What makes a wetland?

Many people might not know the three things that must be present to make an official wetland. However, hundreds of school children in Middlesex County now know the answer thanks to the Townes Site Engineering Environmental Division. For the past five years wetland scientists with Townes have participated in the Urbanna Oyster Festival Education Day program held the day before the festival weekend in November. The education day program is a series of mini-classes where children learn everything from how an oyster farm works to what kind of tools local Indian tribes used to how to sing a traditional sea shanty to the importance of wetlands on the health of the Chesapeake Bay.


During the program, the Townes scientists lead a discussion on how the many areas of wetlands throughout the state may look different, but all still play a vital role in providing habitat and improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways. The children are then able to practice their hand augering skills by collecting soil samples to analyze for wetland characteristics. The children thoroughly enjoy getting their hands dirty, and Townes comes away with a sense of pride in how our work can have a far-reaching impact on not only the environment, but future generations as well.


In case you were wondering…The three things needed to make an official wetland are: the presence of wetland hydrology, the presence of hydric soils and a sufficient amount of water-loving plants.