Water Carries Everything

What Is This Video?

Ella, Eissa, Jordin, and their moms pitch in to clean trash out of the river. While there, they meet an educator testing the quality of the water. How polluted is it, and how did it get to be that way? Find out in this video!

Conversation Starters

Ask:
  • Have you ever seen trash floating in a river or other body of water near you?
  • Where else have you seen trash in the environment?
  • What are some things you can do to keep trash from getting into rivers, lakes, and streams?
  • Why is it important to keep trash out of these places and others?

Explore Some More

DIY Secchi Disk

A secchi disk measures how clear water is, which can help you determine how clean the water is. You can make your own secchi disk using materials you might already have in your kitchen, basement, or garage! Check out the instructions in Field Science on a Shoestring Budget, from the Florida Sea Grant Extension Program. For more information on using Secchi disks, check out the citizen science project The Great Secchi Dip-In, where you also can add your data to a nationwide monitoring effort! And, to help keep rivers clean, find out how you can join the National River Cleanup.

Water Scavenger Hunt

Try to find and photograph each of the following items during a walk around your neighborhood or a visit to a park:

  • patterns in water
  • water on the ground
  • water in the air (hint: clouds are made of water vapor)
  • animals using water
  • people using water
  • beautiful water
  • moving water
  • still water
  • polluted water

When you're finished, print your photos and make a collage, or upload them to a computer and arrange them in a gallery. Did you find water in more places than you thought you would? What else surprised you during your water scavenger hunt?