Hidden in Plain Sight – Using Moss to Detect Air Pollution and Engage Civic Scientists
In this study, researchers worked with middle and high school students to collect moss samples around industrial neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington. They used the moss samples to both pinpoint pollution sources and to test whether nonscientists could accurately and precisely collect and prepare samples. The researchers also wanted to know whether participating in the program influenced the students' career interests and environmental knowledge.
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In this FACTivity, you will make a graph of the Air Quality Index numbers for each of five major cities in the United States for November 2023. Materials: Blank graph...FACTivity – Hidden in Plain Sight
In this FACTivity, you will make a graph of the Air Quality Index numbers for each of five major cities in the United States for November 2023. Materials: Blank graph... -
Test your understanding after reading “Hidden in Plain Sight.” Each of the following images represents something from the article. Explain what each image represents. You may write your explanation or...eyeChallenge – Hidden in Plain Sight
Test your understanding after reading “Hidden in Plain Sight.” Each of the following images represents something from the article. Explain what each image represents. You may write your explanation or...
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Learn more about the past, present, and future of Moon Trees around the country!Spotlight – Moon Trees!
Learn more about the past, present, and future of Moon Trees around the country! -
There are many ways to be involved in data collection as a civic scientist. The Forest Service has an online suite of free tools, called iTree, for assessing the value...Spotlight – iTree
There are many ways to be involved in data collection as a civic scientist. The Forest Service has an online suite of free tools, called iTree, for assessing the value...
Glossary
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Monika Derrien
My favorite science experience is figuring out creative ways of collecting data that can help us understand interactions between people and nature. I enjoy working with people who have different...View Profile -
Chris Zuidema
My favorite science experience was while I was a student during a study abroad program. (A study abroad program is a program where students go to another country to attend...View Profile -
Sarah Jovan
My favorite science experience was conducting field work in Interior Alaska where moss and lichens rule the land. The sheer size and diversity of these organisms in that landscape was...View Profile -
Weston Brinkley
My favorite science experience was working with a huge diversity of partners to conduct genuinely community-led research. I enjoyed designing and carrying out a project that met the needs of...View Profile -
Dale Blahna
My favorite science experiences are working and sharing social science study results with managers who understand biology and natural sciences well but are not trained at all in the social...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Next Generation Science Standards
- ESS3.C-M1Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things.
- ESS3.C-M2Typically as human populations and per capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.
- ETS1.B-M1A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results, in order to improve it.
- ETS1.B-M2There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet criteria and constraints of a problem.
- ETS1.B-M3Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors.
- ETS1.C-M1Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of the characteristics may be incorporated into the new design.
- LS1.B-M4Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
- LS2.A-M1Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors.
- LS2.C-M1Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
Social Studies Standards
- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Air We Breathe,” “Pollution Search,” and “Improve Your Place” as additional resources.
Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer
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People across the world are helping scientists collect data to answer important research questions. Learn how citizens are getting involved in science, from counting birds and lionfish to reporting earthquakes.Citizen Science – Vol. 19 No. 1
People across the world are helping scientists collect data to answer important research questions. Learn how citizens are getting involved in science, from counting birds and lionfish to reporting earthquakes. -
What are urban forests? Urban forests are the trees and other plants that grow where people live, go to school, work, and play. Even if you live in a rural...Urban Forest – Vol. 6 No. 1
What are urban forests? Urban forests are the trees and other plants that grow where people live, go to school, work, and play. Even if you live in a rural... -
In the Natural Inquirer Freshwater edition, you will learn many new things about Earth’s freshwater. As you read each article, think about your daily water use. You use clean freshwater...Freshwater – Vol. 18 No. 1
In the Natural Inquirer Freshwater edition, you will learn many new things about Earth’s freshwater. As you read each article, think about your daily water use. You use clean freshwater... -
Scientists can use models to simulate and predict the effects of an action. In this research in the Great Lakes region, read about efforts to model changes to land use...Full Throttle Model (Time Warp Monograph Series) – Vol. 1 No. 16
Scientists can use models to simulate and predict the effects of an action. In this research in the Great Lakes region, read about efforts to model changes to land use... -
In “Grow Where You’re Planted,” students will learn about how different planting elevations can affect Jeffrey and ponderosa pines’ survival, growth, and bud development timing. As part of the Moon...Grow Where You’re Planted – Vol. 1 No. 24
In “Grow Where You’re Planted,” students will learn about how different planting elevations can affect Jeffrey and ponderosa pines’ survival, growth, and bud development timing. As part of the Moon...
Additional Resources
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USDA Forest Service: “Seattle Students Study Heavy Metals with the Forest Service”
Visit WebsiteLearn more about how Forest Service scientist explored the effects of air pollution on environmental and human health – and how those effects impact different communities disproportionately through a community science project with the Duwamish River Community Coalition.
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USDA Forest Service: “Moss Study Helps Identify Pollution Hotspots”
Visit WebsiteRead more about how a moss study helped to identify pollution hotspots.
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Duwamish Valley Youth Corps
Visit WebsiteLearn more about the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps.
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Duwamish River Community Coalition
Visit WebsiteThe Duwamish River Community Coalition/TAG (DRCC/TAG), provides resources, knowledge, and action to build more just environmental futures. Learn more on their website.
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Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Justice
Visit Website“Environmental justice” means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so that people are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.
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Environmental Protection Agency: Superfund Program
Visit WebsiteEPA’s Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters. To protect public health and the environment, the Superfund program focuses on making a visible and lasting difference in communities, ensuring that people can live and work in healthy, vibrant places.