Walnut Creek Wetland Center- Vincent S.

I chose to visit the Walnut Creek Wetland Center. It is located in Raleigh at 950 Peterson Street. This place peaked my interest because I have heard the term wetland several times lately but wasn't exactly sure what one was. A wetland can have shallow water that is standing or moving. Some never have standing water but are always soggy or muddy. Others may be wetlands for only part of the year and dry up in the summer. Marshes and swamps are two different types of wetlands. Swamps are wetlands where trees grow and marshes are the home for many small plants including grasses.

When a new wetland forms in a forested area the trees will often die because their roots cannot get enough oxygen. Standing dead trees in a wetland are referred to as snags. These snags are an important part of the ecosystem. They become a source of food and shelter for numerous animals including insects, birds, squirrels, and raccoons.

In this center there was a game/challenge that asks you to match different types of litter with the estimated time to biodegrade. I took this challenge and was quite surprised about several of them. The six-ring beverage holder, aluminum can, and Styrofoam cup were clearly the worst items but the relative times were a bit of a surprise. I had the Styrofoam cup as the longest but it took third place at 5o years. The beverage holder was the winner at 400 years and the can took second at 200 years. One thing I found really curious was that the grocery bag had a range of 1 to 20 years. This is a large range. It makes me wonder why some are degraded in a year while others take as long as 20. Are some bag manufacturers using greener materials? If this is the case do they cost more to manufacture? Why aren't they all made in this way?