Now that the students had some sense of the amount of fresh water available, we then talked about what happens when that very small percentage of water is polluted.
We had the good fortune to make
contact with Kristi Rea, Program Manager of the Urban Environmental Initiative,
at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kristi gave our students a
presentation about the Woonasquatucket River. She explained how the land
and water was contaminated, the types and extent of contamination as well
as information about a public awareness campaign which targeted citizens
who live near the river. For more information on the Woonasquatucket
River please click on the following link: http://www.epa.gov/region01.
As preparation for Kristi's presentation we reviewed the vocabulary
and read a recent article from the Providence Journal, "The river's dirty;
stay out of it".
Follow-up Activities:
Thank
you letter to Kristi Rea
Watershed
Experiment - The objective
of this experiment was to introduce students to the concept of non-point
source pollution as well as to reinforce their understanding of a watershed.
The combination of their own drawings, classroom discussion plus manipulatives
delivered the message very clearly for our students.
Quiz B
Video - "It's
Found Underground"
1. Name three examples of how dioxin has affected the lives of people who live near the river or who once used the river for recreation.
2. Write a letter to your representative, voicing your concern about the pollution of the river, and demand government help to clean it up.
3. Design a sign that shows that the river is dangerous.
4. Role Play. Present a little skit on this topic.
There is someone who wants to
fish in the Woonasquatucket River. Your job is to convince that person
not to fish there because the river is poisoned with dioxin.