College Presentation

[lizasaur]

Hey all
I'm doing an Informative Speech/Presentation on Carnivorous Plants for my college class.

To be successful in this class, the presentation must be:
Relevant - this in particular is being beaten over our heads
Simple
Concrete
Personal
Informal

But relevance seems to be... I don't know. I don't get it. Some of the best presentations have been completely irrelevant, in my perspective. Golf, origami, antique dolls, trips to other countries... whereas something more relevant, like sun protection, is eh. Oh but for my presentation, I need to make Nepenthes relevant. WHAT? >.<

I got the greenlight for Carnivorous Plants, she (my professor) didn't even know they exist, let alone in Florida. So that's good because she's very excited for that.


Below is the outline I have so far.
Any thoughts on how it's organized and other ideas is greatly appreciated!



Title
An Introduction to Carnivorous Plants

Specific Purpose Statement
To inform the class about carnivorous plants, educating them about genera found across the globe with a focus on ones found in Florida.

I. Introduction
1. *picture of hidden flava* “Do you notice anything unusual about this roadside shrubbery?”
2. *picture of visible flava* This is an American Pitcher Plant, which is a carnivorous plant, like the most popular VFT, basic info.
3. Overview of points to be discussed.

II. Body
A. Types[/b]
1. Tropical Pitcher Plants
a. Basic description (habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
2. Albany Pitcher Plant
3. Marsh Pitcher Plants
4. Sundews
5. Butterworts
6. Bladderworts & Waterwheels
7. Cobra Lilies
8. Venus Flytraps
9. American Pitcher Plants
B. Seeing Them in Nature
1. All Florida kinds
2. Kinds I saw
3. Describe experience (trip details, going to Alabama, etc)
III. Internal Summary
1. Now that I have explained the most notable carnivorous plants and shared my experience of seeing some in the wild, I'm going to discuss the threats these special plants face and what is being done to save them.
C. Threats loss of global diversity
1. Poaching
2. Habitat loss
a. Draining of wetlands
b. Development (destroying everything)
3. Environmental Effects
a. Pollution fertilizing plants, making them lose carnivory
b. Climate change posing risk.
D. Conservation
1. Cultivation
2. Better land planning; Rescue operations
3. Land Preserves, Meadowview
4. Education

IV. Conclusion
1. Signal phrase
2. Summary
3. Closing thought

[ICPS-bob]

There are a number of PowerPoint presentations available on the Web. Google:
carnivorous plant powerpoint
You can probably get some ideas there.
Also, there are tons of photos of CP available that you can populate your presentation. Rummage around the CP Photo Finder
cpphotofinder.com/

[lizasaur]

Hi Bob!
It seems I left out some information, I was typing this up before class and slightly rushed, oopsie...
I am quite familiar with CPPhotoFinder, which is good!
I have also checked out the other threads in this folder.
Googling powerpoints is a brilliant idea, thank you! I am able to use powerpoints during my speech, which I intended just having a photo slideshow for what I'm discussing.

[Brian Barnes]

Hi Lizasaur,

Being a CP enthusiast residing in Florida as well, I have lots of good Florida CP photos from my travels. You can use as many as you wish. You'll find them via the link below my post. Good luck with your Presentation!

Brian

[lizasaur]

Hi Brian!
Thanks so much!
I actually emailed you last week asking about pictures and expert testimonial regarding conservation in Florida, perhaps I had the wrong addy though...

[Jason Ksepka]

To bring in some relevance to some hot topic issues you might go with the rapid rate of habitat loss and the steep decline in populations of these plants. Could try climate change, but that one is even more touchy and the link with cP loss may be more tenuous. The loss of global biodiversity is also a critical issue and the habitats that CP's live in tend to also be home to many other rare species. There are quite a few decent options you can take really.
If any of my photos are particulary helpful, let me know as well.


Be Well, Jason Ksepka
jasonksepka.smugmug.com

[lizasaur]

Jason,
I will absolutely do that! I was going to cover habitat loss in development (that's sorta what I meant, oops), but I will definitely focus more on that and the loss of global biodiversity. *nods* I did read an article about climate change making sundews lose their carnivorousness... but I can't even locate that article now, and I'm starting to wonder if it's not so much climate change as it is... you know, like pollution, if more minerals are finding their way into that area. But that was a single article and single instance, so it would be tenuous indeed.

Thank you so much! You have incredible pictures!

*edit*
I found the article! And so far it is just the one instance, but I do think it's worth mentioning, especially due to the potential if nitrate-rich rain started affecting other CP locations. It'll still be a brief blip though

[Jason Ksepka]

Thanks. And keep us appraised of your progress, sounds like you are in for quite a bit of fun. I did my colege presentation on the Droseracaea family, with "Feed me Seymor" from Little shop of Horrors as background music


Be Well, Jason Ksepka
jasonksepka.smugmug.com

[lizasaur]

I will! As it becomes more developed, I'll be posting my ideas and eventually the "final" project for critiquing (and corrections) before presenting this baby on Feb. 18th!

