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Contents
1.  What you can do
2.  Water
3.  Ecology
4.  Amphibians
5.  Environmental Issues
6.  Keystone species
7.  Get Wet!-
     Field Study Ideas

8.  The Zoo Experience
9.  Frogs & Friends
10. Case Studies
11. Resources
12. Glossary

Wetland Curriculum Resource
Unit 7. Get Wet! - Field Study Ideas

List of Activities >>
Some things you might need >>
Make your own... >>

There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he looked upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day
or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years...

Walt Whitman

 

PREPARING FOR THE TRIP

There are dozens of ways to explore a wetland but remember, the experience should be fun and it should spark your students' interest and curiosity. The sample observation sheets appearing on the following pages and in other parts of this manual will give you some guidelines. Select the activities that best meet your teaching needs and the wetland you will be visiting. Please remember, for all wetland studies it is important you encourage your students to respect the land, water, plants, and animals. Dividing the class into groups to minimize the number of students that need to enter the water or walk through the sensitive and easily degraded bank area to reach the water.

Field study activities appearing elsewhere in this manual:

2.9 Sally Mander's Favourite Place

Includes two observation sheets to use in monitoring a local wetland on a monthly or annual basis:

  • Wetland Monitoring Sheet - identifies type of wetland, tests water quality (pH, temperature and clarity), signs of amphibians, weather conditions.
  • Amphibian Monitioring Sheet - records observations of individual amphibian species, weather conditions, habitat type, description of species, behaviour and other notes.

3.1 There's No Place Like Home

This activity is based on trip to a local wetland. Students bring home water, plants, bottom muck and invertebrates to observe them in the class room. After a period of observation, the pond life is returned to its home wetland.

5.6 Silence of the Contams

Includes an observation sheet to use at a local wetland. During this activity, students observe the presence and populations of different organisms and co-relate them to the health of the wetland.

Safety Tips:

  1. Make sure that the wetland you will be working in is safe - that the water is less than 1 metre deep with no sudden drop-offs, no fast currents, or other safety hazards.
  2. Students should work in teams, using a buddy system and they should be supervised at all times.
  3. Teachers may want younger students, or students who don't swim, to wear a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) depending upon the selected wetland.

 



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