Wetland Worries - header image

Voter’s Ballot
Issue
Pay
Pollute
Issue #1 SEPTIC TANK SLUDGE
    
Issue #2 BIGGER BACKYARD
    
Issue #3 HOME WORK
    
Issue #4 DOGGIE DOODIE
    
Issue #5 FERTILE FLOW
    
Issue #6 IT’S JUST A DROP
    
Issue #7 PLASTIC PLAGUE
    
Issue #8 TANKS FOR TOURISTS
    
Issue #9 FOUL FISH
    
Issue #10 LITTER LAW
    

National Science Standards:

Objectives:
  1. Students will recognize that each citizen makes daily choices that impact the watershed.
  2. Students will understand that individual and community decisions do not always have an immediate consequence, and often have unforeseen impacts that are expensive and difficult to reverse.
  3. Students will recognize that individuals or business that pollute, also called "stakeholders", sometimes reject the burden of sole responsibility, instead favoring shared responsibility through laws and taxes.

Introduction: The health of a wetland is largely determined by what we do to the watershed that feeds water to it. There are many different stakeholders, like farmers, ranchers, homeowners, developers, businesses, factories, politicians, scientists and schools, that all vote on issues that pertain to the health of the local watershed.
In Wetland Worries, students will explore different roles in making a decision about each of ten issues presented. Each group represents a community in a watershed, with their respective creek (a cup of water) contributing to a wetland (a clear bowl on the teachers desk). Each student group (which we will refer to as a community) will be presented with a sheet of issue cards to vote on. In the end the community must make one decision, whether to tolerate some pollution or pay for the changes proposed.

Materials for each group of 3-5 students:
  1. One bioplastic or glass cup of water to represent a creek in the watershed.
  2. 20 pieces of candy (this represents money) for the group to share.
  3. 2 Tootsie Rolls to represent pet waste
  4. Bottle of black food coloring to represent contamination.
  5. Bottle of vinegar to represent unseen chemical pollution.
  6. Confetti or hole punches to represent debris.
  7. Piece of newspaper print to test for suspended pollutants.
  8. Strip of litmus paper.
  9. Worksheets of the "Issue Cards" and ballot.
Teacher Materials:
  1. Map of local watershed, including the body of water it flows into.
  2. An empty aquarium or clear bowl in front of class to represent a wetland.
Rules for the Game - image

Introduction: (10 minutes) Divide class into groups of 3-5 students, distribute materials, read the introduction above and explain the activity.
  1. Activity: (25 minutes) Groups will divide issue cards among members and discuss and vote on one issue at a time. The group will discuss how each stakeholder might feel about the issue and write that opinion on a separate sheet of paper. In the end the community must make one decision, whether to tolerate some pollution or pay for the changes proposed. Pay or Pollute? If you pay, give your money (candy) back to the teacher. If you pollute, follow the consequences listed.
  2. Discussion: (15 minutes) Once all groups have voted on all the issues, have each group bring their creek sample (cup of water) to the teacher's desk and pour it into the clear bowl, which represents the wetland.
    1. Would you swim or eat fish from your wetland?
    2. Why is it difficult for a community to make decisions about water quality?
    3. If your community chose to pollute on any issue, what are the long-term effects of that pollution?
    4. Who is responsible for water quality: the individual or the community?


Issue #1 SEPTIC SLUDGE

I have an old septic tank on my farm that leaks some sewage into the creek. It will cost $500 to fix it myself, since the city will not run a sewage line up to my house.

Pay

Pay 1 piece of candy to fix one sewer, or pay 5 pieces to provide sewer lines to all rural homes.

Pollute

Allow people in rural areas of the community to monitor their own sewage, until the city digs sewer lines. Put three drops of dye into the creek.
 

Issue #2 BIGGER BACKYARD

I own property next to the creek. I want to fill in the land next to the creek so I can make my backyard bigger.

Pay

Pay 3 pieces of candy to buy land from people so that the creek bed can stay wild.

Pollute

Allow people to develop to the edge of the creek, causing a more narrow channel and faster runoff.
Pour a teaspoon of dirt into the creek.
 

Issue #3 HOME WORK

On weekends I sometimes take care of my lawn and garden, and wash the car. I use fertilizer and pesticides in my garden, and I soap and rinse my car in the street.

