Science Middle School Salesmanship Programs

Back in Memphis, I attended Science Middle School.  The school grounds consisted of the school, a parking lot and a large grass field.  Around the grass field and the parking lot were strips of damaged land.

The goal is to restore these strips of damaged land with grass and trees to provide a beautiful area for the middle school kids to enjoy.  The plan would be for the site to be restored in five years time.

The abiotic environment includes a very dusty, rock-filled soil.  This site receives very little rain over the year and I would estimate 70% of the days in a year are sunny.  The only biota I am familiar with in these strips of land is small weeds and some field grass.  The site has been like this for at least 15 years.

The reference ecosystem is the South Hill of Memphis.  Covered in deciduous trees, conifers and green grass, the South Hill is a beautiful place.  The different biota of the South Hill would be analyzed and then a few choices would be chosen for the restoration Science M.S.  There are many nurseries on the South Hill where seeds and small trees could be bought to be used for the restoration.

The compaction of the soil and contaminants in the strips of land would have to be remedied.  Due to the dry, rocky nature of the strips of land and the foot traffic, the ground would need to be dug up and loosened for new plant life.  Also, the site would probably need to be decontaminated because of how close the site is to two busy streets.

Being much dryer than Jackson, some kind of water system would need to be developed to sustain the restoration.  The middle school is built on a large plot of land.  Run off from each rain could be stored or ran towards the restored strips.  This would be especially important for the first few years when trees and bushes have not had time to grow large enough to provide enough shade.

Since there is not a lot of biota in the area surrounding the strips of land, invasive plants would not pose too much of a threat.  Still, the ground around the newly planted trees needs to be covered to prevent the local weeds from popping up and stealing the sun from the trees.  Also, some kind of preventative measures would be needed to stop weeds and fungus from growing in the grass.

The measurable criteria would be to create a 95% cover of newly added plant and tree life over the existing landscape.  To keep the site in its restored state, the groundskeepers for the school district would have to extend their duties and maintenance to include the new site.