← Back to course
Backyard Explorer 3 to 5 / Week 07 / Explorer Day
6/6
Week 07 · Who Eats Whom

Explorer Day

Explorer Day: Decomposer Hunt
// Producers, consumers, decomposers and the webs that link them
⏱ about 15 min

Explorer Day: Decomposer Hunt

Rocket carries a stick, a magnifier and a flashlight down the creek path.

"Decomposer hunt!" he announces. "The cleanup crew will not hide from me."

Raven points to a damp spot under a tree. "What do you notice about where leaves pile up?"

Nova dims her lights. "Decomposers like it dark and damp," she hints.

Rocket grins. "Then we start with the soggiest pile we can find."

  1. Producers make their own food from sunlight, air and water.
  2. Consumers eat. Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals, omnivores eat both.
  3. Decomposers break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil.
  4. A food chain shows who eats whom. The arrows point to the eater.
  5. A food web is many chains linked together in one habitat.
◇ EXPLORER DAY: HUNT FOR DECOMPOSERS IN THE LEAF LITTER
Find a spot with old, damp leaves. Under a bush or a tree works well.
The grown-up turns over a few leaves with a stick. The child looks with a magnifier.
Look for white threads, tiny mushrooms, worms, or leaves that are turning to crumbs.
Count how many kinds of decomposers or their signs you can find.
Compare a dry, sunny spot. Do you find more or fewer signs there?
Put every leaf back the way you found it. Decomposers need their cover.
Safety first
Never touch or taste a mushroom. Look only.
A grown-up lifts the leaves and sticks. Keep your hands out of the pile.
Some insects sting and some plants itch. Look with your eyes, not your fingers.
Stay with your grown-up and wash your hands when you are done.
For a grown-up
Damp leaf litter is the best place to find fungus threads and worms.
Ask: why do you think decomposers like dark, damp places?
If you find a mushroom, admire it and leave it where it grows.
DECOMPOSER DAY CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where are you most likely to find decomposers at work?
What should you do with the leaves when you finish looking?
What is the name for a living thing that breaks down dead plants and animals?
WHY THIS EXERCISEDecomposers return nutrients to the soil so new producers can grow.
Draw the best decomposer sign you found. Label where you found it.

Hunt complete, explorer! Next week we find out why so many animals live in groups.

← Friday