I have progressed since my Unit 6 Reflection and that I am going to steadily keep improving. I find that I have less homework to do at home because I focus in class more and work on trying to get my assignment done rather than having to do it at home.