Mudscapes

Kansas StreamLink MUDSCAPES
Getting Down and Dirty

Before the students arrive, the stage has to be set. Three long folding tables are set up in a "T" and tarps are tightly fitted over the tables by hooking bungee cords to the tarp rivets. This really helps to keep the kids, tables, and the ground around the tables clean...
	Next comes the mud...20 or so containers each holding a couple of gallons of mud are dumped onto the tables with a frugal amount of water (too much makes it sloppy and runny). The mud is kneaded until it is soft and moldable. The mud is a medly of streamside and top soil, with a bit of dime store sand and peat. The children are told to approach the table with rolled up sleeves and find a spot around it. They are also told to use their hands as if they were water molding the valleys and hills. Working together is a must in order to create one big flowing river and ecosystem.
'Roads' made from rubber, polished stones and matchbox farm equipment and cars scrub sponges for grass, fishtank accessories for trees, and plastic farm animals	Once a river system is formed, the StreamLink team members invite a few children at a time to select props from a table a few feet away. The students begin to make landuse decisions, selecting prime locations for little wood houses, trees, fences, cows, pigs, horses and long thin pieces of rubbery plastic that can simulate roads. Green dish scrub sponges look surprisingly like grass turf, matchbox cars trucks and tractors, tiny fish and bugs, everything comes together to bring the mud landscape to life. They are encouraged to work together to build their ideal landscape as presentors remind them of creating a diverse community.
Cleanup!	Next the students have to pry their hands out of the mud and wash up. We set up several large buckets full of soapy water, sponges and scrub brushes. Once they are cleaned up, we put stickers on each child with clean hands so all the helpers know who needs to stay out of the mud.
	Finally we wrap things up. The group gathers to survey their efforts and share conservation ideas. Their hillsides have grasses and trees, natural water is separated from livestock, streams and lakes are filled with wildlife and so on... Presentors use the students' mudscape to focus attention on important environmental planning factors: Animals must be fenced in so they don't ruin the streambanks and water Animals must be kept out of water to prevent pollution, and therefore must be supplied with water troughs Ground covers like grass and rocks must be planted along the streambanks to prevent erosion. The community must be planned and connected. Students should work together with their planning as much as possible. Props can also be used in the water. Fish show signs of healthy water Rivers are better when they wind back and forth, this slows down water. Add in tributaries to fill the river Buildings must be secured on a strong foundation, remember to use ground cover around them and keep the buildings from tumbling into the river. Along with their watershed development, they give us an unusual insight into their social values and aspirations. Each mudscape is as unique as its creators. They've Built what they believe the world should be...what they've ever really learned, what they see, and what they want in the world around them.

funded in part by U.S. EPA SECTION 319 GRANT provided by KANSAS DEPT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT