Evidence & Investigation: Forest Forensics

As a Conservation Officer you are out patrolling one of our beautiful Alberta parks when you come across a picnic area covered in litter! To protect the wellbeing of wildlife and the safety of the park users you must solve this conservation crime caper. To do so you will observe, infer, and investigate the following evidence:

• Recognize evidence of recent human activity and recognize evidence of animal activity in a natural outdoor setting.
• Observe a set of footprints and infer the direction and speed of travel.
• Analyze the ink from different pens using paper chromatography
• Analyzing handwriting samples to identify the handwriting of a specific person
• Compare samples of fabric
• Classify fingerprints collected from a variety of surfaces.

This 52 page inquiry unit provides daily student activities and labs that meet the curriculum outcomes for the Alberta Grade 6 Evidence and Investigation program of studies.

Supportive documents included:

• Two Formative Self-Reflection Check-ins
• Summative Check-in & Answer Key
• Animal Tracks Observation & Inference Activity Booklet (19 page PDF)
• Tracking Tales Narrative Writing (9 page PDF)
• Tracking Bingo

If you are in the Calgary area and would like to further your knowledge about animal tracks, The Path Less Taken offers a Conservation Caper. This is an Interactive Whodunit Experience that will test your investigative and tracking abilities while snowshoeing in beautiful Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. For upcoming outdoor experiences check The Path Less Taken's Facebook page (@ThePathLessTaken.ca) under "events" or email pathlesstakeneducation@gmail.com.