The Square Meter Project is an activity for educators to engage students in exploring the concept of species richness through analyzing the kinds and numbers of organisms found in a square meter plot.
The directions for this activity are below:
Data Collection
Lay out a square meter footprint.
Spend about half an hour documenting the flora and fauna of your plot using iNaturalist. Note: You do not have to take a picture of each individual. You should, however, get a photo of each species in the plot. For example, if you have grass in your plot, you only need one representative photo of the grass and not a photo of each blade.
Document each species in your plot, even the captive and cultivated species. These observations should be marked as captive/cultivated which means they will show as casual in your observation list. That's ok.
For the sake of representativeness, limit your observations to what can be observed with the naked eye (i.e., no microscopic organisms like bacteria). Using microscopes and macro lenses to enhance photos is ok.
Upload your observations to iNaturalist. If you don't know the species taxa, climb the taxonomic tree until you reach a level you are certain of, even if it is the kingdom level.
A Field Guide created for educators doing this project in Badlands National Park has more specifics.
Data Analysis
Create a project for your observations made in the square meter plot.
Add a photo of your site as the project banner photo.
Describe your site in the project description. Include land cover type and a descriptive overview of the plot. Discuss your impression of how many different kinds of plants and animals there are in your plot especially if there is a dominant species.
Look at the project stats. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
As more Square Meter Projects are created, review those projects. What do you notice about the numbers of species in those plots? Consider the time of year, the geographic location, and the surrounding land use. How do they differ from your plot? Do you see any patterns across land cover use or geographic setting?
Attribution: This project was inspired, in part, by Chris Helzer's Square Meter Photography Project.
