Project: Restore a Neglected Corner

The driving question

Can we measurably increase the amount of life in this corner within a year.

Why this one works

It is the most complete science project available on a school site, and it is one of very few where the class defines success in advance and then finds out.

How it runs

Weeks one and two: baseline. Species count, quadrat sampling, photographs from fixed points. Nothing is planted until this is done.

Week three: define success in a sentence with a number in it. This is the discipline that makes the whole thing work.

Weeks four and five: plan and cost. Species chosen for the conditions rather than for looks.

Week six: plant.

Ongoing: monitor on a fixed schedule, repeating the baseline method exactly.

Final: write the handover for whoever inherits it.

What gets produced

A restoration plan, a monitoring record, and a handover document naming a successor.

Where it goes wrong

No baseline. A class that plants first has nothing to compare against and the project can never be evaluated.

And no handover. A three year plan written by students leaving in one year needs a named successor and a document they can follow.

Related

Project Tracker is the one page planning sheet for any of these.