mma
was a very curious little girl. She asked so many questions that her
parents ran out of answers. One morning Emma heard her parents talking
about problems with a wetland near her house.
"What's a wetland?" Emma
asked.
"I'll tell you when you're older,
Emma," her Mom said.
This did not make Emma very happy; she
wanted to know now, so she packed an emergency sandwich and went to
find this thing called "a wetland."
Soon Emma met a bird, so she asked him,
"Where is a 'wetland'?"
"You are in a wetland. I live in
this wetland because it has shelter, water and food," said the
bird.
The bird had more answers than Emma had
questions. He told Emma that a wetland is an area where the soil is
wet, like near a river or pond. Plants and animals that like wet
environments live in wetlands. He told Emma that trees sometimes grow
in wetlands, but they should not grow right next to the river because
then they use up too much water and the wetland gets too dry for the
other plants and animals.
Emma's first visit to a wetland.
(Photo: Karen King)
"The problem," said the bird,
"'is that new trees have started growing in this wetland. These
trees are not from this area; people brought these trees from another
country and have planted them here. Trees that come from the same area
as the wetland they are in are called 'native' trees and trees from
other places are called 'exotic' trees. The exotic trees drink much
more water than native trees, and the wetland is getting drier and
drier. What's even worse is that these trees are growing right next to
the river. Can you please help me to make sure that there is enough
water in the wetland for everyone?"
What should Emma do?
If you think she should plant some
native trees next to the exotic trees, click here.
If you think she should plant more
native trees in the wetland, but not next to the river, click here.
If you think she should remove the
exotic trees from next to the river, click here.
Very pleased, but still full of
questions, Emma walked further into the wetland.
"Hello," said a little girl,
"Do you have any lunch for me? I am very hungry."
So Emma shared her emergency sandwich
with the little girl, who explained to Emma that she was hungry
because the food that she used to collect from the wetland was
finished, and she could not find any more. She said that she could not
find the special reeds, called glyceria, she used to pick in the
wetlands either, so she and her mom could not make the reed baskets
they sold to make money for food. The little girl asked Emma if she
could help her.
Glyceria is used to weave baskets.
(Photo: Karen King)
What should Emma do?
If you think that she should tell the
little girl that her family must stop using the wetlands for food and
reeds, click here.
If you think that Emma should tell the
little girl that her family should plant extra plants in the wetland, click here.
If you think that Emma should tell the
little girl that her family can keep using the wetland, but that they
should leave some of every type of plant in the wetland, so that more
grow in the future, click here.
Just as she was leaving the wetland,
Emma heard a small voice.
"Excuse me, can you please
help?" a small earthworm asked.
The earthworm explained that he lived
in the cleanest part of the wetland, because by the time the water has
flowed through most of the wetland and to his house, the wetland soil
has sucked up all the pollution in the area.
"Unfortunately," said the
earthworm, "the new houses next to the wetland are making too
much pollution for the wetland to clean. This is called 'changing the
hydrochemistry of the wetland.' When the hydrochemistry of the wetland
changes, we earthworms have to leave."
What should Emma do?
If you think that she should send all
the earthworms to live in a new, clean home, click here.
If you think that she should add
cleaning chemicals to the wetland, click here.
If you think that Emma should stop the
owners of the new houses from sending their pollution into the
wetland, click here.
Emma and her wetland friends.
(Photo: Karen King)
With her head full of answers, Emma
walked home happily. When she arrived home, Emma's dad was saying that
he was worried about how dry the wetland near their house was getting.
"Don't worry," said Emma,
"all you need to do is remove all the exotic trees."
Emma's dad was very surprised.
Emma's mom said, "That sounds like
a good idea, but what are we going to do about the wetland plants that
have stopped growing? People need those plants to feed their
families."
"Don't worry," said Emma,
"there are still some small plants in the wetland. When these
grow taller the people can still pick them, as long as they leave some
of each kind behind every time, especially the glyceria."
Now Emma's mom was surprised too.
Emma's dad asked her another question,
"If you know so much about wetlands, what can we do about keeping
the wetland clean?"
"That's an easy one," said
Emma. "Just tell the people who live next to the wetland to stop
changing the hydrochemistry of the wetland by letting their pollution
get into the wetland."
Emma's parents were quiet for a minute.
Then they thanked Emma for her help and went to find out what
"exotic trees," "Glyceria" and
"hydrochemistry" meant.
