Environment Challenge (Sticky Leaves)

Scouts are working towards a world where people and natural systems have clean water and clean air. This activity aims to

• Explore the sources of clean water and clean air in the local environment.
• Understand the ways water and air are naturally cleaned.

An air pollutant is any unwanted substance or chemical that contaminates the air that we breathe resulting in a decline in air quality. Air pollutants include smoke, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, particulates and ozone.

Air pollutants have sources that are both natural and human. Natural sources includevolcanoes, wildfires, airborne dust, cattle digesting grass and natural radioactive decay. Although some pollution comes from natural sources, most pollution is the result of human activity. The biggest causes are the operation of fossil fuel-burning power plants and automobiles that combust fuel.

Most of the main air pollutants can be harmful to human health. Air pollution is frequently associated with respiratory problems. It can make people sick or cause long-term illness, particularly in those most sensitive to pollution, such as children and the elderly.

There are three ways in which animals can be affected by air pollution. They can breathe in gases or small particles, eat particles in food or water or absorb gases through the skin. Soft-bodied invertebrates, such as earthworms, or animals with thin, moist skin such as frogs, are particularly affected by absorbing pollution.Sources of air pollution and dust often leave residues on the top of exposed leaves. The sticky leaves activity collects these residues. This makes air pollution ‘visible’ and easier to understand. The air pollution in different areas can be compared and related to the source of the pollution.