The 7-12 activities concentrate on inter-relationships and ecosystem connections. This is one of the major themes for the significance of protecting Glacier National Park. The story of again is a good introduction that illustrates how all of the private and public land in Northwest Montana is connected. The area that is now Glacier National Park is a central piece of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. Get started with the Locating Glacier National Park activity.
Unit One: An International Peace Park
This unit focuses on the relationships between Canadians and Americans, Waterton Lakes and Glacier National Parks, and the concept of “peace.”
Unit One: Background and Introduction
- Activity 1: – e-mail discussion between Canadian and American students about their similarities and differences.
- Activity 2: – facilitated group activity about the historical and present functioning of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
- Activity 3: – creative group writing about the various meanings of “peace” through a park hike and/or a guided image experience.
Unit Two: A Serious Economics Nut
This unit focuses on the interrelationships surrounding whitebark pines in the subalpine.
Unit Two: Background and Introduction
- Activity 1: – an outside “hide and retrieve” game illustrating the memory capabilities of the Clark’s nutcracker.
- Activity 2: – dendrochronology and climate change in whitebark pines, and art projects doing tree rings of student personal histories.
- Activity 3: – outdoor game illustrating the calories du jour sequence for grizzlies; whitebark pine decline effects and bear relationships with squirrels.
- Activity 4: – an archival look at the times and types of bear – human conflicts (related back to whitebark pine); a visit by a bear management specialist (students construct overlay of bear-human conflict locations).
- Activity 5: – the classic information cards for members and yarn for connections “web game”, removing keystone whitebark pine from the web to show effects.
Unit Three: Parks in the Parks: The Aspenlands
This unit focuses on the interrelationships in the aspen parklands.
Unit Three: Background and Introduction
- Activity 2: – role-playing the beaver’s family; compare to human family (overlay of beaver pond locations – compare to aspen).
- Activity 4: – side-by-side comparison of bear “hibernation” and marmot/ground squirrel “true hibernation”; same with highland and lowland east side grizzlies.
Unit Four: Land of the Giants
Unit four focuses on the interrelationships in the old growth west side forests.
Unit Four: Background and Introduction
- Activity 3: – a first-hand examination of soil and recycling of death, and a literary approach.
- Activity 4: – a scavenging game illustrating interspecies cooperative feeding and highly specific niches in the old growth.
Unit Five: A Park Not Alone
The study of three-watersheds, biodiversity, and the connections of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park to issues outside of the park.
Unit Five: Background and Introduction
- Activity 1: – introduced plants, identification, range expansion, with a public service activity / eradication project.