Plants Around a Building

Summary:

Plants are affected by the environment. The environment is everything that surrounds an organism: physical conditions such as temperature, moisture, light, and wind; the presence of other plants and animals; and non-living objects such as rocks, metal, and plastic. All of these factors that make up an environment and affect the growth of plants and animals are called environmental factors.

Plants around buildings are often put there by humans. We do this to make the buildings look better, to provide shade and protection, to prevent soil erosion, and for other such reasons. The location of plants in relation to the bUilding can determine how well the plants grow. Rain from roof gutters can flood plants. A building can protect plants from the wind, or the building might create destructive wind patterns that damage the plants. Buildings can prevent light from reaching plants, and surrounding sidewalks can create so much foot traffic that plant branches are broken. If there are no sidewalks, people walking by can compact the soil, thus preventing the plants from growing. These are just a few of the environmental factors affecting plants around a building.
Participants are challenged to discover how the environment around a building affects the growth of plants.

Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) is an outdoor program that offers young people fun and challenging opportunities to investigate ecological relationships in their local environment. OBIS was developed in the 1970s at the Lawrence Hall of Science to help adults (teachers, parents, community leaders) take young people outdoors to experience ecological principles in their local area. We have made several of the original 97 OBIS activities available digitally. These activities, which increase environmental awareness, can be used individually or in combination. These simple experiences then act as a gateway for children and adults to explore and understand their local environment.