A Newsletter for Manzi’s Buddies March 2018

Living and Non-Living Things Hello true friends The year 2018 is only 3 months old. Please can you tell me what do you want to achieve this year? While you are thinking, let me tell you what I want to achieve in 2018. I want to learn more and more about my environment because it is my surroundings and I want to care for it. In the past two months I have learnt about living and non-living things in a wetland. Since we are true friends I would love to share with you what I have learnt so that you are aware of life in our wetlands which is made possible by the non-living things.

What is a Wetland? A wetland is an area of land which is soaked with water and has a special type of soil structure. It can be seasonally soaked or be soaked all year round. A wetland is an ecosystem. What is an Ecosystem? An ecosystem is the interaction between living (organisms) and non-living things (water, soil, sun, air, etc.) in a specific area. The difference between living and non-living things is as follows:

Living Things

(e.g. plants, animals and people)

Non-living Things

(e.g. water, soil, sun, air, etc.)

Can move Cannot move

Can breathe Cannot breathe

Can reproduce, grow and die Cannot reproduce, grow or die.

Can use energy Cannot use energy

Can remove waste (excrete) from its body Cannot remove waste

Did You Know? Wetlands are called nature’s supermarket? This is because wetlands cover a large amount of food chains and also because of the rich biodiversity (life) they support.

Did You Know? Wetlands are called kidneys of the landscape! This is because they receive downstream waters and waste from nature and also from human sources.

ACTIVITY 1. Wetland Maze Using a pencil, help Sploosh, the water droplet, swim through the wetland from the START to the END. Remember to read what the wetland is telling you along the way.

2. Identify the Living and Non-Living Things in the Wetland

Please take a look at the table below and fill in the missing words. The words are:

ROCK, PLANTS, CLOUDES, WATER, HIPPOPOTAMUS, SOIL, CROCODILE, FROG, BIRD.

Living Things Non-living Things

H_____________________ W____________ (it flows)

F_________ R___________ (it is solid)

C_________________ C___________ (it gathers in the air and releases rain)

P_______________ S_____ (it is covered with plants in the wetland. It supports the plants and acts as a sponge, holding and releasing water) B_______________

Let us learn how the living and non-living things are related. For example let’s take a plant. Plants need sunlight to make their own food through the process of photosynthesis in the presence of carbon dioxide. Plants need soil to support them and give them nutrients (food). Plants also need water to help with the transportation of nutrients from the soil into the plant. The roots of the plants hold the soil together which stops the soil from being eroded. Plants also take in carbon dioxide released by animals and release oxygen to be taken in by animals. Remember plants are living things at the bottom of the food chain and the only living things that can produce their own food. Now the herbivores (animals that eat plants) feed on plants; the carnivores (animals that eat meat) feed on herbivores; eventually the carnivores die, decompose and fertilise the soil. The soil will provide plants with rich nutrients. That is one of the examples of the relationships between living and non-living things which need each other for a healthy ecosystem. A healthy wetland is the perfect example of this relationship. Now that we know the relationships, we must teach others to respect wetlands, and water as well, as this is the key to a healthy life. Remember no water, no life! So let us respect and conserve water and all life on Earth.

Bye bye friends

For more information on being Water Wise, please contact 0860 10 10 60 or logo onto www.randwater.co.za and click on the Water Wise logo