To learn more about the programs or to schedule a presentation, contact the Natural Resources Outreach Specialist at 503-588-6211.
Finding Your Watershed
If you live in Salem, you can find the watershed where you live in two different ways.
Using the Map
Use the map to the right to locate your watershed. Find where you live on the map. Once you find where you live, note the color of the area on the map. Each watershed is marked with a different color. Next find the name in that color-coded area that is in bold print. That is the name of the watershed where you live.
Example, if you live in the West Salem hills, look on the left side of the Willamette River. You live in the apricot-colored area. Now look at the name in bold print. The watershed where you live is the Glenn-Gibson Watershed.
Go Exploring
Ask your parents to take you to the nearest creek from your house. There should be a sign with the creek's name on it. That creek where you are standing is most likely the same name as the watershed in which you live.
Activities
Edible Aquifer
Use this activity to teach about the geologic formation in an aquifer, how pollution can get into groundwater, and how pumping can cause a decline in the water table. In this activity, your students will build their own edible aquifer, learning about confining layers, contamination, recharge, and water tables.
Go to The Groundwater Foundation or download the file.
A Drop in the Bucket
Use this activity to demonstrate the sources of freshwater and just how little drinking water there is on earth. In this visual activity, students will learn the sources of freshewater, and the relative ratios of these water sources on the earth.
Go to Utah State University Extension Services or download the file.
Make a Water Cycle Wrist Band
Use this activity to explore the water cycle.
Earth's water travels from the atmosphere, down to its surface, through plants and animals, and returns to the atmosphere. By making a wristband of the water cycle, students can remember how dynamic the cycle is.
Materials
- Piece of string to make the wristband.
- Six different colored beads that will represent different features of the water cycle.
Directions
- Assign the six different colored beads to the six features of the water cycle (solar energy, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, percolation).
- Have students thread the beads to onto the string. The beads can be placed on in any order, but are generally placed according to the water cycle as follows: solar energy, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and percolation/ groundwater accumulation.
- Students can then share their bracelets with others, teaching about the water cycle as well.
Make an Action Pledge
There are many activities in our daily life that may pollute our water and affect aquatic wildlife. Take a survey to find out if you are helping to prevent water pollution in your watershed. Use the survey to help create an action plan telling what the student can do to reduce pollution.