Lesson 7 - Wetland Wonders

©The Raptor Center

State Goals for Environmental Education (as per the Minnesota State Plan for Environmental Education, Greenprint, 1993)

Students will:

1. Understand ecological systems.
2. Provide experiences to assist citizens to increase their sensitivity and stewardship for the environment.
3. Provide the information citizens need to make informed decisions about actions to take on environmental issues.
4. Be able to analyze, develop, and use problem-solving skills to understand the decision making process of individuals, institutions, and nations regarding environmental issues.

Students will:

1. Describe the characteristics of wetlands
2. Demonstrate their understanding of the importance of wetlands to humans and wildlife.
3. Become aware of the characteristics of a wetland and learn they are defined by the presence of water, specialized soils, and hydrophytic plants.

• habitat
• riverine
• lacustrine
• palustrine
• bog
• bottomlands
• Delmarva bay
• fen
• marsh
• mire
• moor
• muskeg
• peatland
• playa lake
• potholes
• slough
• ephemeral
• swamp
• wet meadow
• hydrophytes
• marine
• oasis
• estuarine
• mangrove
• brackish
• deltas
• lagoons

• pencils (per student or work group)
• scrap paper (per student or work group)
• pillow case
• sponge
• small pillow
• soap
• egg beater or mixer
• small doll cradle
• sieve or strainer
• paper (coffee) filter
• antacid tablets
• small box of cereal
• postage stamps
• Resources-list of Appropriate agency/organizations contacts

Wetlands are an important habitat for the osprey. Wetlands are the nursery grounds for fish, a very important food source for ospreys. Shallow water is usually found near wetlands and ospreys hunt in shallow water for their fish.

So what is a wetland? Well, a wetland is wet land! They are transition areas between dry land and deep water, but some are more isolated. The most common types of wetlands are bogs, swamps and marshes. Students may know other types by other names such as mire, fen, muskeg, pothole, bottomland, moor, wet meadow, slough, playa lake, and Delmarva bay. What they have in common is what defines them as wetlands: special soil, water and specialized plants called hydrophytes. The interaction between these three features is what distinguishes one type of wetland from another.

Wetlands are divided into two broad general categories: Coastal and Inland. Coastal wetlands are those which are adjacent to a coast! They are further divided into two sub-categories: Marine and Estuarine. Marine wetlands are those which are along open coast in undiluted salt water and usually are shrub wetlands, salt marsh, and mangrove swamps. Esturine wetlands are located along deltas, lagoons and other areas where salt and fresh water mix in an estuary. They can be shrub wetlands, salt marsh, mangrove swamp, or brackish wetlands.

Inland Wetlands are divided into three sub-categories: Riverine, Lacustrine, and Palustrine. Riverine wetlands are associated with river channels or floodplains. Bottomlands, freshwater marshes, and delta marshes are the most common. Lacustrine wetlands are associated with lakes and deltas. The most common types being freshwater marsh and shrub and forest wetlands. Palustrine wetlands include shallow ponds as well as all other types such as ephemeral ponds, peatland, ground water spring oasis, and bogs.

Common Wetland Types

Bog

- A peat-accumulating wetland that has no significant inflows or outflows and supports acid loving mosses, particularly sphagnum. Water comes mostly from precipitation. Some shrubs (Heath family) and evergreens grow in bogs. Minnesota's peatland region in the north central part of the state has many examples of bogs.

Bottomlands

- Lowlands along stream and river corridors, usually in floodplain (land adjacent to the river bank which is flooded when water overflows normal levels). Often forested, and sometimes called riparian wetlands or bottomland hardwood forest. Along most major waterways in Minnesota one can find examples of this type of wetland.

Delmarva bay

-An isolated, irregularly or elliptical shaped basin fed by rain or groundwater, containing dark colored acidic water. These basins may contain trees or shrubs, and may dry up in late summer. They are found in coastal regions of the eastern United States, and may also be called Carolina bays. Their origin is uncertain.