At first I was like "Holy crap, a whole 15 minutes?" and now I'm like "._. only 15 minutes? How am I gonna do this?!"

[lizasaur]

Okay, the outline has been revised and added to!
Please let me know what you think (ie, is it still above average people's heads? Any points I'm missing? Problems with flow? etc)

*something like VFT and CP are just for me, will actually be spoken or written out*

[meizwang]

For the "Conservation" portion of the presentation, another idea is to discuss the overall social mindset in the South. After seeing Intersections that were half the size of a football field, and signs endorsed by the forestry department boasting about reforesting the south by draining fragile habitats and replacing them with non-native pines for pulp production (which by the way, is why S. leucophylla Hurricane creek white is extinct in the wild), I think it's important people are better informed about such actions and how it impacts not just the environment, but also our children's futures. The Effects of Drilling and Mining in the Blackwater River State Forest (NW Florida) is also a great topic. Imagine all the runoff from such activities, and how it will affect the rare and sensitive flora/fauna.

It doesn't get much more personal and relevant that that!

[lizasaur]

That is INCREDIBLE!
YESYESYES! I'm DEFINITELY using that!!!!
Absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much, Mike!!!

[lizasaur]

Okay, here's the outline as it stands. I reckon this is the way it'll stay unless I have to start hacking it up for time.
The Conservation and Conclusion areas are totally weak though... any ideas / specific examples?

Title
An Introduction to Carnivorous Plants

Specific Purpose Statement
To inform the class about carnivorous plants, educating them about types found worldwide, including Florida's own.

 

I.  Introduction
     1. Attention Hook: *picture of hidden flava* “Do you notice anything unusual about this roadside shrubbery?”
     2. Introduction of Topic: *picture of visible flava* This is an American Pitcher Plant, which is a carnivorous plant, like the most popular VFT.
     3. Preview Statement / Credibility: Today, I will be sharing my knowledge as an enthusiast and grower of 7 years to introduce carnivorous plants, cover the 10 most notable types, the threats that they face, and how we can protect them.
II.  Body
  A. General Introduction
     1. Why are there carnivorous plants?
          a. Adaptation to environment
     2. What are carnivorous plants?
          a. Define
          b. List all types
          c. Go over sensu lato carnivores
     3. Categories of traps
          a. Passive – Pitfall
          b. Combination - Sticky
          c. Active – Snap
   B. Types
     1. Tropical Pitcher Plants
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     2. Albany Pitcher Plant
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     3. American Pitcher Plants
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     4. Marsh Pitcher Plants
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     5. The Cobra Lily
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     6. Sundews
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     7. Butterworts
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     8. Bladderworts
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     9. Waterwheels
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
     10. Venus Flytraps
          a. Basic description (distribution, habitat, carnivory method, number of species)
          b. Claim to fame (remarkable species, factoids)
III. Internal Summary
Now that I have explained what carnivorous plants are and the most notable kinds, I'm going to discuss the threats these special plants face and what is being done to save them.
   C. Threats
     1. Poaching
          a. Venus Flytraps
          b. Sarracenia
          c. Nepenthes
          d. Cephalotus
     2. Habitat loss
          a. Draining of wetlands
          b. Development
          c. Drilling and mining
     3. Environmental Effects
          a. Pollution
          b. Climate change
D. Conservation
     1. Cultivation
          a. Tissue culture
          b. Seed
          c. Divisions
     2. Better land planning; Rescue operations
         a. Alternative plans around habitats
         b. NASC rescue operations
     3. Land Preserves & Meadowview
     4. Education

IV. Conclusion
     1. Signal phrase: 
     2. Summary: 
     3. Closing thought:  some witty zinger about getting stuck on these plants?

[marcel]

For conservation: How about something about ex situ conservation projects like Ark of Life?

www.arkoflife.net/ has lots of information.

Specific examples: Nepenthes rigidifolia is extinct in the wild (known site has no plants, supposed alternative sites remain unconfirmed confirmed) but this project has obtained a large quantity of seeds to be grown at the host location, the Botanical garden of Leiden, The Netherlands.

Nepenthes bokorensis is nearly extinct in the wild due to a road and resort being build. Several plants have been sourced/donated and will arrive in Leiden when the renovation of the greenhouses is finished (May 2013).

An Ark for Rare Sarracenia's and for Rare South African CP's is about to launch, when Stewart McPherson is back from the Antarctic.

[lizasaur]

Oooh, I was unfamiliar with Ark of Life, how wonderful!
Thank you very much!