Social-ecological connections

What are social-ecological connections? Connections between people and the ecological systems that surround them.

What does it look like in practice?
Educators may emphasize:

• relationships between people and the natural world
• interdependence
• human impacts on ecosystems (positive and negative)
• causes of environmental problems and effects on society and natural systems. Stories, photos, videos or other forms of data can be used to illustrate these connections or draw attention to changes in organisms, populations, or landscapes due to human activities.

Grand Canyon National Park Canyon Connections Program
The Canyon Connections virtual program for 5th-8th grade students explores the relationship between living and nonliving things in three ecosystems within the Grand Canyon National Park.

In the introduction, the ranger asks students to reflect on what the word “community'' means to them. The majority of student responses focus on components of human communities. She encourages students to think about ways biotic and abiotic factors and ecosystem dynamics may be included in students’ definitions of community.

Later in the program, the educator encourages students to think about the impacts that humans have in the Grand Canyon ponderosa pine ecosystem. She touches on the human activities that impact the Grand Canyon ecosystems including logging, tree plantings, roads/trails (recreation), and fire management. In her conclusion, the educator challenges students to think about how both humans and nature, including biotic and abiotic factors, interact and make up communities.

These program elements exemplify social-ecological connections by challenging students to think beyond human communities when defining a community. Through photos, questions and explanations, she elicits and provides tangible examples of ways that humans impact ecosystems in the park.