Location: Any beachfront location will work for this activity
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.
Fill out the Beach Clean Up Activity Chart as you work. Things you will need:
Discuss the experience you had as you answer the post-activity questions.
Things you will need:
| Pollution | substances that make land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use |
| Water Quality | describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics |
| Decomposition | the process of something being slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes, chemicals, etc. |
| Ecosystem | a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. |
| Estuary | an 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 |
| Bay | a large area of water that is part of an ocean or lake and partly surrounded by land |
| Gulf | an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land |
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 of Mexico. Galveston and the surrounding bay area constantly deal with problems like pollution, destruction of habitats and erosion
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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.
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