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The Ripple Effect

Activity

Cleaning our Waterways

Walk around the Park and discuss how pollution affects rivers, bays, and oceans. Start at the Bayou and clean up any litter you find along the way!

Science Seed

To understand the challenges of water pollution, we have to start at the source. Did you know that the water you see here doesn’t stay here? It flows into other streams, rivers, and eventually into the ocean. But, what happens when pollution, like trash or chemicals, gets into these waterways? Just like a small stone creates big ripples in the water, pollution in one place can cause problems far away. Many of the ocean’s biggest challenges actually start on land or in smaller bodies of water like rivers and lakes. Trash, oil, and even chemicals from farms or factories can make their way into rivers, then flow down into bays and eventually into the ocean. This can harm wildlife, damage habitats, and affect the quality of the water that creatures (and humans) depend on. Each piece of trash we remove from the Park is one less piece that could travel downstream, and potentially hurt the animals living in the ocean.You can save the life of a sea turtle or a dolphin simply by picking up trash you see, never releasing balloons into the sky, and switching to reusable water bottles!

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore the Memorial Park Conservancy

The mission of Memorial Park Conservancy is to preserve, restore, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow.

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.

This project was made possible by