Environmental Repair: video worksheets, differentiated.

Many of my students feel depressed and powerless about environmental degradation: this resource has proven an uplifting and lasting counter-narrative. It shows scientists addressing various problems, finding innovative solutions. Many of the scientists are women, offering positive role-models for girls interested in STEM careers. A good standalone or emergency cover-lesson.

Giant maize fixing its own nitrogen: the possible benefits of reducing artificial fertilizers – reduced eutrophication, availability to poorer farmers, potential expansion to other cereals. Who should own the technologies arising? Biopiracy. Cooperation between scientists and locals. The importance of biodiversity.

Wax-worms digesting plastics: the chemistry of plastic polymers; PETase extracted from Ideonella sakaiensis. AI used to create Fast-PETase. Products PET of digestion used in other products inc. vanillin and pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics. Upcycling vs downcycling.

Robot bees for pollination. The challenges faced by bees, and hence robots, in pollination. Making robots small enough with sufficient battery-power. The flying Mother-Bee-Hive. Ground-based pollinating robot. Potential for abuse by bad actors. environmental cost of robots vs real bees. Search-and-rescue robot bees.

Alternatives to concrete. Cement’s huge carbon footprint. Mud as an alternative brick. Benefits of mud (humidity). Problems (water ingress). Timber and fire-safety. Recycling concrete recast as new cement. Retrofitting existing buildings.

Saving coffee from extinction. The scale of the global coffee industry. Known species (130), only 2 used commercially. Arabica beans in danger from climate change and coffee-leaf rust. Rediscovery of C. stenophylla. Field-trials. C. liberica in Uganda. he importance of biodiversity.

Find the film by searching YouTube’s BBC Earth Science channel for “Full Series | Slime, Plastic-Eating Worms & Other Ways To Fix The World | Planet Fix | BBC Earth Lab”.

19 questions for the 49-min film. Differentiated! Both versions look very similar, but “B” version has subtle clues. Good subtitles, typed in by a human, not auto-generated nonsense. Answer sheet. Very easy to mark. .doc and .pdf of all sheets, link to film on all sheets.