It wasn't long before students realized that we had a problem with our wetlands model in that the areas that were supposed to be dry on top weren't and our "dry foot" plants didn't look very happy. Because the gravel base was just above the water level when the sandy soil was added it quickly filtered down through the rocks slowing the flow and raising the elevation.

I had the good fortune to participate in the Summer Science Institute this summer at the University of Florida. We spent a good part of one of our days at SEEP (Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project) where we took a guided tour of a real life example of a how natural agents can be utilized to help treat stormwater runoff.

In the evening we met with Dr. Chuck Lawrence who demonstrated how these concepts could be illustrated in the classroom with materials that we could find at the local hardware store. He said that there was a lot of trial and error, and his is certainly more complex than what I'm aiming for but figured that I'd post the details of the first run. Here's a link to the original blog post about that day during the Summer Science Institute.