Soil Erosion

by: Daphne Willingham

          What is soil erosion? Soil erosion is when soil is taken from one place to another. There are several ways soil erosion can occur, wind can carry bits of dirt or sand along with them, water can gather dirt particles and carry them downstream, and glaciers of ice can slowly carry soil with them. Important! If a human or man-made machine moves soil it is NOT soil erosion. Soil erosion happens naturally. 

          How long does it take for soil erosion to occur? How long soil erosion takes to occur depends on how it takes place. If it occurs by water it will probably only take a few weeks. If it occurs by wind, it could be in seconds, if glaciers move them it can take a few years. This is because of the speed of what is moving the soil. Wind travels very quickly, so the soil is moved in a matter of seconds. Water moves pretty quickly also, but it takes longer for the soil to travel because it drags on the bottom of rivers. And glaciers move very slowly so when the soil gets stuck to the glaciers, it moves slowly along with it. 

          How does soil erosion affect the environment? Soil erosion affects the environment because all that soil has to go somewhere! And that somewhere is the other rivers, which go to lakes, oceans, and bays. For example, if soil erosion was happening in a river near my house, it would go to a lake nearby, the Chesapeake Bay, or the Atlantic Ocean. In this way we lose soil we need for plants, and the soil sediment can build up in waterways and affect aquatic animals.

          How can you prevent soil erosion? You can prevent soil erosion by putting up barriers at the bottom of hills. This will prevent nutritious soil from leaving the plants that need them. Or you can plant lots of vegetation. The roots of the plants will grip onto the soil, preventing the water, wind, and ice taking it.  You could also persuade others to help plant and set up barriers. You don’t need to be famous to help prevent soil erosion! Even a flower helps! :)

Taking care of the Earth at home

By Avantika Louise Price

Do you think is it hard to take care of the Earth when you are at home? Well I don’t think so. It is actually pretty easy. There are a few simple things you can do that will help the Earth.

Recycle, turn off lights and water when you don't need them, and compost. 

By doing these things you are helping the Earth. By recycling you send old things to a recycling center where they turn those old things into new things which you might use in your everyday life.

By turning off the lights and water when you don't need them you save electricity and water which is good for the Earth. By turning off the lights it can help reduce greenhouse gases. Turning off the water also can prevent carbon pollution.

By composting you get rid of rotten peels that could have ended up in the streets attracting wild animals.

So next time you think, “What can I do at home to save the Earth?” remember these little things that can change the world.   

About Littering and Why Littering is Bad 

By Salma Bentabet and Avantika Price

Have you ever seen trash on the ground? That’s called littering, People litter because they do not feel responsible for the public area like streets and parks. The more they litter the more the world gets dirty. People usually litter close to someone else's place, so they don’t worry about it. Most people litter wrappers, food, paper cups, cardboard, straws, and plastic bottles. Let’s say you drop a plastic bag. When rain comes it goes down to sewers then to the Chesapeake Bay then to the ocean. We drop about two million pounds of litter in the USA.

Trash belongs in landfills, recycling bins, reuse facilities or the waste-to-energy plant. People are responsible for the land and most people say littering is super bad. No one likes to live where there is litter. So, the quicker dropped litter is picked up, the less chance it has of accumulating. Please remember not to litter! At Beech Tree, sometimes kids pick up other students’ litter during recess. The Beech Tree EcoClub sometimes picks up litter at our school. But it is everyone’s job to be responsible and not litter in the first place. Every little piece of litter adds up to a mountain of trash, so remember not to litter!

Deforestation 

by Nico Robinson, Laura Prudius, and Lucia Egan 

Deforestation is happening, and it is bad. Specifically, in the Amazon rainforest. Deforestation is the removal of trees to make way for farmland, housing, factories, etc. The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is not only impacting animals and plants that live there, but also our own air. The rainforest and its vegetation give us a lot of oxygen to breathe. With these forests disappearing, our air will become more polluted on top of all the other bad things we’ve done.

 In 1970 the rainforest covered 4,001,600 km2 but in 2018 the rainforest lost 20.3% of its 1970 cover in 48 years. That is 8,123,24.8 km² of forest gone in those 48 years. That is a lot of trees that have disappeared. And not only trees have been affected by deforestation, but animals have been affected. Lots of animals in the Amazon make their homes in trees- like toucans, sloths, jaguars, lemurs and some monkeys. This biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest could be destroyed due to deforestation. It can destroy food chains too. A jaguar or margay could find itself out of a meal because there are no toucans, sloths, or monkeys left in the trees, as well as no undergrowth making it hard to hunt without camouflage.

 This change can damage ecosystems and destroy the balance of the habitat. For example, most if not all of the toucans’ diet lives in the trees. If the trees are cut down, the toucans will have nothing to eat. And then all of the toucans will start to die out because of starvation. If all of the toucans die out in the Amazon Rainforest’s ecosystem, their predators will start to die out too. If the predators die, they are the end of the chain, meaning the ecosystem has officially been destroyed. 

So that the trees don't decrease, you can plant trees to make up for the ones that have been cut down. We can't just not cut down trees, they are a resource that people can't live without. Instead of letting this lead itself to its own demise, you can help by planting trees, to help the ecosystem stay alive.

Here is a video that Leo, Laura, and Lucia want to share with you about planting trees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPJKxAhLw5I