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last year rocked

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features.

Tsunami Facts

Check out our tsunami facts for kids and learn some interesting information related to these great walls of water that can cause so much destruction. Find out what causes tsunamis and read about some notable recent examples of tsunamis that have occurred around the globe.

Tsunamis are huge waves of water that are usually caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

As a tsunami approaches the shore, water may recede from the coast, if it is shallow enough the water may be pulled back hundreds of metres. If you are in the area, observing this is a good indication that a tsunami is on the way.

Regions in tsunami danger zones often have warning systems in place to give people as much time to evacuate as possible.

When tsunamis hit shallow water (often near the coast) they slow down but increase in height.

An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia in December 2004 caused a tsunami that killed over 200000 people in 14 countries. More earthquake facts.

In March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan caused a tsunami that was a major factor in the death of over 15000 people.

The tsunami waves created by the Tohoku earthquake reached heights of over 40 metres (131 feet) in some areas, wiping out coastal towns and causing a number of nuclear accidents.

The Japanese word tsunami literally means 'harbor wave'.

Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves but this term has fallen out of favour because tsunamis are not related to tides.

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Tsunami Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Tsunamis

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features. Tsunami Facts Check out our tsunami facts for kids and learn some interesting information related to these great walls of water that can cause so much destruction.

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Help Stop Water Pollution

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Help stop water pollution. The pollution gets into our drinking water supplies and chemicals and virusses build up in us causing desieses.

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Why are glaciers melting ?

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What happens to water after we flush?

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check out

www.hydro electric power

info for kids.

There is really good facts

about dams.

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The Water Cycle

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© Contributed by Leanne Guenther
Run and get a glass of water and put it on the table next to you. Take a good long look at the water. Now -- can you guess how old it is?

The water in your glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around pretty much as long as the earth has!

When the first fish crawled out of the ocean onto the land, your glass of water was part of that ocean. When the Brontosaurus walked through lakes feeding on plants, your glass of water was part of those lakes. When kings and princesses, knights and squires took a drink from their wells, your glass of water was part of those wells.
And you thought your parents were OLD
The earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and around and around and around and (well, you get the idea) in what we call the "Water Cycle".

This cycle is made up of a few main parts:

evaporation (and transpiration)

condensation

precipitation

collection

Evaporation:

Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air.

Do plants sweat?

Well, sort of.... People perspire (sweat) and plants transpire. Transpiration is the process by which plants lose water out of their leaves. Transpiration gives evaporation a bit of a hand in getting the water vapor back up into the air.

Condensation:

Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called condensation.

You can see the same sort of thing at home... Pour a glass of cold water on a hot day and watch what happens. Water forms on the outside of the glass. That water didn't somehow leak through the glass! It actually came from the air. Water vapor in the warm air, turns back into liquid when it touches the cold glass.

Precipitation:

Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.

Collection:

When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land. When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the "ground water" that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts

Water Cycle Activity Pages.

Print these out and use them as posters or coloring pages. Sheets 2 thru 4 have some suggested activities you can do at home to demonstrate the Water Cycle.

Sheet 1 - ( color) or ( B&W)

Sheet 2 - ( color) or ( B&W)

Sheet 3 - ( color) or ( B&W)

Sheet 4 - ( color) or ( B&W)

Sheet 5 - ( color) or ( B&W)
Check out the Spanish version of the Water Cycle >

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© Contributed by Leanne Guenther Run and get a glass of water and put it on the table next to you. Take a good long look at the water. Now -- can you guess how old it is?

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What you can do to reduce marine pollution

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This page for kids explains the causes of marine pollution and outlines things kids can do to make a difference.

Causes of marine pollution and how it affects our ocean environment

Marine pollution threatens the health of our coasts and ocean and it comes in many different forms. Marine pollution can mean plastic litter, other litter such as glass bottles and cans, oil and chemical spills or polluted stormwater drains and rivers flowing into the sea.

