Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

For Educators

Unit: Student Land Stewards – Activity 1: Ecosystem Postcards from Super, Natural British Columbia

Grade: 7 to 9

Duration: 2-3 hours

Setting: Indoor

Subjects: Arts Education, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies

Physical Activity: No

Students learn about the biodiversity of British Columbia in five main ecosystems, including common native species and some invasive species that threaten them. Students share their learning by creating a postcard from an ecosystem in BC.

This is the first activity in the Grade 7-9 Learning Resource, Student Land Stewards in Action. Please see the Overview for this resource for more information, including the lesson sequence.

This resource was created through the financial support of the Provincial Intermediate and Middle Years Teachers’ Association (myPITA).

Learning Objectives

By participating in this activity, students will:

  • Discover why British Columbia is the most biodiverse province in Canada.
  • Compare and contrast the characteristics of ecosystems in BC.
  • Name an ecosystem in their region and some of the native and invasive species found there.
  • Understand how invasive species can impact an ecosystem.
Inquiry Questions
  • What are the characteristics of some ecosystems in BC and some common species found there?
  • What are some invasive species found in different ecosystems of BC, and what are their impacts?
  • How might ecosystems in BC change in the next 60 years due to climate change?
BC Curriculum Links

Science Big Ideas and Content

  • Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things (Grade 7)
  • The Earth and its climate have changed over geological time (Grade 7)
  • Cells are a basic unit of life (Grade 8; Content: Characteristics of life)
  • The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them. (Grade 9)
  • Local First Peoples knowledge of changes in biodiversity over time (Grade 7, Content)
  • First Peoples knowledge of interconnectedness and sustainability (Grade 9, Content)
  • Sustainability of systems (Grade 9, Content)

Science Curricular Competencies (Grades 7-9)

  • Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest.
  • Experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches.
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives (and worldviews) of place.

Social Studies

  • Physiographic features and natural resources in Canada (Grade 9, Content)

English Language Arts

  • Transform ideas and information to create original texts (Grades 7-9, Curricular Competency)

Arts Education

  • Use the arts to communicate, respond to and understand environmental and global issues (Grade 8, Curricular Competency)
Materials
  • Cardstock to make postcards.
  • Art supplies of choice (such as watercolour paints and paint brushes; pencil crayons; materials to make collages- e.g., photos of landscapes, animals, and plants from BC; scissors and glue)

Documents to Download

Background Information

British Columbia’s provincial tourism slogan is “Super, Natural British Columbia,” and for good reason! From the rugged Pacific coast to towering glacier-clad mountains, to hot and dry interior grasslands and old-growth temperate rainforests, BC has the greatest variety of landforms, ecosystems, and lifeforms of any province in Canada.

Within the 950,000 square kilometres encompassing BC is Canada’s greatest biological diversity (biodiversity), with over 50,000 documented species! BC’s biodiversity is shaped by its glacial history, proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and its mountainous terrain, which influence climate. BC has more species of plants (3,500), mammals (165), butterflies (264), reptiles (21), and amphibians (20) than any other province in Canada. Almost 100 species have the majority of their global range found in BC, meaning they are found almost nowhere else in the world. See more statistics and resources on BC’s biodiversity in the Additional Resources section.

BC has high species diversity owing to its diversity of ecosystems.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms, such as plants, fungi, and animals, interacting with each other and their non-living environment (temperature, moisture, soil, air, and sunlight) in a specific area.

Ecosystems can be large, such as an expansive temperate rainforest, or small, such as an isolated tidepool.

There are many ways that ecosystems are characterized and classified. Some of the main terrestrial (i.e., excluding marine) ecosystem types in BC include:

  • Grasslands, primarily located in the Southern Interior, but also include the grassland/Garry Oak Ecosystems of Southern Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.
  • Montane forests, found at higher elevations above the grasslands, primarily in the Central and Southern Interior.
  • Northern forests, located in Northern BC from Prince George to the Yukon.
  • Temperate rainforests are found mainly along the coast, but also in some parts of the Interior.
  • Freshwater ecosystems, including rivers, lakes, and wetlands throughout BC.

Other, more fine-tuned classification systems divide ecosystems based on similarities in climate, soil, vegetation, and geographic location. These are sometimes called “biogeoclimatic zones” (From bio= life and geo= earth) or “ecoprovinces” or “ecozones”.

You can learn a lot about nature in your region by discovering what biogeoclimatic zone you live in and what the typical native habitats, plants, and wildlife are in your area, as well as the invasive species that may threaten it.

Many species and habitats in BC are endangered due to habitat loss and other human activities. Invasive species are considered the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Invasive species threaten native biodiversity by spreading and taking over, impacting native species, such as by spreading disease, eating native species, or outcompeting native species. Invasive species can also change how ecosystems function, such as by increasing fire frequency, preventing water flow, or increasing runoff and erosion.

See the Additional Resources section for interactive maps and other resources to discover your biogeoclimatic zone and some invasive species that may threaten the species and ecosystems in your region.

