Ecosystems and various factors within the ecosystem will be emphasized in the ecology unit. The major project of the unit will involve building a miniature ecosystem (terrarium) to learn about cycles in an ecosystem, communities, and interactions among organisms among other concepts. This also gives students a chance to test out a design of their choice and evaluate the successes and challenges of their designed terrarium. The students will also learn about some of the major environmental issues facing our current time and create a poster on an environmental topic. Energy roles will be covered in detail; students will have the chance to construct a food web to show how energy flows through an ecosystem.