The effect these have on the marine environment depends on the type of pollution, the size of the pollution and where the pollution occurs. Some marine environments and types of marine life are more sensitive than others to pollution. The pollution may damage individual sea creatures or plants, or it may damage whole communities of different living things.

What you can do

Preventing marine pollution is vital for the well-being of the sea, the marine life it supports and us! Cleaner oceans mean we can continue to enjoy our beaches for swimming, fishing and recreation.

There's plenty you can do, either on your own or in a group, to make a huge difference.

1. Organise a beach clean-up.

2. Reduce your rubbish.

3. Make sure only rain goes down the drain. Most drains flow straight to the sea ... which means we could end up swimming in anything that goes down them!

4. Take care of a local stream.

5. Find out more about your local beach.

1. Organise a beach clean-up

Wouldn't it be great if we never saw any rubbish on our beaches? Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Picking up other people's rubbish, if it is safe, is an easy way to help reduce pollution on our beaches and in the ocean. Some people pick up beach rubbish in groups - this is called a beach clean-up. Beach clean-ups are doing great things to reduce marine pollution. If you would like to join a beach clean-up group take a look at the Love your coast website to see if any groups already exist.

If there aren't any groups in your area, you could start your own!

2. Reduce your rubbish

Studies have shown that about 80 percent of marine pollution comes from the land. So, one of the main ways to reduce marine pollution is to get rid of rubbish carefully, wherever we are. If we reduce the amount of rubbish we make on the land it is likely there will be less rubbish in the ocean.

The best place to start is with YOU. You can reduce your rubbish at home and at school by recycling paper, glass, cans and some plastic containers. You could also compost food scraps and find ways to reuse some of your rubbish.

Some organisations are working hard to reduce rubbish too. The Ministry for the Environment is working with New Zealand businesses to find ways to lessen packaging of their products. Some organisations are using science and technology to discover ways to use recycled items in their products. And more and more organisations are reducing their rubbish by recycling their waste.

3. Make sure only rain goes down the stormwater drain! Most drains flow straight to the sea ... which means we could end up swimming in anything that goes down them!

One way rubbish from the land makes it into our oceans is through stormwater drains. These drains collect and remove the rainwater from our streets. Unfortunately anything collected by the rainwater as it travels across the road and down the gutters - like cigarette butts, oil from cars and other bits of rubbish - also goes into the stormwater drains. The drains then transport this mix of rainwater and rubbish to our streams and rivers. These streams and rivers flow out to our oceans and this is where the rubbish can end up.

Fortunately there are lots of things we can do to make sure rubbish is not washed down stormwater drains. Important actions are to dispose of your rubbish carefully and reduce your rubbish. If there is less rubbish on the street there is less chance it will be washed down the stormwater drains. Check out the Reduce your rubbish section above to learn more.

Another great idea is to not wash your cars on the road or on driveways, as the suds and waste from the car washing flow straight to the stormwater drain. Wash the car on the lawn or take it to a commercial car wash that collects and treats the car wash water.

A fun way to get the message out about stormwater drains is to do some drain decoration. Drain decoration is where a picture or a sign is placed near a drain to remind people that what goes down the drain goes into streams and then into the ocean. You need to ask your council whether you can do this first.

For other tips on reducing marine pollution by taking care of stormwater drains, check out Easy steps to keep the water clean on the Greater Wellington Regional Council website.

4. Take care of a local stream

As most streams and rivers flow into the ocean, taking care of them can help reduce marine pollution. If rubbish ends up in a stream or river it will very likely end up in the ocean. Another type of marine pollution that comes from streams and rivers is soil or sediment pollution. Sediment pollution can happen when soil enters waterways that flow to the sea. It is natural for some sediment to enter the ocean, but when there is a lot of it entering the ocean it becomes a problem. Sediment pollution can be increased by human activities such as earthworks near streams or when plants near streams have been removed.