Fen

- A peat-accumulating wetland that receives some drainage from surrounding mineral soil and usually supports marsh-like plants. The water supply in a fen is slightly acidic or nearly neutral, it carries nutrients and minerals. Fens look like watery meadows with sedges, reeds, grass-like plants, occasional shrubs, and scattered, stunted trees. Minnesota's peatland region in the north central part of the state has many examples of fens.

Marsh

- A fresh, brackish, or saltwater wetland, vegetated mostly by herbaceous plants that grow up out of the water (emergent). Marshes are frequently or continually flooded and are often found at the edges of rivers, creeks, ponds, and lakes, in isolated depressions, and along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts.

Mire

- Any peat-accumulating wetland. (This term is commonly used in northern Europe.)

Moor

- A high moor is a raised bog and a low moor is a basin or depression. (European)

Muskeg

- A large expanse of peatlands or bogs and fens. Peatlands are common to Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. Minnesota has the largest peatland areas in the lower 48 states. It is located in the north central part of the state.

Peatland

- Any wetland that accumulates partially decayed plant matter, or peat.

Playa lake

- Temporary ponds formed in desert landscapes; characterized by internal drainage systems (common throughout the western United States). Vegetation is usually marsh like.

Potholes

- Shallow marsh like ponds common throughout the Midwestern United States and prairie provinces of Canada.

Slough

- A swamp or shallow lake in the northern or Midwestern United States, or a slowly flowing, shallow swamp/marsh in the southeastern United States.

Swamp

- A wetland vegetated mostly by trees and shrubs; often associated with rivers, slow streams, or isolated depressions.

Wet meadow

- A grassland with waterlogged soil near the surface but without standing water for most of the year. A fine example of this is the Bluestem Prairie State Natural Area in Clay County, Minnesota or Malmburg Prarie State Natural Area in Polk County, Minnesota.

Other wetland facts:

• Water is present at or near the ground's surface all or part of the time, even for as few as seven consecutive days!
• Depth, duration, and frequency of flooding vary from wetland to wetland.
• Wetlands may be tidal or nontidal (unaffected by oceanic tides) and may contain fresh, salt or brackish water.
• Wetlands may be any size or shape, from a low spot in a field that covers a few hundred square feet to an expansive marsh which covers several hundred square miles.
• Wetlands are found on every continent except Antarctica (same as the osprey!!) And in every climate from the tropics to the tundra. They may be coastal or inland, along rivers or ponds, in agricultural fields, or even in cities.
• Wetlands may be pristine natural areas or may have been "built" by people. Many have been disturbed, from one degree or another, by human activity.
• Wetland benefits include: flood control, coastal protection, ground water recharge, sediment traps, pollution interception, waste treatment, biological production, habitat, food, fuel, commercially important fish, bird, and animal population production, timber and fiber harvest, recreation, aesthetics, and education.

1. Using pencils and scrap paper ask each student to write down the name of a type of wetland (e.g.....bog). Ask them to write an example of an animal they associate with that type of wetland. Ask them to write down any plant they associate with that type of wetland. Ask them to write down at least two adjectives or short phrases to describe that type of wetland.

After students complete these steps, survey them item by item. (Ask for answers for step one, then step two, then step three, etc...) There is no need to get each students answers, but it is helpful to get a thorough picture. As the teacher you may want to ask things like, "Johnny wrote down swamp. How many others wrote down swamp?" Or "How many other wrote down something to do with the smell of wetlands for step four?" Then draw a chart on the chalkboard of the answers, this will give you and the students the feeling of variety, or lack thereof, of answers. The answers will illustrate preconceptions or misconceptions related to wetlands and help highlight particular areas that could be better understood through subsequent instruction. If replies include buggy, and smelly, the challenge is clear. It is likely students will suggest a greater variety of animals than plants, yet it is the plants that are the most reliable indicators of the presence of wetlands. Government regulations use certain plants as indicators of legal wetlands, but do not use animals.

