Building a terrarium STEM-STORIES WITH MR EWING

Audio Transcript Auto-generated

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  stem stories with Mr Ewing today.

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  We're gonna talk about building a many ecosystem.

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  You're probably wondering Mini ecosystem.

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  Well, what we're gonna build today is actually what's called

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  a Terreri.

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  Um, it's kind of a self contained by own ecosystem,

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  whatever you want to refer to it as many little

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  habitat. But Graham's come big and small and basically what

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  it is.

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  It's the whole self contained environment.

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  So if you've ever been to and a zoo or

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  a natural science museum, you've probably seen atrium, and it's

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  where they re create habitats for the different animals, a

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  species that you're looking at even within the botanical gardens.

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  You'll find trey ums and bio mes in ecosystem set

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  up so they come quite large, actually.

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  Really good.

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  If you notice a lot of stuff that you see

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  inside, you probably have seen around in your neighborhood.

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  Um, but trams also come really small, and that's what

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  we're gonna talk about today.

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  So what are we gonna use?

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  Well, here's the question.

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  What do you have at home?

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  And there's a lot of different things we can do,

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  like, you know, those food containers when we get takeout

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  with the aluminum foil bottom sometime.

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  It's a plastic bottom, and they have a plastic top.

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  Well, if you take two of those plastic tops and

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  actually put them together, you've actually got the makings of

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  a tray.

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  Um, you can also use a like A to leader

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  or even a leader sized soda bottle and what you

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  do once it's emptied and don't pour out, make sure

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  you're using it.

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  All is you take it and you cut it in

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  half or cut it into two sections.

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  That way, once you planting it, you can.

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  Actually, with a little bit of work, you can actually

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  stick it back together.

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  And there you go.

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  Another thing that you could think about using is those

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  plastic clam shells that we get from delivery.

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  Well, great, because they open up on.

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  Then we're done.

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  You snap it shut and you've got a self contained

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  environment. Also, those containers that lettuce and other vegetables come

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  from the grocery store always think about recycling.

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  Don't go run out and buy anything expensive or, you

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  know, official and you like that.

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  Use what you have.

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  If you actually have empty fish bowl sitting around, that's

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  actually really great our old jars.

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  Anything that you can use to recycle, think about recycling

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  and reusing.

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  It's super important.

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  We think about our environment.

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  So what are we gonna fill it with?

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  Well, you know, Hannah needs some dirt.

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  If you have some old plants sitting around that maybe

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  aren't alive anymore because you like me not have the

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  best green thumb that you've got some dirt in a

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  plot. Or maybe you had a plant that was delivered.

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  But also, you know what A lot of us live

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  around some city park so you don't see what's available

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  right outside your door Now, very important.

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  Don't go digging up some neighbour's garden.

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  Um, if they do have a garden, asked them if

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  you could have maybe a couple cups and tell me

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  you're building a traer iam, but make sure that any

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  time you're taking anything from outside that we're asking permission.

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  But look around on your walk, especially on the sides

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  and in the cracks of our sidewalk.

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  There's a lot of really cool stuff that can grow

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  that it's really small and that we can actually use

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  for trams.

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  Now if you're gonna be pulling stuff up out of

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  the sidewalk like this.

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  Pull it up very, very carefully and always work gloves

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  to protect you on.

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  If you're not sure what a plan is, talk with

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  an adult.

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  And if you're really not sure, I'm the adults, not

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  sure. Don't pick it because you never know what you're

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  picking up and whether you might get a rash or

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  something on your hands would be really, really careful.

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  But if you recognise, it may be a little pieces

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  of grass or something, anything that you can plant.

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  But remember, pull it up carefully, absolutely.

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  See, you still get some of the roots.

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  But there's a lot of really cool stuff growing around

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  us that, you know, we walked by a lot of

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  time. We just think they're weeds.

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  Well, if you think about it, everything is.

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  Some part of the world is actually we even some

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  of the most beautiful flowers people still consider weed, so

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  don't think.

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  Look at him as we think I have them.

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  Look at him and think about him as things they're

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  gonna put.

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  Go into your terrarium.

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  And if you look closely something really, really beautiful Little

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  tiny flowers on a lot of those small little plants

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  that we confined our walks.

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  And this is one of the things that I love.

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  And you'll find this a lot.

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  Um, is clumps of moss and Mosses super great because

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  it covers up the soil and are trying and actually

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  act helps keep the moisture in.

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  Um, and it's super, super easy to take care of

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  and grow.

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  Actually, you don't have to do anything to take care

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  of it, and then also think about little rocks and

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  twigs because you want your Toronto look like a little

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  piece of nature.

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  So once you get it all home, kind of lay

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  it out.

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  So you know what you're gonna be building?

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  Make sure you've got your dirt if you got sand

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  rocks. Um, spoons are great for digging stuff into your

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  tray. Um, sticks.

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  Whatever you think you might need, lay it out and

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  then start to put together.

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  And like I said, it could be in anything.

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  A two liter soda bottle is fantastic.

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  A lot of times we have plenty of those sit

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  around and you can really do some very cool stuff.

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  Remember, your plants need to be small.

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  You don't want to be put in a big giant

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  plant inside and pack it in.

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  And the think cool thing is, if you do something

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  with a soda bottle as your plants grow and if

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  they grow up to the top, we'll remember you designed

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  it so this top can actually come off.

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  And there you go.

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  You've got an open planner for your plans, but think

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  about different materials.

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  Like I said, if you have an old fish bowl

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  sitting around or big jar of that'll work hairs uh,

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  example of that Moss.

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  I just think Moss is some of the coolest, coolest

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  stuff to put in there.

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  An old plastic Ben.

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  That'll work.

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  And, you know, like I said earlier, if you have

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  some old jar, especially some some pickle jars of mayonnaise

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  jars, old canning jars, whatever you might have around, this

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  one was really cold actually laid outside.

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  So kind of give you more room.

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  But look inside Like, uh, you've got this little many

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  environment growing a little many habitats, so really think about

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  different materials and different vessels you could use.

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  Now, remember, I'm big on safety first, so if you

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  are going to be cutting up some soda bottles or

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  using any kind of utensils that are potentially might hurt

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  ourselves. Please let an adult you do the cutting and

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  stuff for you.

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  Always think about safety, cause that's my first priority is

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  to make sure that all of you are always saying.

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  But then make sure you haven't fun.

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  These do not need to be perfect nature if you

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  look out well, I think nature's perfect, but it's kind

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  of half hazarding kind of, um, you know is all

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  over the place, so make sure your true room replicates

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  what we see outside.

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  Don't make it perfect.

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  Have some fun with it.

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  If you want to put a little like toy dinosaur

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  something in your dream, it's OK.

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  Just remember trying to find a plastic torrey, an animal

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  that actually would live in the habitat habitat that you're

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  creating. So it has a much more really affect, you

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  know. But if you wanna have a little toy clown

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  is and I don't care what you put in there,

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  I want you to have fun and actually get the

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  experience of growing something.

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  And, as always, Mr Ewing, you know that I love

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  pictures. Send me some pictures of the work that you're

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  doing. You guys go out, have fun building those terrariums.