The AP Environmental Science class, consisting of only six students, hurriedly gathered around a lab table, three on each side. They all waited patiently as Mrs. Fagan presented a bowl of M&Ms and a handful of straws.

“You are fishermen, and these are the fish,” Fagan said as she scattered a select number of the candies onto a paper towel, which represented a lake. She handed them straws and instructed them that the instrument was the only thing they could use to “fish”.

“No scooping and no sliding,” Fagan strictly said. “Alright, fish!”

All the students lunged forward, using the straws to create suction and place the candy to the side. They continued greedily, trying to get as many as they could before Mrs. Fagan called stop. Everyone stopped and each student counted their bounty.

“Now, it’s the second fishing season,” Fagan said, scattering only a few more of the candy to the already dwindling supply. The students readied their straws in hunched positions, their eyes never leaving the candy. Fagan shouted go and everyone hurried forward.

Senior Richard Odak tried a new strategy, using two straws instead of one, but he was unsuccessful. The others tried new strategies along with Richard, playfully nudging others out of the way to get the most they could. This time, they fished until all the fish were gone.

They counted once again and looked to Fagan to start the new fishing season but she declined, saying there were no more fish due to their overfishing. Fagan explained how this occurs in “commons” around the world, such as the ocean. One more game was played, this time taking into account the fact that they should only take what they needed. They shifted from competitive to hesitant and only took one fish each. Even though the take was low, the fish still in the lake were high. They ended the experiment and tallied their totals on their papers.

“Don’t eat these M&Ms since they’ve been all over my hands and on the table,” she said. The seniors cleaned up the lab in mild disappointment at the fact they would not be eating any M&Ms. “But, there are some on the back table straight out of the bag if you want any.” The seniors all made their way to the back table to take some candy, all of them making sure to leave enough for one another after their most recent lesson of preservation and consideration.