Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Ebook390 pages2 hours

    Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing

    By Bobby Mercer

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Kids of all ages can use recycled and repurposed household items to complete exciting and green ecology experiments

    Junk Drawer Ecology is a hands-on guide to saving the planet. Fun, free science activities help kids of all ages learn about the science of our planet's ecology. The environment is changing every day, and we can help slow that change. Using free or low-cost things children already have around their homes, these activities are perfect to stimulate young brains.

    Readers will learn about the importance of the polar regions without leaving their communities, about new ways to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, about all forms of pollution, and how they can make a difference.

    Junk Drawer Ecology will give inquisitive kids many hours of fun and help them learn at the same time.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateDec 14, 2021
    ISBN9781641605519
    Junk Drawer Ecology: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Author

    Bobby Mercer

    An Adams Media author.

    Read more from Bobby Mercer

    Related to Junk Drawer Ecology

    Titles in the series (7)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Beautiful Second Chance

      Jun 12, 2023

      A Beautiful Second Chance
      4 min read

    • Article

      Build a Cardboard Solar Oven

      May 10, 2024

      Build a Cardboard Solar Oven
      8 min read

    • Article

      Growing FROM SEEDS

      May 2, 2024

      Growing FROM SEEDS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Eco WISE

      Aug 16, 2017

      Eco WISE
      4 min read

    • Article

      Little garden ADVENTURES

      Apr 16, 2020

      Little garden ADVENTURES
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sustainable Seed Starting

      Nov 18, 2022

      As I dig deeper into hobby gardening, I’ve experimented with starting seeds in late winter to jumpstart the growing season. This practice saves money, and I find it immensely satisfying to watch seedlings emerge under a grow light indoors, especially

      5 min read

    • Article

      Anyone Can

      Aug 3, 2023

      Anyone Can
      6 min read

    • Article

      SIMPLE growing Spaces

      May 24, 2022

      SIMPLE growing Spaces
      4 min read

    • Article

      Grow More, Use Less

      Jul 1, 2023

      Grow More, Use Less
      3 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Overthink Gardening

      Aug 9, 2023

      Don’t Overthink Gardening
      7 min read

    • Article

      Q&A With The Pros: Industry Experts Answer Your Vexing Gardening Questions.

      Aug 31, 2018

      QUESTION: I can never get my melons to bear fruit, even with a beehive in the garden. Could it be because I have clay soil? — Brandi Peterson LEE BUTTALA Executive director of Seed Savers Exchange and editor of The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice o

      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer In A Pot

      May 28, 2020

      Summer In A Pot
      3 min read

    • Article

      Brains Trust

      Oct 15, 2019

      I grew a green manure crop to add nitrogen to the soil (using broad beans), but last time I did this, I planted summer tomatoes straight after digging the broad beans in and it was the worst tomato crop I’ve ever had. What went wrong? (Emma, Newcastl

      6 min read

    • Article

      Start Small Finish Big

      Sep 14, 2022

      Start Small Finish Big
      2 min read

    • Article

      Expert Grow Advice

      Dec 3, 2019

      Expert Grow Advice
      6 min read

    • Article

      Growing Small, Eating Big

      Nov 29, 2018

      Growing Small, Eating Big
      5 min read

    • Article

      Grow Up!

      Dec 20, 2017

      Words Carrol Baker With petite-sized house blocks and the rise of apartment-style living, many would-be home gardeners don’t have enough room to swing a cat, let alone grow a vegetable patch. The good news is you don’t need a lot of room to cultivate

      3 min read

    • Article

      MAKING YOUR Seedlings Cosy

      Mar 21, 2023

      MAKING YOUR Seedlings Cosy
      4 min read

    • Article

      Sow What?

      Aug 23, 2021

      Sow What?
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Junk Drawer Ecology

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Junk Drawer Ecology - Bobby Mercer

      Introduction

      The world we live in is a beautiful place. Everything has its function, even if it isn’t obvious. Throughout history, curious individuals have studied our world in many different ways in an attempt to understand it better. But today, scientists tend to specialize in specific disciplines. They might be chemists, physicists, engineers, biologists, or ecologists. Ecology is the branch of biology that deals with organisms and their interactions with the part of the world they live in.

      Scientists are naturally curious—they want to know the why behind everything. The best natural scientists in the world are the young. Every four-year-old is constantly asking why. Embrace that inner child. Be a scientist and wonder why.

      Our climate is changing. The climate has changed throughout Earth’s history, but it is changing even faster now, and understanding why is more important than ever. The choices we make affect our world. We love clean air and water. We love plants, trees, and animals. And we need to take care of our planet.

      The activities in this book give you hands-on examples of how to make this planet better. You will grow your own plants. You will learn how to reduce the use of harmful plastics in daily life. You will learn how animals, plants, and you interact with the environment. You will learn ways to save energy, to create less trash, and most important, to love and cherish our planet. You can make a difference.

      You will use a variety of tools for these activities. Most you will have in your junk drawer, like pens, paper, paper clips, markers, and scissors. A good thermometer is also important to several of the activities. Body temperature thermometers usually only have an extremely limited range and don’t work for most of the activities, but oven thermometers will work well and are unbelievably cheap. People who cook a lot of food on the grill are likely to have a cooking thermometer, which can also double as a wonderful science thermometer, covering all the temperatures you need for these activities. More expensive grill thermometers have two probes hooked to a digital readout, one for inside the food and one for outside. You can also buy small thermometers that are filled with alcohol. Teachers usually have access to this type of thermometer.

      My hope is that you will learn and smile at the same time. Our wonderful planet is special. It provides us food and fun. Trees, bushes, flowers, fruits, animals, and you all deserve a great place to live. Enjoy these activities and change the world.

