Activities for National Public Lands Day 2009

Holding onto the GREEN Zone Guide

boat water With the NPLD focus on our nation's water resources, here are a few activities for ages 10-14. Some offer opportunities for youth to engage in streamside observation and data collection projects. Others are “Anywhere Activities” that do not require lot of materials or equipment to create meaningful educational experiences for children. Water education opportunities exist almost anywhere!

The below activities are found in Holding onto the GREEN Zone, a curriculum guide that helps connect children ages 10-14 with nature using streams as living classrooms. The guide is produced by the Bureau of Land Management and University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension. It provides a suite of indoor and outdoor activities on stream ecology, including studies of soil, wildlife, water quality, and plants in and around streams.

The entire GREEN Zone guide as part of NPLD’s on-line water educational resources listed at and on the Bureau of Land Management’s riparian module page.

Observations and Data Collection Activities

Participants make visual observations of water appearance, water odor, signs of erosion in the stream and on the banks, and streambed deposits. Participants mark observations on a data sheets. Prior to collecting data, leaders introduce the concepts of pollution, erosion, and excess sediment.

Materials needed: copies of data sheets, pens and pencils, clipboards optional
Ages: 12-14

Data Sheets

Streamside Activities

These activities work best when conducted along a stream.

Activity: Biological and Chemical Monitoring

If site managers already have biological and/or chemical monitoring equipment at their sites, this is a very engaging activity for children. Participants collect water samples and test simple chemical parameters. They also collect stream insects and crustaceans with a net, identify them, and complete a data sheet that provides a water quality rating of excellent, good, fair or poor. Additional resources that may be of interest include the World Water Monitoring Day test kits ($14 plus shipping for 50 tests of dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and turbidity) at www.worldwatermonitoringday.org and the field guides and equipment for stream monitoring listed through the Izaak Walton League’s Save Our Streams program.

Materials needed: Thermometer, pH test kit; fine meshed net with a long handle; white bucket or tray, ice cube trays, handouts, pencil, clipboards (optional)
Ages: 10-14

Choose from the following Biological & Chemical Monitoring Data Sheets:

Activity: Anywhere Activities

These activities can be conducted anywhere and are not dependent upon being along a stream. Most can be done indoors or outdoors.

Putting on the Brakes
This activity shows how the flow of water in a stream can be slowed by the stream’s shape and the types of materials on the banks (bare soil, rocks, concrete channels, tree roots, etc.) Participants, in teams of two, drop a marble through a hole in the end of a shoe box and time how long it takes to get to the other end. Teams then slow the marble by at least half its original speed by creating a winding path using the materials provided. The activity can be simplified by having the holes cut in the boxes ahead of time and/or by having students only record speed rather than convert it into velocity. The activity can be expanded by having students also vary the slope of the box.

Materials needed: ruler, stopwatch, paper and pencil, shoe box, scissors, marble, glue, cotton balls, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, something to elevate the box 2-3 cm on one end.
Ages: 10-12

Filter Plants
Leaders need to set this activity up the night before. Participants learn how plants in the green zone can filter pollutants and prevent them from entering streams by observing celery taking up red food coloring. One cup uses water and food coloring only while the other cup also includes vinegar. Participants compare the uptake capacity of celery with and without vinegar and learn that there is a limit to a plant’s ability to filter pollutants.

Materials needed: 2 stalks fresh celery, 2 plastic water cups, masking tape, red food coloring, white vinegar, 2 measuring cups, knife, ruler, paper towel, paper and pencil
Ages: 10-12

kids at the water

Critter Cube Count
Participants determine a water quality score for an imaginary stream. Wooden blocks with drawings of different aquatic macroinvertebrates are tossed like dice to simulate what might be found using a net to collect bugs in the stream. Participants then identify the “catch” and determine a water quality rating using the handouts provided.

Materials needed: handouts, pencil, wooden blocks (sets of four for each team of participants).
Ages: 13-14