Before Your Visit

Play this Quizlet to help you with pollution vocabulary. Take a look at the map of Galveston Bay and Galveston Island to get oriented with the area. Watch the Pollution video before you head to the beach.

During Your Visit

Fill out the Beach Clean Up Activity Chart as you work. Things you will need:

  • Pencil
  • Beach Clean Up Activity/ Decomposition Infographic print out

After Your Visit

Discuss the experience you had as you answer the post-activity questions.

Things you will need:

  • Post Activity Questions

Vocabulary

Pollutionsubstances that make land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use
Water Qualitydescribes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics
Decompositionthe process of something being slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes, chemicals, etc.
Ecosystema biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Estuaryan area where a river flows into the sea Pollutant: a substance that makes land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use : something that causes pollution
Baya large area of water that is part of an ocean or lake and partly surrounded by land
Gulfan arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land

Introduction

What most people consider Galveston is the coastline that runs along Galveston Island, and the 3 different bays southwest of Houston that lead into the Gulf. Galveston and the surrounding bay area constantly deal with problems like pollution, destruction of habitats and erosion

Click to view full screen

Galveston and the surrounding bay area constantly deal with problems like pollution, destruction of habitats and erosion. Galveston Bay is Texas’ largest estuary and is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. It provides many benefits to society, including fisheries/seafood, water quality improvement, flood and storm protection, regulation of local climate, aesthetics and recreational opportunities such as swimming, boating and bird watching.

Galveston beaches offer exciting things for families to do, but they are also home to increasing amounts of trash and pollutants that end up in the ocean water as well. Water is an essential thing for life on earth and when the beaches, oceans and bodies of water around us are polluted it affects the life of organisms in the water but it can also affect us. All different types of trash take a really, really long time to decompose. Let's look at how pollution affects us and the organisms around us and how we can begin to help make a better, cleaner planet to live on. How? Watch the video below to help you understand how pollution is a big problem.

Use this video on pollution to help you complete the activity here.

Click to view full screen

Post Activity Questions

  1. What ways do you think that you could take part in taking care of the environment?
  2. Do you think that there are things that should change in order to protect animals? Name some of those things.
  3. What did you find interesting about the decomposition infographic?
  4. How does the trash we throw away affect the water we drink?
  5. What were 5 different things that you learned or found interesting while you were helping clean up the beach?

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