Eco-Literacy & Math
When most people think about math they don't necessarily think about nature. Physics or engineering or even chemistry seem to come to mind well before biology & ecology. However, the fact is that math originated as a way for people to understand patterns they found in nature. For instance, Eratosthenes estimated the diameter of the Earth with over 99 percent accuracy in 228 B.C. using only basic geometry. (Describing Nature with Math) Meanwhile, the Fibonacci sequence and fractal math were mathematical models for patterns found in the natural world.
Some ideas for how teachers can incorporate E.L. into math lessons include:
- having students calculate their daily, weekly, monthly, and annual water usage and then brainstorm ways to reduce that
- having high school students track, model, and analyze water quality data for nearby lake
- haveing student graph weather data over the last decade + and make predictions based on that data
- writing word problems relating to real world science questions or actions
- using equations to motion and velocity to explore the motion of the planets around the sun
- conducting a patterns in nature scavenger hunt
- calculating how much energy is needed to power LEED buildings vs. a traditionally constructed building
There is no reason why math and E.L. can't be integrated together. Really it's entirely up to the teacher and their own creativity.
Here are some other interesting resources:
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Two different types of cedar fronds displaying fractal patterns
Photo Credit: Nicole Carbone
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