Impervious
vs. Pervious
Takeawalkaround your neighborhoodor school grounds and look for
surfaces that you thinkare impervious–makea list of five impervious
surfaces. Don’t forget to lookupanddown, impervious surfaces aren’t
alwayson theground! Pervious surfaces, sometimes calledpermeable,
slowdownwater andallow it to soak into theground. Examples include
grassy areas,mulch, andgravel. Can you findat least fivedifferent
pervious surfaces? Test it out! Pour somewater on theground ineachof
theseplaces andobservewhat happens.What does thewater do? If it
soaks right in it ispervious. If spreadsout or it all runsoff to somewhere
else, it isprobably impervious. If thewater flows, whichwaydoes it go?
When it rains heavily and thewater doesn’t soak in, wheredoes it go?Can
you finda stormdrainor drainageditch? Whenabig rain stormhappens,
water that goes into the stormdrainor ditchwill continue intoa local
streamand/or larger bodyof water beforeendingup inPuget Sound.
Impervious
Pervious
PlanandCarryOut an Investigation
If youwant to compare locations for their degreeof imperviousness, youneed todesignan investigationprocedure. A fair test iswhen youmake sure
youareonly testingone variableat a timeand “controlling” or keepingall other conditions the same. List the typesof surfaces youwould like to test for
imperviousness. How could you control other factors suchas timeandamount of water so that theonly variable youare changing is the surface type?
Teachers! NatureWorks Everywherehas numerous
resources and lessons tohelpengage students around
solutions toenvironmental issues. Findactivities and
lessons specific to stormwater, polluted runoff, water quality,
andnature-based solutions to improvingwater quality at
ourweb-sitebelow. This year theNatureWorks Everywhere
GardenGrantsprogramwill beprovidingup toFIVEgrants
of up to$2,000each topublicor charter schoolswithin
Puget Sound to implement natural solutions to improve the
qualityof water that runsoff school buildings and school
yardswhen it rains. Examplesof projects include:
● Raingardens andother nature-based solutions for urban stormwater
● Nativehabitat and/or pollinator gardens
● Urban forestry likeorchardplantings, native treeplantings, or tree care
● Foodgardens that helpaddress challenges related toaccess
to fresh, healthy food
● Other student-drivenprojects that address a challengearoundair
quality, theurbanheat islandeffect, climate change, stormwater, or
access tohealthy food.
Checkout cityhabitats.org/natureworkseverywhere for lessonplans and informationabout how toapply for aGardenGrant at your school.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER5, 2016 |
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