Environmental Progress - Fall 2003

Forget the Punch and Cookies
Have a Slice of Swamp

Build an edible wetland

Wetlands are ecologically important places. Completely covered with water at times, these swamps, marshes, ponds, edges of creeks and rivers provide food and habitat for many creatures adapted to their special conditions. Birds (ducks, mallards, pelicans), animals (raccoons, deer, moose), insects, fish, and sea life (shrimp, crabs, oysters) all call wetlands "home."

Wetlands help protect our homes from flooding. They hold rain and melting snow, lowering floodwater impacts. On the sea coasts, wetlands catch the fury of hurricanes. Wetlands filter pollutants. They provide habitat for wildlife, lend support for fisheries, and are sanctuaries for rare and endangered species. Many now serve as "wildlife refuges" to make sure that endangered species find their home and food there.

Unfortunately, many wetlands continue to be drained to provide sites for agriculture or construction. As a result, animals and fish lose their homes.

Building a Wetland Materials

You will need half a sheet of brownies or chocolate cookie bars, and one green and one blue fruit roll-up per group of four to five participants.

• 9"x13" pan of brownies or chocolate cookie bars prepared ahead of time - soil base of wetland
• Graham cracker crumbs - sand
• Instant chocolate pudding or pudding cups - mud
• Blue fruit roll-up - body of water
• Green fruit roll-up - aquatic plants
• Fish shaped crackers - fish
• Green lollypops - trees and shrubs
• Green chewy fruit candy to anchor the lollypops
• Gumdrops - shrubs
• Gummy bears -animals
• Animal crackers - animals
• Coconut dyed with green food coloring - grass
• Milk for pudding preparation (if not using pudding cups)
• Large mixing bowl (if not using pudding cups)
• A cookie sheet on which to create a wetland

Procedure (Be as creative as you like)

1. Place half a sheet of brownies or chocolate cookie bars on the cookie sheet.
2. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs all over brownie or cookie (indicating existence of dirt and sand)
3. Spread chocolate pudding to indicate muddy spots (around the body of water, under water)Place blue fruit roll-up in the spots where you want to put the body of water.
4. Place green fruit roll-up in the areas where you want to put aquatic plants.Place fish shaped crackers on the"water" (blue fruit roll-up).
5. Place green chewy fruit candy with green lollypops in them around the water creating "wooded areas"
6. Place gumdrops around the water edge for plants and shrubs.
7. Place animal crackers and gummy bears around the trees and edge of water.
8. Some graham cracker crumbs may be mixed with pudding to create more natural contours around the wetland.
9. Sprinkle the coconut over the land for grass.
10. Dive in!