MUSICAL MILFOIL
Grades: 1- 8
Group Size: 12-30 children
Length: 20 minutes – 1 hour
Location: Inside or Outside
SUMMARY
This activity is a version of musical chairs and introduces the topic of invasive aquatic plants. Rounds 1 & 2 focuses on the concepts of native vs. invasive plants in lakes, plant ID, and are appropriate for older students. Rounds 3 & 4 show how humans use and affect lakes and are appropriate for younger students.
Materials
- Chairs, carpet squares, towels or other things to sit on (“lakes”)
- Method to create music: stereo or instrument
- Playing Cards; native and invasive plants and human cards (see attached)
- "Clean Your Boat" brochure
Optional Materials
- Pocket magnifier to look at plants
- Boat and Trailer with simulated Milfoil (any green plant but Milfoil, imitation plants, or green crepe paper etc.)
- Plant specimens
- Plant ID poster board (a compilation of all Native plant cards)
- "Maine's 11 Most Wanted" brochure
- ‘"Maine 's Lake Plants" brochure
OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES
Recently, invasive aquatic plants have become a hot topic in Maine . In this activity, students will play musical chairs to help them become familiar with the invasive aquatic plant Milfoil. Students will learn the differences between native and non-native species, how Milfoil spreads, and discusses how humans affect lakes by transporting plant material. Students will also understand how Milfoil affects lakes on a wide scale in a very short time period.
BACKGROUND
There has been a lot of talk recently about invasive aquatic plants in Maine . These are
plants that are not native to Maine . Invasive plants like Variable and Eurasian Milfoil, once introduced to a lake, sometimes grow uncontrollably and spread rapidly, taking over a lake or river from the plants that belong there. They form dense mats on the surface of the water, making boating, fishing, and swimming difficult and unpleasant, if not impossible!
BUT NOT ALL AQUATIC PLANTS ARE BAD. Not all Milfoil species are bad – there are 6 native Milfoil species in Maine . We need plants like these to have a healthy lake.
What do these native plants do for us?
- Reduce shoreline erosion
- Improve water quality
- Provide habitat for aquatic animals
- Provide food & shelter for fish and wildlife
- Create beauty
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
1. Review ‘Prevention is Simple' and ‘ Maine 's Lake Plants ' brochures for reference.
2. Review terms: Invasive Aquatic Plants, Milfoil, Habitat, Native, Non-native, Competition, Carrying capacity - What do these terms make you think of? (A glossary of bold terms is attached)
3. Discuss the basic needs that plants must have in their habitat to live (food, light, water, and space). All plants must meet these basic needs in order to survive.
PLAYING THE GAME
(The following instructions are based on using 15 students; it may need to be adjusted to fit your class) Paragraphs in italics are for teachers to read to students to help introduce the round.
?? Rounds One and Two introduce the concepts of native vs. invasive plants in lakes and plant identification. ( Older Students)
?? Rounds Three and Four show how humans use and affect lakes. ( Younger Students).
ROUND 1 -- NATIVE PLANTS, HEALTHY LAKES
1. The carpet squares or chairs represent “lakes”. Arrange enough lakes circle (one per student) in a large with the plant ID poster in the center. Place the native plant cards face down on the chairs.
2. All students will start the round. Play music and have students walk around outside of the chairs in a circle. When the music stops, students should find a lake (chair/square) to sit on. In this round, all will easily find a lake.
3. Have students tell the rest of the group what native plant is on their card (refer to plant poster in center of circle). This is a time for discussion about the many types of plants the live in the lake and hand them to the instructor. Move on to Round 2.
ROUND 2 -- MILFOIL IS INTRODUCED TO A LAKE
"One day, Bo Boater forgot to check his boat for any aquatic plants that were stuck to his motor when he left his lake in his home state. Then he came to Maine , and an invasive aquatic plant, Variable Milfoil, hitched a ride. Now that it is in our state, where will it end up? What could happen?"
1. Collect all plant cards and replace one native plant card with a Milfoil card. Play the game with everyone. For those who found lakes, what plant did you find? Refer to the poster in the center of the circle. Who found the lake where Milfoil was introduced? The lake that gets the Milfoil card is now off limits for future rounds. This lake will never be rid of Milfoil!
2. Collect all the native plant cards and replace two more natives with two Milfoil cards. Play a round with all students. What happened? Now three lakes are infested with Milfoil. This represents the ability of Milfoil to spread rapidly and out- compete native plants. Now there are tree lakes that are off limits and some participants will have to share a lake.
3. Continue replacing native plant cards with Milfoil cards. Continue to add Milfoil to the lakes until only one or two lakes are not infested and everyone in the game is trying to visit these lakes.
“How did this happen?"
Methods of Milfoil spreading:
- Seed transport (by animal, water, etc)
- Root runners or rhizomes (think of strawberry plants)
- Human activities (fragmentation!) THIS IS THE BIG CONCERN!
4. Ask "Why does Milfoil, like other invasive species, spread so quickly and out-compete native plants?"
It has few predators in its new environment (they weren't imported with the invasives!).
It grows well in cold water, so it gets a "head start" in spring, reaches the surface, and blocks the light from reaching other native plants.
ROUND 3 -- PEOPLE AND LAKES
So, we determined that invasive Milfoils are a problem for the native plants in the lake. But how do you think invasive plants affect people?
1. Discuss what students like to do on the lake. (boating, fishing, swimming, jet-skiing, etc)
2. Place the human use cards face down on all of the chairs. Play the game with all students. After the music stops have each person look at their card and tell the others what they were doing in the lake. Return cards to the instructor and move onto round four.
ROUND 4 -- PEOPLE AND MILFOIL
"Oh no! Bo Boater is back! And once again, he forgot to check his boat for any aquatic plants that were stuck to his motor when he left another lake. He came to Maine , and a fragment of Eurasian Milfoil hitched a ride on his boat. Now it is in our state, but where will it end up? What could happen?"
1. Shuffle in a "bad" human/Milfoil card. Put the cards face down on the lakes, and make sure that one human/Milfoil card is put on a lake. Play a round. If Milfoil is in your lake, what happens? Now no one else can use the lake, as it has been infested with Milfoil. Leave the card face up on that lake. The person who found the human/Milfoil card continues to play, but this lake is now off limits since it will never be rid of milfoil.
"If boaters in the lake don't recognize the invasive Milfoil, and boat through the patches, they can worsen the infestation. Propellers can chop the existing plants into fragments, and each individual fragment, no matter how small, has the potential to float to other sections of the lake, or down a connecting stream, where it can root and grow and spread the problem! MILFOIL IS FOREVER!!!"
2. Reshuffle the cards, adding two more human/Milfoil cards on the available lakes. Play another round, with the one lake that is already off limits - students will have to share lakes. Stop the music. What are people doing on their lakes? Who found Milfoil? Leave the Milfoil card face up on the lake. These lakes are now off limits and there will be more lake sharing.
3. Replace more cards with human/Milfoil cards. Milfoil is spreading quickly. Continue in the same fashion by adding Milfoil-infested cards. Play until every lake is infested with Milfoil. Now, is anyone able to enjoy his or her lake?
Resources:
milfoilf cards (pdf)
musical milfoil lesson (pdf)
Links:
Maine Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants
DEP Invasive plant page
