By Dennis Schatz - Vice President of Strategic Development
The question in this edition is:
What acts as a natural
water filter?
The Answer - Wetlands
Scroll down to see the solution to our
puzzle.
Wetlands connect the land to the water
and go by many different names - bogs, swamps, marshes and
sloughs. Some wetlands are obvious because they are always
wet, but many are dry much of the year and only become wet
during the rainy season.
Found along the edges of oceans, lakes, rivers and streams,
some people think of wetlands as undesirable places that
bread mosquitoes, spread diseases and emit smelly gases
from decaying plants and animals. Consequently, more than
half of the original wetlands in the United States were
drained and converted to farmland, housing developments and
industrial sites.
As we better understood wetlands, we realized they were
critical habitats for many plants and animals and served as
places for migrating birds to feed, rest and nest. But
wetlands are not only critical to other plants and animals.
Wetlands provide a place for floodwaters to go and slow the
floodwater so there is less damage to human homes and
lives. Wetlands also filter out pollutants, sediment and
other undesirable substances before they reach the water at
the edge of the wetlands. They are nature's natural water
filter.
The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, a Pacific
Science Center project in partnership with the Bellevue
Parks & Community Services Department sits on the edge
of one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the Puget
Sound Area - The Mercer Slough. The new center’s new
facilities are set to open September 13, 2008 and provide
expanded opportunities to explore the many traits of this
wonderful wetland. Find more information about the Science
Center's programs at the →Mercer Slough Environmental Education
Center.
Here is the solution:
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