Is the Creek a Good Playground?

1. Is the Creek a Good Playground? • By Lauren Dean, Laura Englehart, Austin Kleon and Lia Silver

2. An interdisciplinary study on children and creeks CULTURAL • How do children perceive creeks? • What experiences do they have with creeks? • What part do creeks play as a whole in childhood?

3. An interdisciplinary study on children and creeks SOCIAL • What socio/economic/geographic factors bring children to creeks? • How does education hinder/aid children’s perception of nature?

4. An interdisciplinary study on children and creeks NATURAL/SCIENTIFIC • Testing of the area of Four Mile Creek at Hueston Woods where children interact with water • Are the nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, and bacteria levels harmful to children?

5. Interview with Sharon Edwards at Marshall Elementary • Creator of the Environmental Mobile Unit • Goal is to create concern, interest, and awareness about the environment

6. Interview with Sharon Edwards at Marshall Elementary 4 Steps to Environmental Education • Raise awareness • Knowledge • Skills • Values/Attitude

7. Interview with Sharon Edwards at Marshall Elementary Why don’t kids play in the creek as often as they used to? • Generational Differences • Sheltered lifestyles • Fear Factor

8. Environmental awareness peaks in the eighth grade…

9. Andy Farell, Naturalist at Hueston Woods • Leads creek walks and fossil hunts in our testing locations • Creek walks favorite activity in summer, very popular • Average 20 kids per walk are usually on vacation with parents at Hueston Woods

10. Andy Farell, Naturalist at Hueston Woods • Catch snakes, turn over rocks • Nature becomes alive only when children interact with it • Discovery / Adventure • Muddy and Wet

11. PWEEP Observations in Pfeffer Park • We observed third graders during an educational field trip to Collins Run as part of the PWEEP program.

13. "Kids love water, it doesn't matter what kind."

15. "This is fun! My dad would NEVER let me do this!"

17. “Snake!” “Salamander!”

18. "My dad told me not to get my new shoes muddy."

19. “Can’t we just turn over one more rock before we go?”

20. Hueston Woods Water Testing • Children are more likely to ingest water and are much more susceptible to pathogens in water

22. Nitrogen / Phosphorus • Nitrogen and Phosphorus are nutrients that affect aquatic life and biodiversity. Excessive levels can have detrimental effects that harm the environment as a whole, making stream health poor and human recreation in the areas risky.

23. pH / Bacteria • pH is closely associated with health and well being because it is related to eye irritation and consequent infections. • Bacteria contamination can lead to water-borne diseases.

24. RESULTS

25. ANALYSIS • Nitrogen levels are relatively high upstream and in the lake. We hypothesize that this is most likely due to agricultural runoff. Although the levels do not exceed drinking water standards, health concern is still warranted. • Phosphorus levels are so low that they are unreadable. This is most likely due to the fact that phosphorus is the limiting nutrient in most ecosystems.

26. ANALYSIS • pH was within the healthy range in the first samples taken. The second samples tested were slightly more basic than the healthy range calls for. However, due to the abundance of limestone, the 8.5 pH level is most likely caused naturally. These levels are relatively harmless. • Bacteria contamination was exceedingly high so as to be unacceptable or poor for every reading. Treatment is highly recommended and contact with the skin is a concern, especially when wounds or lacerations are present.

27. How healthy is the Hueston Woods Water for kids? • Both nitrogen and bacteria levels were high enough to warrant more research and attention for the samples that we tested, especially these sites because they are designated areas for children.

28. 3rd/4th Graders at McGuffey Foundation School • Discussion group with twenty 3rd and 4th graders • Private school / mostly priveleged children • Half the class lived in areas with water nearby • All of the class had been to Pfeffer Park and Hueston Woods

29. 3rd/4th Graders at McGuffey Foundation School Spring / Summertime play • Catch tadpoles, fish, mudpuppies, minnows, crawdads • Skip rocks • Lay in the hammock • Canoe, kayak at camp • Bike, walk dogs

30. 3rd/4th Graders at McGuffey Foundation School • Like to get muddy / wet • Clear division between outside and inside play (hosing off shoes before entering house)

31. What if there were no creeks? • Boredom • Wouldn’t matter (bikes, sidewalks, dogs, friends, basketball, videogames) • March to congress / protest • “You would be like the dog that was chained up”

32. What would it be like to live in the city with no creeks? • Travel to NY, Barcelona (beaches) • Suburbia (houses same, tiny backyards, boredom) • Couldn’t hear rushing water • Couldn’t get muddy or dirty

46. CONCLUSION/SYNTHESIS • Creeks ARE relevant and important to the lives of today’s children • Education and the facilitation of nature activities (both which depend greatly on economic/social/geographic status) are the most effective ways to bring children to creeks • Children can only benefit from the creek if it is a healthy physical environment in itself