Nature Net News
Your source for tips
& tricks for exploring nature with your kids
July 2012
Muckin' in the Marshes
"Poets who know no better rhapsodize
about the peace of nature, but a well-populated marsh is a cacophony."
Bern Keating
Dear Reader, Squish, squish--that's the sound of mud beneath your toes as you bat away cattails, surrounded by the humming cicadas and the small plops of frogs as they jump in the water. What is this madness? you ask. This is the marsh. This is you mucking in the marsh. This is you, bonding with your children and getting back in touch with Mother Nature. She's been missing your calls, lately. So get out there and enjoy this issue of Nature Net News, and go to the marsh! Enjoy! Kathe, Sarah & Brenna |
Marshes have soil with low mineral content.
When rivers overflow, marshes help to absorb and slow floodwaters. This also applies to waves caused by hurricanes, though this often ends in the decimation of the defending marsh.
What To Do This Month:
Go mucking in a nearby marsh!
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Muck and Mud
Even if you go out of your way to stay clean during your trip to the marsh, it is inevitable that your little one will get mud somewhere on their body during their explorations. In preparation for this, wear old (or play) clothes that you don't mind getting dirty or never seeing again. Also, if mucking in a marsh, watch out for leeches. If a leech does attach to you, a painless way to get rid of it is to douse the critter in salt.
Instant Outdoor Expert:
The Difference Between Marshes and Swamps
These words have been used interchangeably, but the differences between a marsh and a swamp are vast.
A marsh is characterized by an abundance of reeds, rushes and cattails and is generally treeless and open, in other words: a grassland. The plants grow with their stems partly in and partly out of the water. Marshes can be shallow (6" of water) or deep (2-3' of water). In the deeper marshes, pondweeds and water lilies float on the water. Marshes can be found along streams in poorly drained depressions and also develop in the shallower water along the borders of lakes, ponds and rivers. Marshes can be either freshwater or saltwater, and if saltwater, the amount of water changes with the tide.
A swamp is either completely or partially wooded with trees and shrubs. Swamp soils are a form of black muck and is generally saturated with some standing water which can be anywhere from 1" to a 1' or more deep. Types of swamps usually depend on the types of trees growing, like Hardwood Swamps, which are river swamps characterized by forests of gum, oak and bald cypress trees. Swamps have more water than marshes, and are often slow moving rivers or are created from river offspring.
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
Cherokee Marsh
Cherokee Marsh,
with 4,000 total acres, is by far the largest wetland in Dane County,
created by former glacial Lake Mendota. Here you can walk in the midst
of a cattail marsh. Or, follow the Yahara River boardwalk as it meanders
through a sedge meadow, over peat deposits and past a fen - a distinctly
different wetland from the cattail marsh. The park contains two
observation platforms for wildlife viewing and several belly boards to
encourage exploration of pond ecosystems. Other trails lead through
prairie restorations, old field habitat, edge habitat, oak savannah,
typical southern Wisconsin woods, over a glacial drumlin and to a
glacial kettle pond.
Crafty Cattails
What you need: 1/4 inch wooden dowel (as long as you
like), floral tape, 4-6 fake blade-like leaves, wooden skewers,
water-based latex paint in three shades of amber-brown and yellow,
small paint brush, sponge, 6 1/2 inch mini foam paint-trimmer refills,
craft glue, wire cutters, steak knife.
1. Create the cattail stalk by wrapping the wooden dowel in floral tape. About a third of the way up the dowel, begin to attach the leaves, staggering them as you wind your way around the stem. If the leaves are not sticking with the tape, additional reinforcing with craft glue will be required; the leaves are very long and weighty.
2. Prepare the flower by painting the foam trimmer with the darkest of the three browns using a small paint brush. If you desire to reshape the foam, do so prior to painting. Allow it to dry. Apply a second coat of paint using a sponge to add dimension to the flower. Do this by blotching the paint rather than applying an even coat. Let this dry completely before adding the final, lightest coat of paint in the same manner.
3. Use the steak knife to cut the wooden skewer to measure approximately 3 inches in length. Paint it yellow, and let it dry.
4. Assemble the cattail by applying a small amount of craft glue onto the tip of your stem and inserting it into the open end of the foam filler (the flower). Gently place the yellow skewer into the top of the flower, leaving about 2 inches exposed.
Suggested Reading:
"Swamps & Marshes" by Carole Palmer and Chris Avetis (preschool)
"Wetlands: Soggy Habitats" by Laura Purdie Salas (3-6)
"Marsh Mornings" by Marianne Berkes (4-7)
"Marsh Music" by Marianne Berkes (4-7)
"A Day in the Salt Marsh" by Kevin Kurtz (4-8)
"Henry the Impatient Heron" by Donna Love (4-8)
"A Wetland Habitat" by Molly Aloian and Bobby Kalman (4-8)
"Wetlands" by Darlene R. Stille (4-8)
"Near One Cattail: Turtles, Logs, and Leaping Frogs" by Anthony D. Fredericks (4-8)
"Marshes and Swamps" by Gail Gibbons (4-8)
"Wetland Food Chains" by Bobbie Kalman and Kylie Burns (5-9)
"What Are Wetlands?" by Amanda Bishop and Bobby Kalman (6-12)
"Freshwater Habitats" by Laurie Peach Toupin (8-12)
"Marshes and Swamps: A Wetland Web of Life" by Philip Johansson (8-12)
"Marshes: The Disappearing Edens" by William Burt (adults)
