AEN-178: Wetland Curriculum for Kentucky High Schools

Emily Nottingham, Tiffany Messer, Carmen Agouridis | Jan. 23, 2025 (New)

Wetland curriculum for high schoolers is designed to provide students with knowledge concerning the natural environment and its associated problems with water quality and quantity, along with awareness of how to help solve these problems. The wetland curriculum introduces water quality concerns in surface and groundwater from humans (e.g., urbanization, mining activities, agricultural practices) and environmental factors (e.g., flood events, droughts). It also includes learning about wetland processes (e.g., nitrogen cycle, water cycle, phytoremediation, sorption, nutrient mixing, microbial activity) and functions (e.g., water storage, water treatment, animal and pollinator habitat, flood control, recreation). Implementation of the wetland curriculum into science classes allows students to make connections between restoration, environmental policies and regulations, and the engineering design process.

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ID-279: Understanding and Protecting Kentucky Wetlands

Amanda Gumbert, Tiffany Messer, Emily Nottingham | Jun. 10, 2024 (New)

Wetlands are areas where water either covers the soil or soil is saturated permanently or seasonally. Wetlands have soils that have developed anaerobic (lacking oxygen) conditions in the upper part of the soil layer, known as hydric soils. Plant species that have adapted to survive in these conditions are known as hydrophytes. Since water is essential for almost everything on earth, wetlands are one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on the planet and are home to plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish that are uncommon in other ecosystems.