Dear Teacher,
Thank you for signing up for “Wonders of Wetlands” at the Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park. The visitor center is
located in the middle of Glacial Park. Follow the signs from the Harts Road entrance to get to the visitor center. If you
need further instructions on how to get here please contact us at 815-678-4532. In the event of inclement weather on
the day of your field study, please call us to discuss the day’s plans.
Please make sure that all teachers and chaperones attending the field study are aware of the following information:
1. The field study will begin at the Lost Valley Visitor Center with a 45 minute indoor lesson on wetland characteristics
and their inhabitants. The group will then break into two classes for the 2 hour hike which includes stops at the bog and
marsh for hands on investigations of the two wetlands. The groups will eat lunch on the trail. All students are required
to carry their own lunches on the trail. The groups will conclude the field study indoors with one last activity. Groups
will board the busses after the activity.
2. Teachers, chaperones, and students should dress for the weather including appropriate footwear for hiking over hilly
terrain. Spring weather is variable and while it may feel warm at school, Glacial Park tends to be windy and cooler
because of the hills.
3. Encourage everyone to bring a waste-free lunch! Pack lunches in insulated containers and include items that can be
eaten in their entirety, recycled or composted. Examples are whole fruits and vegetables, drinks in reusable bottles,
snacks purchased in bulk and brought in a reusable container, cloth napkins, and reusable ice packs.
4. Background information as well as pre and post-trip activities are available for this and other McHenry County
Conservation District school field studies in your choice of format. Completion of the activities ensures a more successful
learning experience for your students.
•
Download information from our website at http://www.mccdistrict.org/rccms/index.php/school-programs/
•
Request that information be sent to your email or school address. Call Kim Compton or Andrew Zeiger at 815678-4532.
Again, we thank you for your interest in the McHenry County Conservation District. We are looking forward to a day of
fun and learning with your class. Should you have any questions, please feel free to call us.
Sincerely,
Kim Compton and Andrew Zeiger
Lost Valley Visitor Center Education Program Staff
How to Make a Moveable Marsh
1. Color the plants on the frame and the animals and plants on inserts A and B.
Have kids look in field guides and other reference books for pictures of the
animals and plants so they can color them accurately.
2. Cut out the frame and the two inserts along the solid black lines.
3. Carefully cut out the windows on the frame along the dotted lines. To help
the kids start cutting, have them use a pencil or pen to poke a hole in a corner
of each window.
4. Tape the left side of the frame to a piece of construction paper.
5. Place one of the inserts inside the frame. The word “pull” should be on the
right-hand side. Have the kids slowly pull out the insert to reveal the animals.
“Hidden in the Marsh” information and activity from Ranger Rick’s Nature
Scope: Wading into Wetlands by the National Wildlife Federation (1997).
Wonders of Wetlands
1. Wetlands provide a habitat for many different kinds of plants and animals. A habitat is a place
where the plant or animal gets everything it needs including food, water, air, shelter, and space.
2. Each of the plants and animals in a habitat depend upon each other for survival. To survive,
animals and plants need energy. Energy flows from one thing to the next in a food chain. Plants
get energy from the sun and use non-living things like minerals and gasses to make their own
food. They are called producers and are first in the food chain. Next are herbivores, which are
animals that eat only plants. Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. Animals that
eat plants and animals are called omnivores. Both carnivores and omnivores can be at the top of a
food chain. Finally, decomposers like fungi and bacteria break down the dead plants and animals
into minerals and gasses again.
3. Most animals and plants are part of more than one food chain. Connections between different
food chains make a food web.
Directions:
*Cut out the wetland plant and animal pictures and separate them into producers, herbivores,
omnivores, carnivores and decomposers.
Option #1 – On a new piece of paper, glue the pictures into their separate groups, such as
decomposers and carnivores.
Option #2 - On a new piece of paper, glue the pictures in order to make as many different food
chains that you can find. Start with the SUN and draw arrows to the next level of the food chain
Challenge – Combine two food chains to make a food web by gluing pictures in groups with arrows
in-between to show how they are connected (like a spider’s web.) You can also add words to show
what happened. For example, on the arrow from the eastern cottontail to the red fox you could
write “eaten by.”
Food Chain Example:
SUN
Clover
Eastern Cottontail
Red Fox
Wood Tick
Food Web Example:
white clover
eastern cottontail
fungi
red-tailed hawk
milkweed
mosquito
monarch
caterpillar
Wetland Food Chain Groups:
Producers
Cattail
Marsh marigold
Herbivores
White-tailed deer
Snail
Male mosquito-eats nectar
Omnivores
Painted turtle
Muskrat - eats plants mostly
Raccoon - eats almost anything!
Carnivores
Coyote – will eat young deer
Mink
Dragonfly
Female mosquito
Bullfrog
green frog
Decomposers
Fungi
Earthworms
red fox
earthworms
bullfrog
white-tailed deer
mink
dragonfly
snail
muskrat
mosquito
coyote
painted turtle
fungi
marsh marigold
raccoon
the sun
cattail
great blue heron
WONDERS OF WETLANDS - WETLAND REPORT
Have your students write a report on wetlands. Students should choose a specific
type of wetland and compare and contrast it with other wetlands. Encourage
them to find information from a variety of sources. To get them started have
them look at the two websites listed below.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/intro/types/
http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/wetlands/index.htm
Field Study Evaluation
Mail or fax your form to:
Education Services Manager, Prairieview Education Center, 2112 Behan Road, Crystal Lake IL 60014
Tel 815-479-5779 / Fax 815-479-5766
Thank you for participating in a McHenry County Conservation District field study with your class. The Education Services
Department wants to make sure the field studies are the best they can be, so that you meet your classroom goals. We sincerely
appreciate your feedback on the field study you attended.
School Name __________________________________Grade ____ Teacher’s Name _____________________________________
Name of the Program _____________________________________ Date of Field Study___________________________________
Conservation District Leader Name(s)___________________________________________________________________________
1.
Did you choose to receive your field study packet by mail, email, or did you download it from our website?
2.
How was the field study packet helpful in preparing you and your class for the program? What activities did you use?
How could the packet be improved?
3.
What were your goals for the field study? Were they met? How could the program better serve your goals?
4.
Were the activities and information educational and stimulating for the children? What activities do you recall that
worked especially well? What activities could use revision?
5.
Was your leader well informed about the subject matter and enthusiastic about working with the group?
6.
Would you participate in another Conservation District field study?
7.
Do you have any additional suggestions, comments, or remarks?
If you would like to receive our Environmental Education Opportunities Teachers’ Guide electronically (Adobe pdf format)
please provide an email address here. _______________________________________________