This session enables attendees to participate in a hands-on mapping design challenge centered on the grand global challenge of saving the Earth's biodiversity. The Mapping to Conserve Biodiversity in Mississippi Design Challenge engages learners in data-driven, evidence-based biodiversity conservation decisions that reflect current efforts in science and policy. This 3-dimensional, CCR-aligned activity is based upon the principle of Half-Earth, a concept conceived by the late American biologist E.O. Wilson and adopted by a new generation of scientists and conservationists who conclude that we must set aside half of Earth's land and seas for nature to maintain biodiversity and ensure the long-term health of our planet. This principle informs programs like America the Beautiful and the global 30 x 30 efforts aiming to restore, connect, and conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
To complete the challenge, learners receive data on the conservation status and range of Mississippi vertebrate species, along with high-resolution printed maps illustrating the distribution of cities, agriculture, human pressures, biodiversity hotspots, and existing protected areas in the state. Then, by interpreting both mathematical and visual data, learners apply their understanding to identify the ideal areas of Mississippi for protection based on scientific Half-Earth principles while also considering human needs through an equitable lens. Reflecting real-world conservation practice, each design solution is unique and involves decisions and compromises that learners must defend with evidence. While the activity is open-ended, students must support and communicate conservation solutions with data and provide peer review through gallery walks or similar team exchanges. A provided teacher guide includes prompts to encourage student debate while offering suggestions to facilitate resolution through data. The activity raises learner awareness of resources for research and presentations, especially those that link local biodiversity conservation to global efforts.
The activity was developed using evidence-based practices to facilitate student learning through student inquiry and ownership and has been effectively implemented at the middle school, high school, and college levels. To help ensure the activity can be effectively used in a formal educational setting, it employs science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts to address Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards in middle school science and high school biology courses. Participants will receive access to the materials for classroom implementation and a structured framework to be modified or extended to serve their practice.
At the end of this activity, learners will be able to 1. Use maps to identify how humans use and protect land and species ranges and to illustrate conservation biology decisions. 2. Demonstrate how diverse information and mathematical data can be layered onto a map for analysis. 3. Contribute to the collective understanding of biodiversity conservation through small-group and whole-class discussions by evaluating evidence, engaging in argumentation, and forming solutions. 4. Articulate the complexity of making conservation decisions and the need to incorporate diverse disciplines and perspectives, including ecology, geography, agriculture, forestry, and urban and cultural traditions, to inform conservation efforts. 5. Construct an explanation of humans' multiple impacts on biodiversity using interactive research tools that are dynamically updated to reveal global and local species distributions and changes in human land use.
