Wetlands, Conservation, and Pollution

This afternoon we had the opportunity to participate in a special presentation that taught us how easy it is for a watershed to become polluted. Mrs. Risser, one of our aides at Bainbridge Elementary, came to visit us at Bear Creek, and brought along a very cool model of the watershed of Elizabethtown. We were able to review that watersheds were all of the tributaries that flow into larger rivers and bodies of water. Here in Elizabethtown we are part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

After reviewing watersheds, Mrs. Risser started talking about the different things that we do every day in our normal lives that can pollute a watershed. Did you know that if you put fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides on your yard, you could pollute our watershed? You have to be very careful to follow the instructions for using these chemicals because if you apply too much, they just sit on the ground. Then, the next time it rains they flow right across the ground and into the streams and creeks. Cutting down trees, farming, and building houses can also pollute our watershed because of erosion. If farmers and builders don't take care of the ground, large amounts of soil can wash into the creeks!

Now, it was one thing to HEAR about all of this, but Mrs. Risser used a really great model to help us SEE exactly what happens. Kids sprinkled cocoa and Kool-Aid on the model to represent soil and the different chemical. Then two of our friends sprayed it with a bunch of water to pretend it was a heavy rain storm. You should have seen the colors run right out into the streams, creeks, and river!! This model helped us understand what happens with runoff and pollution, and we got to see exactly why we have to be careful with our Earth. We really appreciate the way Mrs. Risser helped us understand this, and we hope you'll check out the pictures to see for yourself.

Mrs. Risser introduces us to the watershed model.

Did you know that there is only a very small part of the Earth that can actually be used for farming?

Mrs. Risser used an apple to show us the tiny part of the Earth that is left to grow our food.

Sprinkling Kool-Aid on the model to represent fertilizer.

Adding more Kool-Aid to represent herbicides and pesticides.

It's a storm!!!!

If you look in the blue part at the front of the model, you can really see how the colors have run off into the river. That's what happens when we pollute our watershed!