Terrariums
One of the first projects of this semester was engineering related...we had to build a terrarium modeling an ecosystem. Though it wasn't exactly the engineering of freshman year, it was nice to be physically building rather than indirectly observing. For this task, my group decided to fashion a terrarium that modeled a desert ecosystem. After researching how to build a successful terrarium, we went straight into building a mason jar terrarium. Later, we built a larger model. We used pebbles, activated charcoal, soil, sand, rocks, sphagnum moss, and ice plants in both representations. In the larger figure we added a cactus and Echeveria lilacina (the flower). You can build your own terrarium as a nice decoration in your home, and, with a maintained model, it can be a fulfilling undertaking.
After a month or so of maintaining our terrarium, it appears to be in good health. The plants are still alive and well and although we had forgotten to water a couple times, the succulents demonstrated their resilience to lack of water. Check back soon to see how our terrarium fares.
Reflection
As this unit has progressed, our terrarium, though beginning to brown in some areas, survived quite well. The majority of the plants are unwrinkled, vital, and still beautiful. As I watched the ecosystem, it seemed almost obsolete as I could not see the plants growing. But then I realized that, although the plants may not grow, their survival is dependent on the other plants in the mini-biome. It made me reflect on how dependent humans are to our ecosystems. If trees and other plants don't survive, we would not be able to breathe. Without the oil beneath our feet, we would not be able to commute from one place to another so quickly. If another organism posed to be a greater predator than humans, we would not have been able to even produce these terrariums (not to mention evolve to this point of sophistication). This project was eye-opening, interesting, and surprisingly sentimental. I hope to do more like this in the future.