ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
KEY MESSAGES |
"AQ" THE AMAZING AQUIFER
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Students will be encouraged to investigate the source of groundwater, how it gets there and how it is extracted for our use. Find out how pollutants affect our groundwater and how pollution can be prevented. |
- Groundwater does not run in underground rivers; it percolates through sand and gravel.
- Groundwater is a source of drinking water through wells.
- Pollutants on the ground or in lakes will enter the groundwater and percolate through the system contaminating drinking water.
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BACK YARD BUDDIES
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Using a hands-on model of a residential area, students will discover how we can affect the groundwater and surface water in our environment through non-environmentally friendly practices in our own backyards. Students also learn the problems of contamination, how to prevent pollution problems in our own backyards and more environmentally friendly practices to help keep our water supplies safe from contamination. |
- What we do on the land affects the water as well.
- There are safe alternatives to pesticides.
- Everyone can take an active role in keeping our groundwater clean and safe.
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CAN YOU MANAGE?
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Nutrient management is in the headlines all over Grey and Bruce Counties lately. Participants get a chance to learn what it is all about and how we can ensure safe water supplies for all our needs through hands-on activities using working models of agricultural areas. |
- A farm is like a factory in that raw materials go in, an end product is produced for market or consumption but there are waste products as well.
- Proper nutrient management will benefit not only the family but also the business, livestock and the environment.
- Everyone can take an active role in keeping our groundwater clean and safe.
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ENVIROSCAPE HAZARDOUS WASTE
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Using a hands-on model of an industrial area, students will discover what hazardous substances are, where they come from and their effects on the environment. Students also learn the problems of hazardous waste contamination, how to clean up and prevent hazardous wastes from adversely affecting the environment. |
- Hazardous wastes are wastes that present a threat to human health or to the environment.
- Hazardous wastes can contaminate groundwater which is very difficult to clean up.
- Spill prevention and proper disposal are the keys to controlling hazardous wastes.
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ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
KEY MESSAGES |
EROSION BUSTERS
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Participants build their own watershed using soil and materials supplied, then pour water over model to discover soil erosion problems. Participants are then given tools to help "fix" erosion problems. The importance of cover, wetlands and streambank protection is emphasized. |
- Exposed, bare soil can easily be washed away by water.
- Wetlands are a valuable part of any watershed, retaining water during high flows and augmenting supplies during low flow periods.
- Suspended materials in the water can harm aquatic animals and plants and create flooding problems downstream from erosion site.
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OIL SLICK!
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What happens when oil is spilled in a natural habitat? Students have a brief discussion of this phenomenon in the context of a large scale (as in oil tanker spill at sea) and on a smaller scale (such as when oil travels through storm drains into our local lakes and rivers). Students use a model to see how real oil and water mix (or don't) and how the animal's habitats, including vegetation, are adversely affected. An actual technique of cleaning up the oil is demonstrated. Students also take the role of wildlife biologists observing feathers when they are wet, dry or soaked in oil; giving oral descriptions of their observations. Then they attempt to actually clean the feathers. Students are encouraged to think about actions such as pouring used oil and other contaminants down storm drains or household drains and how these cause pollution and discuss why prevention is a better strategy than remediation. |
- The majority of oil in the environment doesn't come from tanker spills at sea but from people on land who throw used oil into the garbage, down the drain or into the storm sewers.
- A habitat is the natural environment where a plant or animal lives and grows; its home. If the habitat is polluted with oil, the plants and animals in that habitat are very seriously damaged and may even die.
- Oil cleanup is very expensive and difficult and it is impossible to clean up everything completely; it is easier to prevent oil pollution than it is to clean up after it.
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ROLLING THROUGH THE SHED
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Students pretend to be drops of rain which, through precipitation, enter into the watershed. They roll through the watershed to see how water can be contaminated. |
- As water travels through the watershed it picks up many pollutants from the air, roads, lawns, farms, rivers etc.
- Even things that are not directly placed in the water can still be picked up by it and contaminate it.
- It is important to protect our water supply by reducing all pollution.
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ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
KEY MESSAGES |
RUNOFF OR RECHARGE?
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Using a model, students investigate the importance of vegetation in helping to fight against water erosion. Students compare how concrete, gravel, bare earth, and vegetation surfaces affect runoff and infiltration. |
- Recharge occurs when water from precipitation seeps into vegetated soil putting water back into the ground - groundwater!
- Runoff occurs when the water from precipitation cannot sink into the soil and runs along a road or dirt path picking up contaminants as it goes and causes erosion.
- Vegetation (plants) help fight erosion and help recharge groundwater.
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SAVE OUR WETLANDS
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Students will investigate the importance of wetlands in storing water as part of the hydrologic cycle. By using a student built model, originally designed as a Science Fair project, students will see the results of failing to conserve or manage wetland areas. Wetlands help to retain extra water during high flow periods (snowmelt and significant rainstorm water) and augment river flow throughout the year. Even the reduction in size of an average wetland can greatly affect the river and the people who live downstream as witnessed by students when the wetland is "dredged" and a "rainstorm" comes along. |
- Humans can affect the natural world both negatively and positively.
- Wetlands work like giant sponges to help regulate the amount of water in a river system - holding water back during snow melt and storms and slowly releasing it during low flow periods.
- Wetlands play an important role in our environment both from a hydrological standpoint and also the wide variety of animals and plants that depend on this habitat to survive.
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TREATING TRASH
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How does a modern landfill operate? Students explore for themselves how we treat our trash today and compare this to the unsafe practices that were done in the past. A landfill model provides a breakdown of the different stages of the treatment process and demonstrates the effect on the groundwater if our trash is not disposed of properly. |
- Today's modern landfills are for the most part safe but there are exceptions.
- We should avoid putting garbage into a landfill in the first place by following the 3 R's.
- Garbage that is not properly treated can pollute both surface and groundwater.
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WELL SEALED
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Wells sometimes dry up or are just not used any longer, but when you leave them unprotected our groundwater is at risk! |
- Water from wells can become contaminated if the soil and groundwater around the well becomes contaminated and then a new well must be dug.
- Groundwater can become contaminated through open wells that are no longer in use.
- An old well can be sealed with clay, because it is impermeable, to prevent contamination of the groundwater.
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