Student Worksheet: Apples, Climate Change and New York ...



Student Worksheet: Apples, Climate Change and New York: 2050 Orchard Design Climate change is happening throughout the world, and the impacts of these changes are already documented in New York State. You, however, may not have taken the time to think about what this climate change means to you and what you will have to do to adapt to changes in our climate. In this activity you’ll use climate data obtained from North East Climate Data website to interpret the change New York State will see by the year 2050. Combining climate information with information about various varieties of apples, you will design an orchard for the year 2050. In doing so the following questions will be addressed: What is the future for apples in New York State?Will the popular apple growing regions and types of apples grown shift or change?Before beginning activity: Read through the apple fact sheet and become familiar with the importance of apples in New York and where they’re commonly grown. Additional information could be used from the New York State Apple Growers Association: Fast Facts on Apple Production in the state: ; Step 1: Orchard Location:Click here to enter text.(Choose a location within New York State where you’d like you’re 2050 Orchard to be located)Step 2: Determine the types of apples that are currently grown locally in your chosen location and two others that you think you might be interested in growing. Current Apple Variety (1): Click here to enter text.Current Apple Variety (2): Click here to enter text.New apple variety (3):Click here to enter text.New apple variety (4):Click here to enter text.Step 3: On the table below, fill in the apple varieties that interest you and the climate data that fits their growing needs (blue boxes). Use the provided table alongside the apple fact sheet as a guide and reference.Step 4: Continue to fill in table with the historical climate and growing information data for your location (yellow cells).There are three locations for you to look for these data. Students not using Excel and the internet can review the summary findings in the “data for students” power point presentation.Access geographically plotted climate data from the source. Open your web browser and follow the instructions included in Northeast Climate Data tutorial to guide you through accessing information off of the North East Climate Data website. These data will be provided in color images and provide information on the growing season (days), hardiness zone and days above 90°F. For precipitation and spring frost data, that are easier to read and interpret, open the provided MS Excel files ( Last_Frost_Data.xls, and Precipitation.xls) for numerical values to supplement the color images provided on the North East Climate Data website. Open each file and sort through the information to find what is relative and important to your location (most information is available on the summary spreadsheet page of the workbook). Table for organizing your findings about apple varieties and their growing needsYour Location: Apple DataApple VarietyLocation DataClimate VariableConclusions: Is this change in climate good or bad for apples?Historical ValuePredicted Value for 2050Maximum Hardiness ZoneHardiness ZoneMinimum Hardiness ZoneGrowing Season LengthGrowing Season LengthBloom DateHarvest DateCurrently Locally Grown?Precipitation Precipitation Heat toleranceDays above 90FStep 5: Using same files and web resources as in Step 4, repeat the procedure to determine climate and growing conditions predicted for the middle of the 21st century. Add these data to your table (green cells). The first step in this process is to decide if you want to consider a “worst case” greenhouse gas emission scenario (A1) or a “best case scenario” (B1). Emission scenario considered: Click here to enter text.After entering all data for future climate predictions, complete the column of the table marked “conclusions”. Additional comments about your choices and best apple varieties for the future can be added here. Include a summary statement of which varieties should be grown and why.Click here to enter text.Discussion Questions:Would apple trees in your chosen location need extra care? For example, more water, more drainage, or a hot house to extend the natural growing season.Click here to enter text.Will there be new locations in New York State that didn’t grow apples well before, that will be able to produce a larger apple crop given the climate change by 2050?Click here to enter text.Overall, how do you think the expected changes in the climate in New York state will impacts the alle industry?Click here to enter text. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download