Have you ever noticed when it starts to get warm in late winter the snow starts to melt, and large puddles form in almost any area that will contain them? Or maybe in the spring you have witnessed water rushing out your gutters, through your lawn, then down the road, taking the path of least resistance and picking up anything it can carry(like leaves, candy wrappers or cigarette butts) with it’s momentum? Where on earth does all that water(and the things it carried away) end up?
The answer depends on where you live and what sort of surfaces and soil types surround you. Do you live in an area with a lot of impermeable surfaces(solid surfaces that don’t allow water to penetrate, forcing it to run off) such as: paved roads, sidewalks or roofs; or area with a lot of permeable surfaces(porous or pervious surfaces that allow water to percolate into the soil) such as: yards, gardens and gravel?
Impermeable surfaces
If you are surrounded by impermeable surfaces then where does all that water go? Stormwater drains! And where do those go? To the nearest body of water, most cases a river; in the big picture it will go into the watershed you live in. What do you think goes with the water from the road? Remember the leaves, candy wrappers and cigarette butts I talked about? Those definitely go with the water, as does anything else on the roads that washed off other impermeable surfaces, including, but not limited to: motor oil, road salt, sand(some counties use in place of salt), discarded masks, water bottles.
Storm water drain
Natural things ending up in a river isn’t a problem, its all the other things that are. Now I wish to acknowledge the fact that I can probably keep going on about the ecological details of the problem, but talking about it isn’t going to get anything done to solve it. I wish to bring the facts to your awareness, show you how we can make a positive difference and inspire change in those around us.
How to change the flow of water
You could build a rain garden! Rain gardens lay below the level of their surroundings, and are designed to absorb rainwater run off. They are a great idea to place where your gutters empty into the yard. Rain gardens hold water and absorb pollutants before they can reach the storm water drains. Rain gardens also have the benefit of attracting pollinators, especially when planted with species native to your area.
Or make a rain barrel! A rain barrel is a barrel or container placed so that it can catch rain water from the eaves. The water can be used later for a watering a garden.
Decreasing the amount of impermeable surfaces is another option. Obviously you can’t put holes in your roof, but maybe someone could install a green roof? For most of us using permeable pavement is a more feasible option. Bricking and cobble that allow water to penetrate into the ground. Permeable pavement could be used for a driveways instead of asphalt or concrete. Creating a bioswale is another great idea, some buildings such as the Morton Arboretum have them along with permeable pavers in their parking lot.
All of those ideas have one thing in common: water retention. It is the most important factor, why? Because retained water isn’t going to add to what heads to the storm water drain.
Permeable surfaces
If you are surrounded by permeable surfaces, then you have the joy of watching nature work. Your yard probably floods in some areas during the spring thaw or heavy rains. But within a few days the ground has absorbed it.
Water logged path in a yard. Photo shared by M
Unless you live on clay, clay is a different story. Clay is the least permeable soil type. Gravel is the most permeable with sand coming in second. What soil type do you have?
Water absorbed into the ground is naturally filtered on its way down to the water table. The water table is the upper zone of saturation, where the ground is saturated with water. If you have well water at home then your well is utilizing the water table. When the well was dug it was placed hopefully a few feet below the water table so that even during droughts you have plenty of water. All the water that you see absorbed into the ground is helping to recharge your water table and well. That’s great!
In Nature’s back yard
In nature, there are pools of water too. These pools can exist only in spring an early summer, drying up during the extreme heat of summer. Or they can exist as a small fraction of what they were. These pools function as essential breeding habitat to many species of amphibians, one crustacean and many insects. Yes, you read that correctly. A crustacean! I have not been able to find one yet, but endangered fairy shrimp live in these vernal pools!
To see a beautifully photographed story of vernal pools (you will need to provide them your email, it is worth it! You can unsubscribe after). Steven David Johnson does an absolutely amazing job!
Vernal Pool Inhabitants
Some of my favorite critters call vernal pools home. To me, the sound that announces springs arrival is spring peepers! Their song is music to my soul! Chorus frogs, wood frogs, American toads, gray tree frogs all join in to the spring chorus as the temperatures continue to climb. It can turn into quite a ruckus is you aren’t used to them. Unfortunately, spring peepers are quite elusive and I was not able to find one to get a picture. Steven David Johnson did!
To us they sing, but in their world they are competing for mates and reproducing. The louder the call the more desirable the mate. The next generation is deposited in the form of eggs, some species they are individual eggs others are long strands. The first to hatch gets the best selection of food and will grow the fastest. Algae and zooplankton are some of the first foods the little amphibians will eat. As they get bigger, aquatic insects and any competitors that are bite sized.
Scavenger Hunt with your Little Stewards
Time to put those rain boots on! And pack an extra pair or two of socks! Whether you are doing this with your students at school or home its a really good idea to give them a “nature journal” to have them keep track of their discoveries. Please practice leave no trace when exploring natural areas.
A “nature journal” is a small notebook(for small hands, and pockets/backpacks) for your Little Steward to record what they see, either write notes or make a sketch. You can either buy one or make one.
Teach them the difference between permeable and impermeable surfaces, show them examples of both then have them identify some. Next look at the identified impermeable surfaces and try to figure out where the water goes? Get them thinking about how water travels and what it can take with it. See if they can spot some items that shouldn’t go in the storm water drains. Follow the path of the water as far as you safely can. Hopefully you end up at a storm water drain. Tell them about where the water will end up, now would be a great time to discover what watershed you live in and what it is!
Now they understand where the water goes and what it can take with it, ask them how they feel about all that yucky stuff ending up in the water? You could have them pretend they are fish and everytime it rains trash ends up in their home. Ask them if we should do some thing about it. And see what they come up with!
Explore for puddles!
Take your Little Steward to a natural area show them how nature takes care of water. If your yard floods take a picture of it each day until it dries up, and investigate it(how deep is it, how wide). Teach them about the different soil types. You can do the soil test in a jar with them. Talk about the different soil types and how water can permeate them and recharge the water table. If you have well water this would be a good time to talk about where your water comes from!
If you happen to find some vernal pools or potential vernal pools you can show them the e-book by Steven David Johnson and learn what sort of critters you might find if you keep checking out the vernal pool.
Now your Little Stewards know how nature uses the water ask them if they would change their idea. If so how? What did they come up with? Anything along the lines of what I had? Any better ideas?
Big Stewards
Are any of your Little Stewards ideas feasible? Are any of the ideas I provided feasible for you? You don’t have to start out big. For example, I am going to create a rain barrel, this will help me to save some of the storm water runoff that floods my yard and help me water my garden. I would like to create a rain garden, but I live in a rental. Spending money on landscaping I don’t get to keep is a hard thing for me to do.
If one of the ideas is feasible they would be a great project to work on with your Little Steward. Think through how to go about making it a reality and then go to your Little Steward. Ask them how to start the project(goal here is to nurture critical thinking skills). See if you can prompt them along the same path you found. Who knows, maybe they will have an even better idea!