Original reading
A national park is not simply a collection of attractive animals. It protects relationships among organisms and their physical environment, while managing the effects of visitors. In our original school case, a fictional park’s stream became muddy after heavy foot traffic damaged its banks. The staff did not respond by adding more signs alone. They rerouted part of the trail, limited access to a fragile section and restored suitable bank vegetation with specialist advice. Students visiting the public education area compared a food-chain diagram with observations from a safe path. They were warned that failing to see an animal did not prove it was absent. The final discussion linked visitor behaviour, habitat condition and monitoring. The park’s value lay partly in maintaining processes that a photograph could not show. Responsible visitors followed restrictions even when the best view was beyond a closed path.