Download Situation in Greentown

Let’s Review
• What sorts of projects did Thomas, the
environmental engineer in the storybook, work
on?
– Helping to clean up an oil spill to lessen the impact
on the river environment.
• Do you think environmental engineers might
work on other projects as well? What types of
projects?
– Yes, environmental engineers work on any type of
project having to do with cleaning or preventing
pollution in the environment.
Situation in Greentown
By:
Frank Klauder
Letter from mayor of Greentown
INTERPRET THE LETTER
Dear Environmental Engineers,
I am writing to ask for your help! I am the mayor of Greentown. We are having
problems here in Greentown and we don't know the cause. Some people who live in
Greentown have noticed plants dying-I noticed it myself with the plants in the town garden.
Other residents have noticed sick animals. In the big pond in town, lots of the frogs seem to be
dying. We have environmental test results from three years ago. All of those results were fine.
I'll attach the results to my letter, along with a map of Greentown for you to review.
Everything in town seems to be continuing on as normal. We don't know
why the plants and animals seems to be having such a hard time. Please help us figure out
what's going on. We look forward to hearing what you find!
Sincerely,
Mayor Higgins
Let’s think!
• What are some of the problems Greentown is
experiencing?
– Plants are turning brown and dying, animals like frogs are
getting sick and dying.
• Why is this surprising?
– Because the environmental tests they did 3 years ago
came out fine. Everything in town should be the same as
it was then.
• Do you think that the plants and frogs in Greentown
are likely to be the only organisms affected? Why?
– What do you think (maybe frogs have virus or disease)
Map of Greentown
Greentown’s Ecosystem
• What living things do you think are in Greentown’s
ecosystem?
– Animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria.
• What kinds of non-living things are also part of the
ecosystem?
– The soil/land, water, and air.
• Do you have any ideas about what might be causing
the problems in Greentown?
– What do you think! “not sure, maybe pollution, other”
• What resources do we have to help figure out what
might be causing the problems in Greentown?
– Map, environmental test data from 3 years ago.