If you live outside of a metropolitan area, all you have to do to see the effects of erosion on the land is take a walk or a short drive after a heavy rainstorm. However, not everyone has that luxury, so creating your own experiment is the next best thing! PLaying with rocks, sticks, and dirt as a way to observe what happens to the landscape when water runs over it is an amazing way to learn about our rivers and valleys as well as how to work with Nature to avoid soil (and possible property) loss.
MATERIALS:
A cookie sheet, dirt, natural materials (sticks, rocks, wood chips, fallen leaves, etc.), a large cup or water pitcher, water
TIME FRAME:
15 – 60 minutes
PROCEDURE:
- Take your cookie sheet outside and fill it with dirt, making sure to pack it in as tightly as possible
- Gather your natural materials and begin adding them to the dirt on your cookie sheet. Place small rocks in various places, stick sticks in the dirt to act like trees. You are creating a landscape, so think about your area; rivers, prairies, mountains, etc.
- Place your filled cookie sheet at an angle using a rock, a step or the roots of a tree (you can hold it with at an angle with one hand, too, if you have too)
- Starting at the top of your cookie sheet, slowly pour your water onto the landscape you’ve created and watch what happens as the water rolls down the landscape
REFLECTION:
What happened to your landscape? What did the water do to the dirt? Did your trees and rocks stay where you placed them or did they get washed way? Why do you think that might have happened?
