My Eco-Column Project

Here are the materials you need and a map of how to set up the project: • Untreated tap water or distilled water • Three 2-liter clear plastic bottles (on the bottle caps side) *With the labels removed completely* • Black sharpie or marker • Scissors or Exacto knife *Caution while using* • Soil (5-6 cups) *Organic or untreated* • Rocks (2-4 cups) *Pebble-sized insoluble rock* • Clear packaging tape or measuring tape (1 roll) • Dead organic matters: leaves, grass clippings, small sticks, dead bark, etc... • Small aquatic plants: anacharis, elodea, duckweed, hornwort, green hedge, ludwigia, moneywort, Cabomba, myrio, etc.. • Sand (3-4 cups) • Terrestrial fauna: pillbugs, earthworms, earwigs, fruit flies, etc... • Aquatic fauna: Small fish (Beta Fish), small aquatic snails, etc... • Seeds of small plants: grass, radish, arugula, basil, etc... • Measuring tape • Hammer • Rubber band

The terrestrial chamber contains soil. We can also add worms and insects to this chamber.  The decomposition chamber contains seeds, leaves, grass clippings, and other dead organic matter. The aquatic chamber will contain gravel, rocks, water, small fish, and other aquatic plants 1. Rinse two clear gallon bottles and remove the labels. 2. Use s cissors or Exacto knife and Cut about 20cm from the top of the first bottle. 3. Then cut about 20cm from the bottom of the second bottle. 4. Poke little holes on both of the gallons caps. 5. Add soil and d ead organic matters  t o the first  half-gallon bottle side. (The side with caps) 6. Add sands and gravel to the second  empty half-gallon bottles. (The side with caps.) 7. Place the first  half bottle that just filled with soil and dead organic matters, opening facing down, onto the second  half-gallon bottle that just filled with gravel and sand. 8. Add water, rocks, and s mall aquatic plants in either one of the empty bottom h

An eco-column project is a small self-sustaining ecosystem housed in large soda bottles. Each eco-column has three parts. The first chamber is a miniature model of the earth (terrestrial chamber). The second chamber is made of leaves (decomposition chamber). The last chamber is filled with water to simulate a freshwater pond (aquatic chamber). Each chamber is then observed over 10-12 weeks. The purpose of the project is to observe how the different parts of the earth’s ecosystem work together and draw conclusions about what can affect them .