Taking care of streams and rivers can include picking up rubbish, if it is safe, and/or planting trees near the stream - which is called riparian planting. Plants on the banks of streams help to hold stream and river beds together, making them stronger, and stopping soil from being washed away (eroded).

Getting together with a group to take care of a stream is fun. Your council may help groups taking care of streams by giving you some plants, helping you understand how to take care of a stream and even showing you how to test the stream's health. To find out if there are any groups taking care of streams and rivers in your area, just contact your council. If there aren't any groups in your area, you can ask the council to help you set one up!

5. Find out more about your local beach. Get your friends and family involved in helping out.

Your local beach is a great place to start learning about the marine environment. You can see many living things at the beach - not just humans! Your local beach is also a great place for you to make a difference. You can make a difference by picking up rubbish and making sure you take your rubbish home with you.

Humans can be affected by marine pollution. Marine pollution can make us sick if we swim at or eat seafood from a beach with certain types of marine pollution. Our regional councils monitor the popular swimming spots in summer and let us know whether it is safe to swim there or not. They also monitor popular shellfish gathering sites and let us know if it's safe to eat shellfish from these areas.

To check out the condition of your local beach you can visit your regional council's website - almost all the regional council's websites have up to date information on the popular swimming spots. Use this link to select your regional council's website.

A new tool that can help you learn about and help monitor the coastal ecosystem and its condition is Marine Metre Squared [Marine Metre Squared website]. It was created with funding from the Community Environment Fund and the University of Otago.

You can also ask your family and friends to get involved in reducing marine pollution!

Find out more

For lots of other great ideas on how to take care of your beach and coastline check out the following websites:

Got a question about marine issues? Email oceans@mfe.govt.nz.

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What you can do to reduce marine pollution

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This page for kids explains the causes of marine pollution and outlines things kids can do to make a difference. Marine pollution threatens the health of our coasts and ocean and it comes in many different forms. Marine pollution can mean plastic litter, other litter such as glass bottles and cans, oil and chemical spills or polluted stormwater drains and rivers flowing into the sea.

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Community Measures to Prevent Beach and Ocean Pollution

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Where does the water go?

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Imagine if this happened at Purau. What would happen to the wildlife?

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A really simple explanation about water pollution

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Did you know that the water we use today is the same water the dinosaurs used? We cannot create new water. For millions of years, the water we have has been used again and again. We have been able to do this because there are natural cycles that clean the water each time we use it.

People are polluting our water. Businesses and cities dump chemicals and waste products into our rivers, lakes and oceans. People throw trash-furniture, garbage, old tires, cars, old fencing, anything they can think of-into the water. People also pollute the water by accident, by allowing their cars to leak oil and gas onto the ground. That oil and gas eventually washes into the water during rain storms and when people clean their driveways off with water.

The acid rain caused by pollution poisons water on the surface of the earth. Beneath the earth are layers of dirt and rock that act as containers for water. We call them aquifers. Rainwater drains through the soil into the aquifers. We call the water in the aquifer ground water. Groundwater supplies wells and springs. It is a very important source of water for all the plants and animals.

Acid rain soaks into the soil. Like clean rainwater, it drains down into the aquifer through layers of rock that clean the water. However, the acid eats away at much of the rock and does not allow it to filter properly, so when it reaches the groundwater, the acid rain pollutes it. It becomes unusable.

What is the cure for acid rain? We have to clean up the air.

The Kids Ecology Corps at Snyder Park

The Kids Ecology Corps is a program of Partners in Action, Inc., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1981, providing educational, cultural and leadership experience to young people encouraging immediate, positive, environmental action. And, continuous, determined action is making Environmental Harmony an idea whose time has come.
Copyright © 2010 The Kids Ecology Corps All rights reserved. | Sitemap | Legal | A PaperStreet Web Design | Files Login | Board Member Login

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Did you know that the water we use today is the same water the dinosaurs used? We cannot create new water. For millions of years, the water we have has been used again and again. We have been able to do this because there are natural cycles that clean the water each time we use it.