POPULATION: General teen or adult use

SPACE REQUIREMENTS: Classroom/Outdoors

EQUIPMENT/MATERIALS: Pencils/pens, paper

SIZE OF GROUP: Small group

PROGRAM GOALS:

1. To increase participants' understanding of their values as related to invasive species control and eradication techniques.

2. To increase participants' ability to use a group planning and decision-making process.

3. To increase participants' ability to compromise within a small group.

DESCRIPTION/PROCEDURE:

Have group form semicircle and distribute paper and pencils. Introduce the invasive species module by beginning discussion on values as they related to invasive species and how each person has an individually held value system. However, most people do not think about their values as related to control or eradication techniques of invasive species until they come into conflict within another countries' control or eradication techniques of invasive species. The second part of the module will help participants learn compromise skills and let them see other people's values.

Instruct each person to look over the module list and decide 5 invasive species that he/ she would allow to exist in their future. Each person is to circle the five chosen invasive species. Individuals may not add invasive species to the list. Allow 5 minutes for completion.

Then form small groups (representing countries) of three to five people and have them discuss the chosen invasive species and control or eradication techniques. Have them come to a group consensus on only five control or eradication techniques of invasive species. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for completion.

Each group (country) is then to present their choices to the others, explaining why each invasive species was chosen to exist the future. Other group members may make comments and note similarities and differences.

The discussion should focus on the invasive species control or eradication techniques that the selected invasive species represent, how groups came to consensus, the apparent leaders and followers in each group, how individual invasive species control or eradication techniques may be compromised temporarily for the group (countries) values, etc.

LEADERSHIP CONSIDERATIONS:

1. Encourage discussion between group members, with each person justifying why he/ she selected certain invasive species and control or eradication techniques.

2. Note how each group uses decision-making and compromise skills to make observations to group after completion.

VARIATIONS:

1. If time allows, have all groups combine for one list of five invasive species and control or eradication techniques, going through another round of compromise and decision making.

2. Substitute list of invasive species control or eradication techniques with different pieces of related topics.

3. Substitute list of invasive species control or eradication techniques with different invasive species from across the United States or foreign counties (e.g.,Yosemite National Park, Nordic Countries, etc.)

TIME WARP

A team of scientists has discovered how to send people into the future. While discovering this, they also found that the people in the future do not know how to use eradication techniques on invasive species. So this team of scientists has chosen you to come up with five control or eradication techniques to take to the future and teach them how to control or eradicate invasive species. Your job is to decide from the following list which would be the most beneficial control or eradication techniques to send to the future.