Activity 1: Habitat and Population Key Questions
This activity consists of a series of questions that could be used before, during or after the video. Alternatively the question sheet can be used as a stand alone activity to review the topic ‘Habitat and Population’. Some of the questions can be used to stimulate discussion; others are better suited to a written answer, perhaps as homework. Some of the questions can be answered by watching the programme; others will require reference materials such as books, CD-ROMs or the internet. Check the links page of this net note for useful reference sources.

Activity 2: Fair Game? A Debate on Controlling the Grey Squirrel
Four groups of experts contribute to a debate about the rights and wrongs of culling grey squirrels.
The debate can begin with ‘home’ groups watching the relevant section of the video. They can then read the letter on the first activity sheet. After discussing their own views on the topic, they split up to join ‘expert’ groups. Each expert group receives the additional information from the ‘Expert Information’ section.
The home groups form again and each ‘expert’ member briefs the group with their specialist information. The group then has to decide on the most appropriate course of action and report their recommendations to the Forestry Commission. The report could be a spoken presentation or a written report.
The whole activity could be done with a selected group of four students whose final discussion is watched by the rest of the class, in the style of a TV debate. The Mammal Society website - http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal could be use as a follow up activity.

Activity 3: Damaging Dandelions?
Dandelions are adapted to grow over other species of plants and shade them from the light. This also allows them to escape the damaging effects of mowing the grass. But long grass overshadows the dandelion. Students can use simple quadrats on a line transect to estimate the dandelion population in a mowed and unmowed area of the school grounds. A simple spreadsheet can be used to record the data, convert the density into plants per square metre and calculate an average.

Activity 4:Protecting a Habitat
Students research a habitat using the internet. The Links section has suggestions about websites to start with. To avoid repetition it might help to suggest habitats, for example:

• tropical rain forest
• temperate forest
• desert
• wetlands
• peat bog
• savannah
• icecap
• oceans
• inland seas
• riverbanks

It is important that students have a clear idea of what to look for and how the information will be used. A set of key questions is provided. The information can be written up using a word processing package. A newsletter can be created from the collected articles and this could be pasted onto the school website.