dragonfly-emerging-19-5_20_2006Wetlands Awareness Month was started in 1991 (19 years ago!) by the EPA to not only celebrate our local wetlands but also bring their importance back to the forefront.

In just 200 years, we have lost over 42% of our wetlands here in Virginia; and while our rate of loss has slowed over the past 20 years we’re still loosing these vital natural resources.

So in celebration of May and all the great signs of renewal that it offers, lets learn about wetlands:

The EPA has a page set up with all sorts of information about wetlands: http://www.epa.gov/wetlands/awm/ as well as a number of wetland fact sheets that can be used to learn and teach others.

For educators, there’s a great resource called WOW: The Wonders of Wetlands. But even if you’re not a teacher (well, we’re all teachers of some sort, aren’t we?) there are lots of activities and information on these pages. Check out Wetlands 101 to learn about these really important habitats.

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