This lesson will help students understand the environmental importance of coral reefs and the threats to reefs' conservation. Through the process of gathering geographic information about a place (in this case, the Great Barrier Reef), students will learn how a "geographic focus" can sharpen their insights about a conservation issue.

Geography, science, English, art

Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective"
Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface"
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Atlas or map of Australia
• Writing and drawing materials, including colored pencils

Students will

• learn about the concept of ecotourism;
• gather information about the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef;
• create maps of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef;
• work in teams to create brochures about ecotourism; and
• present their brochures and ideas about ecotourism to the class.

Tourists who flock to the Great Barrier Reef frequently are unaware of the ecological damage they cause. The Australian government wants to provide ecotours of the Great Barrier Reef, but it needs qualified tour guides. Tell students that they will be learning about responsible tourism, and will be "training" to be tour guides.

Ask students if they can define "ecotourism." Write their answers on the board.

For this lesson, students should work in pairs. Each team of students will create a presentation to convince the Australian government they are the best people to hire to give ecotours. Send the teams to the Ecotourism Explorer Web site, and ask them to note how ecotourism differs from standard tours.

Have students work in pairs. Each team's goal is to convince the Australian government that it would be the most qualified team to give ecotours of the Great Barrier Reef.

First, have students work in their teams to gather basic information about coral reefs. Tell them to answer questions such as the following:

• What is a coral reef?
• What is the Great Barrier Reef?
• Why is the coral of the Great Barrier Reef important?
• What are some of the threats to the health of the reef?
• What do the terms "preservation," "conservation," and "restoration" mean? How might these terms apply to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia?

Students can start their research by reading this Fact Sheet on Coral of the Great Barrier Reef. When they are finished, discuss students' findings as a class and write the answers on the board.

The Great Barrier Reef lies off the east coast of Australia. It is the world's largest coral reef. Coral reefs have been called the "tropical rain forests of the ocean." Designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Area, the Great Barrier Reef is a popular tourist site, as well as an important environmental resource. To get the job as ecotour guides, teams will need to know a lot about the reef, and about how to visit it in an environmentally sound way. They can start their research at the following Web sites:

National Geographic: Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Tell students to take notes, because they will be making a brochure to promote their ecotourism venture.

First, students will gather information about the Great Coral Reef, keeping in mind points they may want to address in their brochures. Give students the freedom to create any shape, color, or size of brochure they wish. Show them one easy way—to fold a piece of paper lengthwise.

Here are some suggestions on what they might want to include in their brochures:

• A map of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. (Make sure your map includes latitude and longitude, and "TODALSS," a cartographer's way of remembering these map elements: Title, Orientation, Data, Author, Legend, Scale, Source.) Students should feel free to use the blank outline maps of Australia from the Xpeditions atlas.
• A description of a coral reef. What is a coral reef? Why are coral reefs important?
• The reason why the Great Barrier Reef can be called a region. What are the unique characteristics of this region?
• A list of
  • some of the species that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef, including various kinds of fish, coral, mollusks (such as clams and sea slugs), seaweed, birds, sea snakes, and sea turtles;
  • natural and human-induced threats to the Great Barrier Reef; and
  • things people can do to help save the reef.
• Tips for responsible techniques and practices for marine ecotourism.

For design tips and a checklist of more items your brochure could feature, go to Create a Brochure. Make sure all the information included in the brochures focuses on ecotourism.

Have a brief class discussion about what students have learned about ecotourism. How have their ideas about ecotourism changed since the beginning of the lesson? How do they feel about people who travel without regard to the damage they might be doing to fragile ecological systems such as the Great Barrier Reef?

Teams should prepare to pitch their ideas for ecotourism at the Great Barrier Reef to the Australian government (their classmates). Encourage them to have fun—choose an Australian name for their "company," dress like a tour guide, use props, and affect an Australian accent. Classmates will pretend to be Australian government officials. Each team should limit its presentation to 5 to 10 minutes. Both team members should participate in the presentation.

Teams should use what they have learned about the environmental importance of coral reefs and the benefits of ecotourism to convince the Australian government to hire them to give ecotours of the Great Barrier Reef. Ask them to explain the ways in which humans are modifying this region and what people can do to help save the reef.

Have the class vote on the best presentation. Display brochures in school hallways or in the library before or during Geography Awareness Week.

• Tell students they don't have to live near the coast to have an effect on a coral reef. Explore the steps the Environmental Protection Agency is taking to protect coral reefs and how you can contribute to this effort.
  
  
• Consider participating in the annual International Coastal Cleanup.

EPA: Coral Reefs and Your Coastal Watershed
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
National Geographic: Virtual World—Great Barrier Reef
The Ocean Conservancy