Concept of an ecosystem: It is important for children to understand the interconnected nature of all life forms in an ecosystem. An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms and their environment. Ecosystems can be small and large. An ecosystem is made up of all of the living things (biotic) like plants, animals etc. and nonliving things (abiotic) like water, rocks, soil, sand et. in an area. The major elements of an ecosystem are water, water temperature, plants, animals, air, light and soil.

Interaction between components of an ecosystem: There are interactions both within and among the biotic and abiotic factors. Producers, Composers and Decomposers are the biotic components and interact by passing food and energy from one to another. However, living organisms also need abiotic components such as sunlight, water, soil etc. to grow, reproduce and survive. There is also interaction among abiotic components. For example, sunlight increases temperature and thus evaporation from water increases. This in turn increases the humidity of the atmosphere which leads to rainfall. There are many more interactions.

Human-nature interactions: Ecosystems change over time. Sudden disruptions such as volcanoes, floods, or fires can affect which species will thrive in an environment. Human activities such as pollution, overhunting, and deforestation have also contributed to the disturbance of many ecosystems.

Exploring and experimenting: After getting general information about the ecosystem, children could be involved in various activities and can learn more about the ecosystems by exploring their own communities and building their own ecosystems through these hands-on activities. The more kids learn about their footprint in the world at a young age, the more conscious they'll be as teens and adults. By doing experiments, children will think like "scientists," making hypotheses, observations, and analyzing data.

Open discussion on the results of experiments: Children can present their findings to the class. The teacher can use this opportunity to find out what for example children know about plants or animals in their local environment or examples where humans have had an impact on an ecosystem. Teachers can also address some misconceptions about the functions of the ecosystem components during the discussions, as well as link discussions to SDGs.