Biodiversity
Photo by Scotty Turner on Unsplash
Keywords: biodiversity, ecosystem, habitat, relationship, reciprocal
“Biodiversity (short for “biological diversity”) refers to the number, variety, and variability of all living things. Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area, which can range from life in a pool of water that collects between the leaves of a plant to the all-encompassing biosphere. There are many levels of organization that identify biodiversity. These include the genetic diversity of populations, the number and types of species, the distribution and abundance of species in communities and ecosystems, and the interactions between organisms and their physical environment.
In the last several years, major flooding, extreme weather, and wildfires have propelled climate change into the mainstream. But despite our increased awareness of environmental issues, the vitally important topic of biodiversity loss has received comparatively little attention. Biodiversity is the incredible variety of organisms on our planet, including the diversity between individuals, species, and ecosystems. Biodiversity provides humans with so many invaluable services, such as clean water, medicines, abundant food, and shelter.
Loss of habitat is one of the major factors leading to the loss of biodiversity in BC and worldwide. As human populations continue to increase around the globe, so does the amount of urbanization and, subsequently, the loss of habitat and biodiversity. Urban development has been shown to produce some of the greatest extinction rates worldwide.
Urban development separates natural habitat into numerous, small patches surrounded by human-altered landscapes like cement, grass, crops, and other degraded land types. These small greenspaces often lack native species, which are important for supporting local biodiversity. Instead, they are dominated by exotic species and highly manicured vegetation used for aesthetic purposes. Urban-gradient studies have found that with many species of plants, birds, and butterflies, the number of non-native species increases toward centers of urbanization while the number of native species decreases. In fact, the flora and fauna of cities, even across vastly different parts of the world, are incredibly similar, irrespective of geography or climate” (Nature Trust British Columbia, 2022).
Why is Biodiversity so Important?
Video credit: Why is Biodiversity so Important? (The Nature Conservancy, 2021)
Teaching and Learning Examples for Instructors
In this lesson, students examine the local territory by observing what is growing and assessing what should be growing to encourage pollinators.
Lesson Plan: Planting with Purpose
Resources
- Habitat Gardens – pollinators template [PowerPoint]
- Working with Elders [PDF]
- Territory Acknowledgements [PDF]
- Medicine Walk [3-minute Video]
Feedback/Errata