Clear Water, Clean Water? Exploring the Floridan Aquifer Overview
Duration: 14:31
Produced by
SchoolYard Films, Inc.

EarthX STEAM Curriculum Lesson Extension: Growing Pains, High School
Goal
Students will learn about the geology and ecology of an aquifer, what its current threats are, and how to best protect this vital natural resource.
Overview
Florida scientists, explorers, and citizens team up to provide a look at the health of the Florida Aquifer, the primary source of water for over 25 million people in the southeastern US. There are signs that human activity may be negatively affecting the water quality, both above and below the surface.
Connections to EarthX STEAM Curriculum Lesson:
Growing Pains
Pollutants from common household products and nitrogen runoff from farms create a negative impact on living things, such as plants. They can also harm water sources that provide drinking water for humans, affecting them negatively for the long term.
Guiding Questions
- Connecting people to their environment is important to the team of citizens and scientists presenting this video. What environmental connection do you think is the most important?
- The Floridan Aquifer is vital, yet unseen. How does this observation contribute to the issue facing the aquifer?
- What #hashtag would you create to identify the connections of humans to the earth? What further actions could you take to promote this idea?
Vocabulary
- Aquifer
- Cave fauna
- Symbiotic
- Niche crops
- “You-pick”
- Landscape level
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
- MS-LS2-4
- MS-ESS3-4
- HS-LS2-6
- HS-ESS2-2
- HS-ESS3-4
TEKS Science Objectives
- AS.c.4A
- AS.c.9C
- AS.c.12B
- AS.c.12C
- ES.c.5B
- ES.c.9A
- ES.c.9F