Do my best to keep my indoor plants alive, I am not a natural plant mother. If you are equally incompetent, but still want to keep a small part of nature in your home, let me show you: the brilliant ecosystem.

The days of science fairs may be long gone, but as the #ecosphere tag on TikTok proves, these self-sufficient small worlds can be a beautiful alternative to caring for potted plants. In addition to their visual appeal, the biggest selling point of creating your own ecosystem is that it keeps yourself alive. Once you seal it, there will be no mess or maintenance. Add some small animals that like to be alone (pronounced: snails!), and you can upgrade your houseplant game at no extra cost.

You can buy many ready-made ecospheres, but below we will take you through the simple manual method of using local environmental materials. So gather some kids today (preferably your own kids) or take a separate scientific adventure by creating an ecosystem for your home.

The ecosystem is basically a closed ecosystem (such as the earth), but on a much smaller scale. As far as we are concerned, it is a self-sufficient, self-sustaining mini world, which you can store in a jar on your desk.

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You can learn more about how they work here, but what you need to know is that when they are set up correctly, the plants, sediments, and animals in the ecosystem provide everything needed for environmental survival. They don't need feeding, filtering, or anything other than sunlight to thrive, and they can last for years.

Ecosphere is also very popular. I have received targeted advertisements for closed ecosystems throughout the year, which you can buy and ship directly to your home, but personally, I am more interested in the DIY sense of accomplishment I made. However, if you are looking for guaranteed aesthetics, there is no shortage of online shopping ecosystems (especially on craft sites like Etsy).

To make the best ecosystem possible, I recommend turning to video examples (like this) or in-depth blog posts (like this) for step-by-step tips. At the same time, here is a brief introduction to the products in the store.

Making your own ecosystem is relatively cheap and easy. Once you have identified a natural source of water near your home, here are the other materials you need.

Your ecosystem will be very fuzzy at first, but it will stabilize in a few days. Algae will usually grow and build up from added soil and rocks, but remember that larger animals and insects will not be able to survive in such a closed ecosystem. In the end, all your ecosystem needs is a little sunlight from outside the jar-preferably indirectly.