The project connects students to their local environment and improves their understanding of watersheds, ecosystem connectivity, and the role of city government in protecting the environment. Students demonstrate how stormwater carries pollutants directly into nearby water ways.
This investigation allows students an opportunity to share their thinking. First, they practice in the classroom and then share their thinking and work as part of a classroom and/or whole school celebration of the Alaska Seas and Watersheds Curriculum.
Students use a stream table to model how melting glaciers impact stream flow, erosion, and habitats. Through hands-on experiments, they observe sediment transport, canyon formation, and siltation, analyzing the effects of increased glacial melt on landscapes and ecosystems.
Students take part in a simulation of water moving through the water cycle through various paths, visiting eight stations around the classroom. They record and reflect on their journey and then build simple water cycle models using ziplock bags or jars.
Students discuss stewardship actions and develop an action plan that they will carry out as a class. They host a “Friends of the Sea” party to involve the school and community in their stewardship efforts and to share the results of their investigations.