Summer SAVY 2016 (Session 5, Day 1) – Hydrology: The World of Water

Posted by hallep on Monday, July 25, 2016 in Grade 3, Grade 4, SAVY.

Day 1 was a success! Today we reviewed the basics of the water distribution across the globe. We learned that less than 3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater, and most of that is trapped in ice and glaciers at the poles. We discussed how water is recycled through the hydrological cycle but how water is ultimately a finite resource. Facing population growth and increased consumption, our water resources are becoming more precious. With this knowledge the students were challenged reduce their personal water footprints. This afternoon we tackled the concept of conservation of volume and water budgets. The volume of water that enters a system is equal to the change in storage and the water that leaves the system. Then students designed and built an experiment to investigate how much water can be stored in soil. We discussed the importance of watersheds and terrain in the movement of water by building paper watershed and exploring topographic maps.  Finally we took these ideas outside and we contoured a hillslope. I was super impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and creativity!  I can’t wait to see them conquer tomorrow’s lesson on the geomorphology of streams!