Preparation
  • Print or be prepared to share digitally the Ecosystems of British Columbia documents found in the Materials section.
  • Prepare art materials for creating ecosystem postcards.
Procedure
  1. Present the slogan “Super, Natural British Columbia” and have students give examples of what this means to them.
  2. Introduce the topic. Share the definition of an ecosystem and some examples. Ask students how your region’s climate, vegetation, and wildlife compare and contrast with those in a different region of BC. Tell students that they will be learning more about some of the ecosystems in BC and creating an artistic postcard to write to someone who lives in a different ecosystem.
  3. Student learning about the ecosystems of BC. Provide copies of the Ecosystems of British Columbia documents for students to read and discuss in small groups. Have students create a concept map to organize their thoughts and questions around ecosystems. See the Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate thinking routine (Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education) to frame the discussion. Optional: supplement student research with maps or other resources in the Additional Resources: Ecosystems of British Columbia section and/or the Biogeoclimatic Zones of BC and Climate Change maps (Materials section).
  4. Create a postcard. Assign or have students select an ecosystem to focus on. Provide card stock and art materials or create digital artwork as a slide. Direct students to create a visual representation of their selected ecosystem, including some landforms and life found there. People and our activities are also part of the ecosystem and can be included, particularly those that do not cause harm or habitat loss.
  5. Write your postcard. After creating the image on the front of the postcard, students write a message on the back. Students should imagine that they are writing their postcard to someone who has never been to that ecosystem. Draw a vertical line about two-thirds from the right-hand side. Students can write an address for the recipient on the right side (which may be fictitious but should be to an address in a different region). This side also could also include a design for a stamp and postage mark. The postcard message goes on the left-hand side. It should include information on where you are, details about the ecosystem (some plants or animals you have seen or hope to see), an invasive species from that area that you have seen (or hope not to see!), and any other creative message about what you are experiencing in that area of “Super, Natural British Columbia”.
Reflections and Assessment
  • Why is BC sometimes called “Super, Natural British Columbia”? Is this an accurate description? Why or why not? Give examples.
  • Compare and contrast ecosystems in British Columbia.
  • Which BC ecosystem do you feel most connected to and why?
  • Which BC ecosystem would you like to visit and why?
  • Which BC ecosystem do you feel needs the most protection and why? How could it be protected?
Accessibility and Adaptations
  • Instead of making paper copies of postcards, incorporate technology by making digital postcards. Share everyone’s work as a slide show.
  • Let students choose how to represent their ecosystem visually through drawings, collages, or paintings. If creating digital postcards, students could instead make a video or audio recording (student speaking and/or nature sounds from that region) to describe the ecosystem.
Extensions
  • Go outdoors! See if you can identify and observe some of the characteristic native and invasive species in your area from the ecosystem descriptions.
  • Make a time series of postcards for the same ecosystem, including one from before colonization and one from one hundred years into the future. How has the ecosystem changed over time?
  • Consider how climate change is impacting your region now and the projected impacts in the future. Scientists predict that by 2080, BC will experience a hotter, wetter winter, and drier summer climate, with significant impacts on ecosystems and water resources. Analyze the Biogeoclimatic Zones of BC and Climate Change maps to compare and contrast today’s ecosystems with what is predicted due to global warming.
Connections to First Peoples’ Perspectives

Wildfires and atmospheric river flooding events due to climate change cause environmental harm, including spreading invasive species and impacting First Nations’ traditional hunting and fishing practices. Watch and learn more in this video: Impacts of Invasive Species along the Nicola River. (2:29, ISCBC)

Additional Resources

Ecosystems of British Columbia

Invasive Species in British Columbia

Biodiversity in British Columbia

Statistics on Biodiversity in British Columbia (From Government of British Columbia, 2023)

  • Plants: Includes 60% of all of Canada’s plant species!
    • At least 2,500 native plants (vascular plants; not including mosses and liverworts)
    • About 1,000 mosses and liverworts (bryophytes) 
    • More than 10,000 fungi 
    • More than 2,000 species of lichen
  • Insects
    • An estimated 35,000 species
  • Spiders
    • An estimated 1,000 species
  • Marine invertebrates- some of the highest diversity in the temperate regions due to the variety of coastal ecosystems (rocky shores, mud flats, sandy beaches, estuaries, deep fjords, etc.), including:
    • more than 600 species of amphipod crustaceans
    • more than 100 species of sea slugs (nudibranchs)
    • at least 75 sea anemones
    • more than 475 species of sea worms (polychaetes)
  • Vertebrate diversity is among the greatest in North America, with more than 1,100 native species, including:
    • 20 amphibians; half of all the species found in Canada.
    • 21 reptiles
    • 454 species of birds, of which more than 315 breed in BC; 70% of Canada’s nesting bird species.
    • Over 165 mammals (terrestrial and marine); more than 70% of Canada’s land mammals.
    • Over 500 species of fish, including about 160 freshwater fish that inhabit streams, rivers and lakes, and hundreds more marine fish species in coastal waters.