IMPORTANT NOTE: THE VANISHING WETLAND ACTIVITY BOOKLET CAN BE USED AS A COMPANION BOOKLET OR STAND-ALONE BOOKLET IN WETLAND EDUCATION. USE OF THIS BOOKLET DOES NOT DEPEND ON BUYING OR READING THE PICTURE BOOK. IT IS WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR AS THE PICTURE BOOK.
THE VANISHING WETLAND ACTIVITY BOOK
Introduction
Welcome, mes amis ! My name is La Loutre, and I am an old otter. Otters live in many places, but I live in the coastal marsh of South Louisiana. See the map? This is the state of Louisiana. The dark area of the map is where I live. This is known as America’s Wetland.
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I have seen many changes to my habitat. Right now, I would like you to close your eyes and picture your favorite playground. What if the next time you go there to play, you find a parking lot instead? Could you still play there?
Next, imagine that you are sleeping all snug in your bed. All of a sudden, a loud noise wakes you up. You put your feet on the floor, and you step in water. Oh no! There is a hurricane blowing outside! Your house is flooding. Will you be able to get to safety?
Maybe you live in the country and have a favorite swimming hole. What if you go to swim one hot summer day and find that your swimming hole is now a huge canal being traveled by large boats? Will it be a safe place to swim now?
What if you like to fish but you can no longer catch your favorite fish? Imagine going to your favorite blackberry bush and finding it dead. What happened to the fish and berries?
The land is changing all around us and it is disappearing, too. Picture the size of your playground. Would you believe it if I told you that the coast of Louisiana is losing about one playground of land every half hour? That is hard to believe, isn’t it? Well, it is true.
Mes amis, I am not telling you these things and asking these questions to scare you, but only to make you think. These things really are happening to animals and humans that stay in the wetland. So, what can we do? We can give up and move away, OR we can stay and try to save the land that we have. I would like to stay. So, come on in, and we’ll play some games, have some fun, and learn more about my home: America’s Wetland .