As we continue to explore issues surrounding our local watershed, in STEM this week the 5/6 class focused on wetlands, and how wetlands help to filter out pollutants, reduce erosion and flooding, and provide a healthy ecosystem for organisms. After studying the composition of wetlands, and the features that allow wetlands to act as such great filters, they used this as inspiration to design their own water filter that could clean water. They thought about using wet soil rather than dry soil, roots, grasses, and pebbles. After our first test, they thought like engineers and analyzed what worked and what didn’t, and improved on their filter design. They did a great job filtering some very dirty water! Next week we’ll look at the topics that we’ve investigated so far in terms of our local watershed, and each student will choose one of interest and start building their informative websites!