Kai uses a cool river diorama to show a mini water cycle — and how when pollution gets into our water, it spreads throughout the whole system.
KAI: Our elders teach us to honor water. Water is what sustains all life on mother earth. All life needs water, and water is the home for many living beings. We need to respect water, we need to protect water ways from being destroyed and polluted. Today I made a diorama to show what happens when we pollute our water ways. I used an aquarium and filled it with rocks, clay, moss, and plants. I made a mini river and a mini ocean. When it rains, water falls on the trees and on the ground and into the river, flowing into the ocean. If I pour some fresh water into the river, you can see how the water moves down the river to the ocean. If I spray the diorama like rain in the forest, the water also flows to the ground and into the river. It’s all good. This is the way mother earth intended it to be, nature in balance. But what happens if I add some natural food color to the water? Think of the food color as pollution.
KAI: You can see how it flows to the ocean and if I spray the food color water, you can see how the pollution falls to the ground and also pollutes the river. So a good reminder, if we don’t take care of what we put into the water, we pollute the water and the earth and we harm all living things, including fish. We have to respect and honor water.