2. After the first activity, you and your students will have a pretty good picture as to what the class already knows or perceives about wetlands. This next step will help students understand all the positive benefits of wetlands in a fun easy way. Wetland Metaphors is a demonstration about the benefits of wetlands using everyday objects.

Many of the major attributes of wetlands can be explored through the use of metaphors. To use a metaphor is to apply a word or phrase to an object or concept which it does not literally denote in order to suggest a comparison between the two. A metaphor represents a concept or idea through another concept or idea. "A tree is a home" and "books are windows of thought" are two examples.

Below are the everyday objects and the natural functions they represent. A large pillow case or bag works well to hide the objects prior to using them.

• sponge - absorbs excess water caused by runoff; retains moisture for a time even if standing water dries up(e.g.. A sponge placed in a small puddle of water absorbs water until saturated, then stays wet after standing water has evaporated)
• pillow or bed - is a resting place for migratory birds
• mixer or egg beater - mixes nutrients and oxygen into the water
• cradle - provides a nursery that shelters, protects and feeds young wildlife
• sieve or strainer - strains silt, debris, etc... from water
• filter - filters smaller impurities from the water
• antacid - neutralizes toxic substances
• cereal - provides nutrient rich foods
• soap - helps cleanse the environment

Place your objects in the pillow case and set aside for later use.

Ask students to sit with their eyes closed and think about wetlands. (You may want to play a tape of wetland sounds, available at some of the larger bookstores, etc...)

After a moment, ask students what they imagined. Compile a list of their offerings. Encourage sharing and mutual offerings.

With the list you have compiled, help the students to identify the animals and plants they have imagined. Help them try to identify the type of wetlands they are imagining based on the animals and plants they have identified.

Next suggest background information to serve as an overview of the basic ecological activities that characterize the wetland habitat. For example you can include:

• sponge effect - absorbs runoff
• filter effect - takes out silt, waste, toxins, etc..
• nutrient control - absorbs nutrients from fertilizers and other contaminants that may cause contamination downstream
• natural nursery - provides protection and nourishment for newborn wildlife

Suggest that these activities and many more they can probably think of are taking place in wetlands all the time.

Now pull out the pillow case.

Tell students that everything in the container has something to do with wetlands. Have students divide into groups of four. Announce that when it is their turn, a representative from their group is to draw an object from the "bag." Then as a group they are to discover how the object is related to wetlands. When each group has an object ask them to talk it over as a team. Allow time for students to talk it over in groups before presenting to the class what their ideas are. Ask each group to present their ideas to the class. Following discussion and review of the role represented by each metaphor, ask the students to summarize the major roles that wetlands perform in contributing to habitat for wildlife.

List the ways in which wetlands are helpful to humans? Do humans convert wetlands to other uses? Ask if their own opinions about wetlands have changed? How? If not, why not?

Again the purpose of this activity is to allow students to gain a better understanding of wetlands through the use of metaphors. Wetlands are not only important to ospreys but also to humans.

1. Visit a nearby wetland and discover what type it is. Discuss what clues lead you to believe it is that type. Verify the appropriateness of each metaphor on your trip.

2. Investigate local, county, state laws pertaining to wetlands. Discuss the laws and their pros and cons. Write a letter to a legislature and inform him/her about the importance of wetlands to you.

1. Have students lead each other on a blind walk in a wetland. Each blindfolded student should be lead by a student who is not blindfolded. The seeing students present the blindfolded students with the sounds, smells and tactile sensations wetlands provide.

2. Have students discover wetlands near their home by making observations and inferring the boundaries of that wetland. If possible, loan students cameras so they can create a class scrapbook of "Wetlands I Have Known."

Wonders of Wetlands; An Educators Guide, Environmental Concern Inc., P.O.Box P, Saint Michaels, MD 21663, 1995

Project Wild Aquatic, 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814, 1992

Additional links to more wetland information

• Wetlands Activities Department of Interior
• Constructed Wetland