Activity 1: The Carbon Cycle

1. Ask students to recall the four spheres found on Earth. (biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere)
2. Divide the class into 12 teams or small groups. Give each group one Carbon Cycle Scenario Sheet (printed front to back with the illustration on the front and the description on the back).
3. Instruct each group to complete the following steps:
   1. Read the description on the back of the sheet to understand the process described.
   2. Identify the two spheres where carbon is transferred to and from.
   3. Place their sheet on the white board and label it by writing the sphere where the carbon started above the sheet and the sphere where the carbon was transferred below the sheet like is illustrated in the graphic below. Note that each example in this stage of the activity represents one single transfer of carbon from one sphere to another. Examining one a single transfer at a time gives students an introductory view of the carbon cycle. Carbon will continue to transfer. For example, a pumpkin plant (biosphere) could take in carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis in one transfer and later deposit the carbon in the soil (lithosphere) in a second transfer. Carbon could later be released into the atmosphere again when the soil was tilled in a third transfer.
4. Once all of the students add their sheet to the board, review each process as a class. You may lead a discussion as a class to describe each process and state the two spheres where carbon is transferred to and from, or you may have each group teach their peers.
5. After each of the processes have been reviewed, ask your students to observe the sheets and determine what is different about the sheets with the blue circles versus the sheets with the red circles. (Students should recognize that the blue circles represent processes that take place naturally, and the red circles represent human activities that impact the carbon cycle.)

   As you facilitate your classroom discussion about human-induced activities in the carbon cycle vs. naturally-occurring activities, have your students think critically about the card "Digestion from cattle and other ruminants." This card could be red or blue. Cattle and other ruminants like sheep, goats, deer, and elk would live in our environment regardless of human activity (making it blue). However, a higher quantity of these animals live in our world because they are raised on farms throughout the world for meat and milk. Culture can also be a contributing factor in a country such as India where cattle are considered sacred and are not slaughtered.

6. Now that students can recognize the individual processes that transfer carbon from sphere to sphere, they can begin to see the bigger picture of the cycle. Give each student one copy of the Carbon Cycle handout, one red colored pencil, and one blue colored pencil.
7. Begin with the blue (naturally occurring) Carbon Cycle Scenarios. Have students use their blue colored pencil to draw arrows on their Carbon Cycle handout. Label each arrow with the associated carbon cycle process.
8. Next, have students turn their sheet over and use their red colored pencil to label the human-induced carbon cycling processes
9. Ask students the following questions.
   • In terms of balance, which carbon cycle appears to have the most balance? (naturally occurring)
   • If you were to think critically about what these cycles illustrate, what questions would you ask about the amount of carbon transferred through each process? (Does each process transfer the same amount of carbon? For example, does respiration put the same amount of carbon in the atmosphere as the burning of fossil fuels?)

Activity 2: Climate Smart Agriculture

1. Ask students to brainstorm all of the actions they can personally take to reduce our negative impact on the environment. List them on the board. Examples students may think of include driving less, using public transportation, reducing plastic use, etc.
2. Ask students to recall from the Climate Change Phenomena e-magazine the definitions of the words adaptation and mitigation. Point out to students that the items listed on the board are examples of mitigations. They are choices and efforts aimed to decrease the excessive transfer of carbon to the atmosphere. Explain that there are similar measures that can be taken on farms to both mitigate climate change and adapt to a changing climate.
3. Show students the video clip, Happy Cows Help Save the Planet: Climate Smart Agriculture in Costa Rica. As students watch the video, have them make a list of things the farmer does to mitigate greenhouse emissions that lead to climate change.
4. After watching the video, ask, "What did the Costa Rican farmers do to mitigate climate change?" (They use fences made from living trees, manage healthy grass and forage which protects soil from erosion, plant trees for shade, take measures to protect birds and wildlife, use a biodigester for manure management, etc.)
5. Divide students into 10 small groups. Give each group one Climate Smart Agriculture card.
6. Point out the diagram on the back of their card. Discuss three goals to climate smart agriculture.
   • Increase Productivity: Producing food, fuel, and fiber for our world requires the use of natural resources and comes at a cost to our environment. If we can increase the productivity and efficiency of our farming practices, the overall environmental impact of producing food (per calorie) will be less.
   • Enhance Resilience: Although mitigating climate change is important, our climate is changing. Measures to enhance the resilience of livestock and crops to climate change are necessary to continue to produce food for a growing population.
   • Reduce Emissions: Science and technology are helping us identify ways we can change farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
7. Give students time to research their climate-smart farming practice. They should begin with the introduction on their card and then continue with an internet search to answer the questions on the front of their handout.
8. Select a presentation method to allow your students to share their climate smart agricultural practice with their peers. Examples include:
   • Augmented Reality using the HP Reveal app. (See Farm-to-Fork in Augmented Reality for detailed instructions on using this app in class. A tutorial video and an example of augmented reality being used in a history class project may also help illustrate the assignment further, along with the different ways students can use the app [images, videos, etc.].)
   • Conduct a gallery walk using their Climate Smart Agriculture cards
   • Speed dating peer-to-peer teaching
   • Etc.