EXPLORING BIODIVERSITY: A Guide for Educators Around the World

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next round, but this time introduce a different
condition card at the end of each round (for each
generation). Explain that most renewable
resources have limits to their rate of replenishment.
Physical, environmental, and human
conditions can change how much a resource is
renewed every generation. This round will illustrate
sustainability under different conditions.
Place the beans back in the tray. Follow the same
procedure for collecting the beans as in rounds 1
and 2. In this round, however, after each generation,
adjust the bean amounts according to the
five conditions on the cards you prepared earlier:
drought, flood, surplus, average yield, or contamination.
Two conditions increase the number of
beans in the tray: average yield (+1/2 cup)—only
an average amount of the resource was replenished;
surplus (+1 cup)—more of the resource
was replenished than expected. Three conditions
remove beans from the tray: drought (-1/2
cup)—lack of available water caused a decrease in
the resource; fire (-1 cup)—an uncontrolled fire
destroyed some of the resource; and pest/disease
(-1/2 cup)—some of the resource was infected to
unusable levels. All the conditions represent
situations that can affect natural resources. Your
students can also create their own situation on
the blank card. Shuffle the condition cards.
When the ten seconds are up, ask someone to
draw a card and add or subtract beans accordingly
from their trays. (At each turn in round 3,
all families should be following the same condition
card that was read out loud.) After
each generation’s turn, the cards should
be replaced in the deck and the deck
should be reshuffled. Students should count their
beans and record their results. Other family
members can begin collecting beans while the
previous generation counts and records their
results. (Remind the students that they’ll still
need 10 beans to survive.)
8. Discuss the results of the rounds.
Using the following questions, have the students
discuss their observations about the rounds.
• What will happen if we use our natural
resources faster than they can be replaced?
(They will eventually run out.)
• What happens when generations do not use a
cooperative strategy for natural resource use?
• Did the condition cards affect the number of
beans you collected? (Some students may have
decided not to take so many beans if a drought
or a fire card was drawn. Some may have
decided to collect more beans after a surplus
card was drawn.)
• What are the similarities in strategies for sustainably
managing a renewable resource and a
non-renewable resource? (Both involve conservation
and identification of alternate resources.
Even though there are often renewable alternatives
to non-renewable resources, a renewable
resource can be depleted to the point where it
can no longer renew itself.)
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