Are you wondering “What is a watershed, and why is it important?
This activity will help your child explore the importance of watersheds and why they’re important, as well as how harmful pollution can be for our environment as it travels through the water system.
What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land that water on the surface of surrounding land drains into.
Watersheds can have streams and rivers that directs the water to larger bodies of water such as lakes and oceans.
Watersheds are important for many reasons, including that they:
- Support ecosystems and wildlife
- Act as a natural ‘filter’
- Provide essential fresh water resources
- Regulate water flow to prevent floods
- Offer awesome opportunities for recreation, such as fishing, boating and more.
Materials
- Metal or plastic pan
- Rocks (large or small)
- Aluminum foil
- Water
- Dirt
How to Create Your Watershed
Step 1
Place rocks and aluminum foil on one side of the pan to represent mountains and hills.
Step 2
Cover the pan in a layer of aluminum foil to represent the land. Mold the foil to have some smooth and some rough areas. The foil should also slope towards the other side of the pan opposite to the rocks.
Step 3
Make a prediction: Where will most of the water go if you pour water on the side of the pan with rocks?
Go ahead and slowly pour the water on the side of the pan with the rocks, raise the side where you are pouring if necessary.
The water being poured represents rain.
The water in the pan represents a watershed.
Notice that the water goes to the side opposite to the rocks and bumps.
Step 4
Put some dirt (which will represent pollution) around the rocks and uneven parts of the pan.
Make a prediction: What will happen if you pour more water with the dirt added?
Repeat step 3.
Notice that when you pour the water after the dirt was added, the water pushed the dirt with it to the bottom.
How Could Pollution Affect a Watershed?
Pollution can be moved or carried by the runoff water and then lead into the watershed.
What is Runoff?
Runoff describes large amounts of water that can’t absorb into the soil.
How Does a Polluted Watershed Affect the Environment?
Animals and plants directly around the watershed that rely on that as a clean source of water would be harmed by the pollution in the water.
It will harm the animals in the lakes and oceans the watersheds lead to.
It will also affect humans who rely on the animals in the lakes and oceans for food.
This is one of many reasons why it’s so important to do what you can to reduce pollution!
