Orchard Beach Playground

You are an Earth Scientist. You specialize in beach erosion. Funding has been greatly cut towards cutting the erosion down specifically at Orchard Beach. The erosion has reduced the size of the beach causing overcrowding. The erosion has also led to dangerous drop-offs, which is hazardous to beachgoers. Mayor Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York is cutting funding yet again. The Mayor has requested your expertise in determining the long-term effect of erosion at Orchard Beach. This beach has been the long standing Riviera for New Yorker’s but has undergone a significant amount of erosion since the 1930’s. You’re one of the best scientist’s in the field and your findings will not only help the environment but save the oasis New Yorker’s have enjoyed for so many years.

Your task is to find a solution for reducing and possibly eliminating beach erosion at Orchard Beach. The Mayor of New York has hired you because you are among the best earth scientists in the US. You are expected to make a one page, two-sided bulletin that will convince politicians and the public to fund programs to reduce the erosion.

You will have to become a Public Policy Analyst, who will evaluate and propose new solutions for this environmental and social problem. In your bulletin, you should define beach erosion, write about the causes of the erosion at Orchard beach, describe how the erosion effects the environment and the beachgoers, explain the long term effects of the beach erosion and finally offer at least two solutions to this problem. As a Public Policy Analyst you are required to follow specific steps, which are presented in the Process section. The steps are designed to help you in the development of your project through various worksheets and resources.

This project is a huge task and requires the help of other great Public Policy Analysts and Earth Scientists. Your class will be divided into groups of four. You must follow the steps below which will link you to the TIPS website, which will help you in the development of your bulletin.

The following links give extensive explanations, which will help you in you in your quest to define

1. Define the problem

2. Gather Evidence

3. Identify Causes

4. Evaluate A Policy

5. Develop Solutions

6. Select Best Solutions

The links to resources will help you in your research on the topic. You are to use the following articles but you are not limited to just these articles. You may use a variety of sources including newspaper articles, magazines, scientific journals, etc. All resources are subject to my approval and must be cleared by me for use in your project before its completion. Some articles are listed below.

1) Erosion

2) High Tide

3) Summer Bummer

The worksheets below should help you to do the following:

define the problem – social and environmental consequences of beach erosion

gather evidence

Determine the causes beach erosion; present the positives and negatives of beach erosion

Brief description of the present public policies concerning the beach erosion problem; state advantages and disadvantages of today’s public policies;

Brief description of ways to improve on the present public policy in each of your four articles.

Provide new solutions for both the environmental and social aspects of Orchard Beach erosion

Discuss the best solution;

Discuss benefits and costs of the suggested policy;

You will use the following sources. However, you are not limited to these resources. You are strongly encouraged to use newspaper articles, scientific journals and magazines.

Your bulletin will be evaluated on the following criteria as stated in the rubric below:

Evaluation of Your Bulletin

Required components of the project	Evaluation of Your Presentation will be:
	5	4	3	2	1
Logistics	The two solutions are reasonable. Creative use of space including use of a number of maps/pictures on 1 page double sided 8.5/11 sheet of paper. Typed	The two solutions presented are mostly reasonable. There is a creative use of space.	The two solutions are reasonable, but missing supporting details. There is less of a creative use of space.	The two solutions presented are unreasonable or incomplete.	No solutions presented, artwork/map/picture are not arranged creatively.
Group Work	All four individuals in the group equally contributed in the writing of one of the four articles.	Only three individuals in the group equally contributed in the writing of one of the four articles.	Only two individuals in the group equally contributed in the writing of one of the four articles.	Only one individual in the group equally contributed in the writing of one of the four articles.	No group work done.
Individual Work	The student writes a grammatically/spelling correct, original work, which defines the problem and explains the social and environmental issues.	The student writes a mostly grammatically correct, original work, which defines the problem and explains the social and environmental issues.	The student writes a partially grammatically correct, original work, which somewhat defines the problem and explains the social and environmental issues.	The student does not write a grammatically correct, original work, which defines the problem and explains the social and environmental issues.	The student does not write a coherent, grammatically correct, original work, which defines the problem and explains the social and environmental issues. or The article is missing

Orchard Beach erosion is a serious problem that continues to be a source of controversy. Funds to slow down the process have been slashed with no prospect of being reinstated. The community at large is unaware of the social and environmental consequences. If erosion and funding are continually reduced, the Orchard Beach that has been a source of many smiles for many generations may be lost to all. This is your chance to make a change!

The following Science Performance Standards are addressed in this Webquest:

S5 Scientific Thinking

S5d: Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations; and distinguishes between fact and opinion.

S5e: Identifies problems; proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the accuracy, design, and outcomes of investigations.

S6 Scientific Tools and Technologies

S6d: Acquires information from multiple sources.

S7: Scientific Communication

S7a: Represents data and results in multiple ways.

S7b: Argues from evidence.