Third graders have been learning about the Lake Champlain Watershed and its ecosystems during this bend, Organisms and their Environment, in our Interdependence Science Unit.
We began with a field trip to the Huntington River where we learned about the organisms that live within the river ecosystem and how the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates help to indicate the quality of the water. We also learned about pollutants that might change the quality of the water within the Huntington River.
Next, we learned about watersheds and how they work. We built models to learn how water and pollutants might flow through the various parts of a watershed. We were presented with real-life problems within a watershed (agricultural runoff, urban runoff) and experimented with possible solutions to prevent these pollutants from harming the watershed. We also visited Echo, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain for more in-depth learning around these ideas. The Lake Champlain Basin Program taught us about invasive species in Lake Champlain, ways scientists are working to eliminate these threats, and ways that we can all help stop the spread of invasive species.
Finally, we worked in small collaborative groups to research specific issues in the Lake Champlain Watershed. The issues we researched include:
Our goal was for groups of students to design a project to communicate ecological issues of Lake Champlain's watershed, the causes of these problems and possible solutions with the community.
We hope you learn many ways that YOU can help protect Lake Champlain and its Watershed!