Please inform me of any physical limitations or special needs within the first class week.

Students are advised that this class does involve a significant amount of field work including several field trips as well as some work in our class garden. The field trips are not rigorous and do not require any special abilities or skills. As long as you can walk a mile you will be fine. Please let me know if this is going to be a problem for you.

Plant ID Sheets: Students will be provided with a list of plants that they will see on each field trip. I will point these plants out to you during the trip and students are responsible for drawing each plant and filling out a plant ID sheet for each plant. We will often see additional plants that are not on the list and I will expect you to include these in your Plant ID notebook. I Do encourage the use of cameras on field trips but drawings are REQUIRED for each plant identified.

FIELD TRIPS: All Field Trips Are Required. If you miss any field trips you MUST make them up on your own time.

Bring water, at least 20 blank plant ID sheets, a clip board and pencils or pens for drawing and writing, and rain gear for all field trips. YOU MUST WEAR GOOD SHOES (no high heels, slippers or open toed shoes) and clothes that can get muddy.

RESEARCH PROJECT:

Every student will choose at least one native (endemic or indigenous) plant species to be the subject of their project. You can work with a partner or on your own. However, everyone is required to write their own research report! You project will include library research contributing to a final research paper in addition to actually propagating multiple trays of your chosen plant in the shade house at school. Some seeds will be made available by me. But, if you have a particular plant you would like to grow and know of a reliable source of seed or other plant material, that is also encouraged.  Varying one condition, students will examine the effects of that variable on germination rate. Examples of variables include different seed sources, different treatment of seeds prior to planting the seeds, amount of water or type of soil used. It is very important to keep accurate complete data concerning the number of NEW seedlings emerging on a regular basis (at least every other day), the original date the experiment began, the type of soil used and other possible variables that may effect your results, as well as any unusual results observed. Every student is responsible for keeping close track of their project and recording all data. When your seedlings begin to germinate, you will need to monitor germination at least every other day.

The Report:

The report must include the following components:

-Introduction: Scientific name, description, distribution, status, reproductive mode, ethnobotanical uses known, threats effecting its survival (if any), and any other interesting or important information concerning your research plant. Also, describe what variable you chose and why.

-Methods and Materials: Seed source, soil type, date you began, numbers of seeds and how they were planted. Always include any additional information that may be important to your project.

-Results: Data and its analysis. Organize your data into a nice neat table that is easy to interpret and present the analysis of this data in graph form if appropriate.

-Conclusions: This section should describe any effects of your variable on germination rate or seedling health.

-Bibliography: At least 6 current references. Use the same format for this section as is found in the bibliography of Wagner,s Flowering Plants of Hawaii which can be found on reserve at the UH library.

All references must be cited in the text. All reports MUST be word processed. No hand written papers will be accepted.

Reliable internet references are acceptable but should not be used exclusively!