Pay

Pay 2 pieces of candy to create a city program about household waste, including a free pamphlet, billboards on the street, and newspaper ads.

Pollute

Fertilizers, pesticides and soap contribute nutrients and contaminants to the creek.
Put 5 drops of vinegar in the creek.
 

Issue #4 DOGGIE DOODIE

Every day I walk my dog. We stop by the same empty lot where Fido finds his favorite spot to…you know. No one lives there or cuts the grass, so it’s okay to leave it there.

Pay

Pay 3 pieces of candy to pass a law against leaving pet waste in public. Put information signs, billboards around town and free-baggie stations in parks.

Pollute

Expect citizens to use common courtesy to bring their own bags and remove pet waste from the neighborhood.
Drop two tootsie rolls into the creek.
 

Issue #5 FERTILE FLOW

Farmers add fertilizer and pesticides to raise the efficiency of farm production. I know that some farms are growing produce organically, but aren’t using chemicals more profitable?

Pay

Pay 3 pieces of candy to begin a public awareness campaign about pollution in the watershed, and to encourage farmers to switch to organic farming.

Pollute

Pay 3 pieces of candy to begin a public awareness campaign about pollution in the watershed, and to encourage farmers to switch to organic farming.
 

Issue #6 IT’S JUST A DROP

I drive an old leaky car. I change the oil in my driveway 2 or 3 times a year. The old oil usually gets poured along the back fence to kill the weeds there. At least it’s not going down the drain.

Pay

Pay 2 pieces of candy for a hazardous waste vehicle to go around neighborhoods twice a year to pick up oil and other chemicals. Create a law against smog and leaky vehicles.

Pollute

Tests of local ground water quality in deep wells have found small amounts of pollution, including metals.
Put 5 drops of black food coloring in the creek.
 

Issue #7 PLASTIC PLAGUE

It’s hard to avoid using plastic these days. Bags, bottles, cigarette buts, and fast food wrappers are everywhere. I do recycle when I can. And I don’t smoke. But the trash is just everywhere, in the street, in parks, and on the beach.

Pay

Pay three pieces of candy to install storm drain inserts to catch plastic that falls into them, and to pay for maintenance workers to empty them.

Pollute

Plastic debris increasingly accumulating in wetlands, washing up on the beach, and being found in the stomachs of marine life.
Put a pinch of confetti in the creek.
 

Issue #8 TANKS FOR TOURISTS

I live in Colorado, but fly to the coast every summer to scuba dive. For the past three years I’ve been seeing fewer fish. There are fewer kelp plants and a lot more sea urchins and algae. It doesn’t look healthy. I’d rather see the fish. Maybe I’ll find someplace different next year.

Pay

Pay 2 pieces of candy to promote tourism to coastal cities and dive shops. This money will also go to a program to monitor pollution in the marine environment.

Pollute

Use litmus paper to test water quality. If the ph is less than 7, then fish communities aren’t healthy.
Pay 2 pieces of candy for lost revenue.
 

Issue #9 FOUL FISH

For twenty years I’ve been catching fish and crabs, which I sell to restaurants. I also eat fish at least three times each week. For some reason my family has been getting ill more frequently.

Pay

Put a piece of newspaper as big as a stamp (1in. x 1in.) in the bottom of the cup. If the water is too cloudy or covered with trash to read the print, then it’s polluted. Pay 3 pieces to candy build a new sewage treatment plant. And pay to monitor and mitigate wetland pollution.

Pollute

There are a few outbreaks of strange infections in some people that ate fish. Also, E. coli levels in the water are too high for safe swimming.
Pay 4 pieces of candy for city lawsuit because a person died from contaminated fish, business have gone bankrupt, and lost tourism because of beach closures.
 

Issue #10 LITTER LAW

I’m an environmental lawyer with the responsibility to make sure that cities are following state and federal laws about levels of permissible pollution in the marine environment. I test the water in wetlands for ph, fertilizers like phosphates and nitrates, and E. coli bacteria. If the pollution is bad, the city gets fined and must fix things.

Pay

Pay (or borrow) three pieces of candy to maintain a healthy watershed, including independent inspectors, and contracts with environmental groups to monitor and clean up areas of the watershed.

Pollute

Pay (or borrow) three pieces of candy to pay fines to the state. Pay (or borrow) three more pieces of candy to hire state contractors to clean up waste.