Riparian vegetation adds to the shade of an area which helps to control temperature and photosynthesis of plants living in the stream. It also is a source of larger and fine plant detritus which is used by many insects and invertebrates for their food source. If you have a vigorous riparian zone, you will have a diverse flora and fauna living in this area.

Watersheds naturally clean themselves as water can be filtered as it flows in the system. However, we sometimes pollute these watersheds through industrial or municipal waste discharging into the watershed (point source pollution). This overloads the systems and pollution increases. Even non point source pollution (many contributors to pollution) can accumulate and cause as much damage. Our watersheds reflect the health of our environment. Water that migrates through the different levels of the watershed nourishes biological life. In this activity you are to search the internet and find out more about the watershed that you live in. Use the worksheet to help find this information.