      1

      Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

      We live on a wonderful planet, and we want to keep it that way. As our population grows, we need to be aware of ways to reduce the materials and energy we use. We need to reduce what we throw away and we need to recycle and reuse everything we can.

      Little things can make a difference, so let’s learn some ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

      Mini Greenhouse

      Grow your own plants in these tiny greenhouses.

      Ecology Concepts: Radiant heat, using a greenhouse to grow plants

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Scissors

      Thin-walled plastic bottle

      Potting soil

      Seeds (store-bought are best)

      Marker

      Step 1: Use scissors to cut a thin-walled plastic bottle about a third of the way up from the bottom.

      Step 2: Cut the bottle again near the top, where the bottle starts to narrow toward the neck.

      Step 3: Slide the top part into the middle part to create a short minibottle.

      Step 4: Pull the top back off and fill the bottom about three-quarters full of potting soil. You can also use dirt from an outside flower garden if you don’t have any potting soil.

      Step 5: Use your finger to poke a small hole in the soil and place the seed in that hole. Cover up the seed with soil.

      Step 6: Add three tablespoons of water to the soil and put the top of the bottle back on. Label the top of the bottle with the type of plant you are growing. Place in sunlight, either outside or near a sunlit window.

      Step 7: Observe your Mini Greenhouse over the next few days. This photo was taken after 12 days. The plant will soon need to be transplanted into a bigger pot, depending on what you are growing, though it may be OK for a small plant to stay in this container.

      The Science Behind It

      Greenhouses trap the sun’s radiant heat and keep the moisture inside. That is why you saw water droplets inside the bottle. This warm, moist greenhouse is perfect for growing baby plants and will allow you to grow plants all year long. Even when it is cold outside, the greenhouse traps the heat and moisture so the plants can grow.

      At some point, larger plants should be transplanted into larger pots or into the ground outside, if the weather is right. Information is available online for planting in your area. Most states also have agriculture extension offices, which are staffed with people who would be glad to answer your questions. They love gardening and sharing what they know.

      Science for the Ages

      This is perfect for a classroom or camp setting, since every kid could have their own plant to take home. You could get your own seeds from plants, but in my experience, they only grow about half the time. Store-bought seeds almost always grow. A small package of seeds will usually be enough for a classroom.

      Larger Greenhouse

      Start your own garden by growing multiple plants using a Larger Greenhouse.

      Ecology Concept: Using a greenhouse to grow plants

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Ruler

      Deep plastic container (like those used for salad mixes)

      Cereal box

      Potting soil

      Seeds (store-bought are best)

      Cardboard

      Scissors

      Water

      Larger pots (to transfer the plants)

      Step 1: Measure the length and width of the plastic container.

      Step 2: Measure the depth of the plastic container.

      Step 3: Cut a long cardboard strip, the width of which is half the depth of the plastic container. Then, cut that strip of cardboard into two pieces, one that is as long as the length of the plastic container, and one that is as long as the width of the plastic container. Test them inside the plastic container, and trim them as needed to make them rest snugly against the walls of the container. They do not need to be super tight. These strips will form walls to help you grow several small plants in the same container.

      Step 4: Cut the longer strip halfway up from the bottom of the strip.

      Step 5: Cut the shorter strip halfway down from the top of the strip.

      Step 6: Slide one slit into the other, and the two pieces of cardboard will make an X.

      Step 7: Slide the cardboard X into the plastic container.

      Step 8: Add potting soil into each of the sections, up to the top of the cardboard. The cardboard will divide the plastic container into four separate parts, one for each plant. Larger plastic containers may hold up to six or eight seedlings (baby plants). You would need to cut more cardboard strips to create more divisions in the container.

      Step 9: Push your finger into the soil to the correct depth. The seed packet will say what depth is appropriate for each type of seed.

      Step 10: Drop one or two seeds in each hole and cover them with soil. Some seeds might not grow, so two seeds is usually safe to get at least four plants.

      Step 11: Add at least a quarter cup water, but do not drown the seeds.

      Step 12: Close the lid and place it in an area that gets sun for at least six to eight hours a day. A windowsill or back porch is fine, as long as it has direct sun.

      Step 13: This photo was taken after 7 days, and only two plants had germinated (sprouted). Once they sprout, the plants can be transplanted into a bigger pot. Pull each of the four sections out individually. The cardboard may have somewhat disintegrated, but it keeps the roots from mixing. Put each section in its own bigger pot, add soil if needed, water, and watch the plants grow.

      Step 14: The plants will continue to grow in a bigger pot. You also can transplant them into a flower bed outside or move them to an even larger pot. This is an herb (basil), so this will stay in this size pot, and it can be used to season food.

      The Science Behind It

      Greenhouses collect the sun’s radiant energy. They also don’t let the moisture escape. This creates a very humid environment, which helps plants grow, even if it is cold or dry outside.

      Once the seeds germinate, transferring them to a larger pot allows them to keep growing. This is called container gardening. It is perfect for people who don’t want a normal garden. People who live in apartments also love this type of garden—they can grow their own food on a porch or deck. You can do container gardening yourself, even if your parents don’t want a full garden. Growing your own food saves money and saves the environment.

      Science for the Ages

      This activity is a great way to show how a greenhouse works and also instill a love of homegrown food. Young people are much more likely to eat their veggies if they grow them. This could be expanded into a more detailed science experiment; you could vary the amount of water added to each compartment to see how the different amounts of water affect the growth of the plants. You could also vary the depth you plant each seed to test that variable instead.

      Self-Watering Pot

      Repurpose a plastic bottle to grow plants with ease.

      Ecology Concepts: Growing food and repurposing plastic bottles

      Adult supervision required

      From the Junk Drawer:

      2-liter plastic bottle

      Knife

      Scissors

      Hammer

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1