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Activities Keep a wetland journal. Visit your wetland site once a week and record your observations. Notice changes in the plants and animal life as well as the water quality. How do they relate? One of the many activities that you can do with wetlands is test the water. You test the water with water testing kits. You can get water testing kits from an outdoor store like Ace Hardware or Lowe's or a pond supply store. There are many different types of kits like, pH, nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia. Simply follow the directions provided. There are also different things that you can test the water for without water testing kits.These are water level and temperature. To test the water level all you need to do is take a yard stick and place it at the bottom of the wetland. If the water is deeper than the yardstick, a weighted rope works well. Mark the rope at selected intervals (such as one foot intervals). Now see what number the water is up to, you now have the water level! See how it changes throughout the seasons. To test the temperature you need a thermometer. Put the thermometer on a string and lower it into the water and hold it there for about a minute. Now read the thermometer and, voila! How does temperature affect other changes you observe, such as water clarity or pH? Another activity that is very popular with wetlands is bird watching. Binoculars are important to have while bird watching in order to correctly identify the birds. A good field guide is needed also. But if you have neither, you still can enjoy getting out there and watching and listening to the birds. One tip while you are bird watching is to be very quiet. If you are very quiet most likely you will see many types of birds. Good luck bird watching! One other great way to see birds is to feed them. One easy way to feed birds is to make a bird feeder. First you need to gather your materials, a pinecone, peanut butter, bird seed, and a string. Take the pinecone and rub some peanut butter on about 3/4 of the pinecone. Now take the birdseed and sprinkle it onto the cone so that it sticks to the peanut butter. Next tie the string around the top of the pinecone. You now have a bird feeder, you can now hang it on a tree in or near your wetland and watch the birds eat it. |