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Introduction & Teacher Background
The east side of Waterton – Glacier International Peace Park (W-GIPP) is a place of wind, prairie, and aspen parks. The term “park” refers to open areas in the trees or an open understory. Parks are areas of incredible diversity – birds, insects, plants and mammals use them – because of their abundance of types of habitats and the “edges” between them. In W-GIPP the coniferous forest of the mountains stretch down-slope to the only major deciduous forest in W-GIPP – the aspens. The aspen parklands is an area totally different from any other in W-GIPP.
The activities in this unit explore the uniqueness and locations of aspens, and the intricate, aspen-controlled cycles of snowshoe hares, lynx, ruffed grouse and beaver. The unit is rounded out with lessons on grizzly bear migrations through the aspens and hibernation energy dynamics.
Activity 1:
Grades: 8-12
Methods: This activity is a geographic comparison of aspen and prairie locations. The special qualities of aspen trees, water, topography and (especially) wind combine to shape the locations of aspen stands.
Time: 1 – 3 hours
Subjects: Geography, geometry, ecology
Activity 2:
Grades: 6-12
Methods: Students role-play the beaver's family; comparing it to a human family.
Time: 2 hours
Subjects: Social science, home economics, life science, geography
Activity 3:
Grades: 6-12
Methods: Students graph the population cycles of hares, lynx, ruffed grouse and male aspen buds.
Time: 1-2 hours
Subjects: Math, life sciences
Activity 4:
Grades: 6-12
Methods: Students compare two different types of hibernation- of bears and of marmots
Time: 1-2 hours
Subjects: Life science, geography
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