Hands-on Investigation #1

What can a stalk of celery show us about trees growing along a stream or river?

You’ll need: stalk of celery, red food coloring and a clear glass jar of water.

Procedure: Add several drops of red food coloring to a jar of clean water. Cut off a 1-inch piece of celery from the bottom of the celery stalk. Place the celery in the red water and leave it in overnight.

Next morning, cut an inch off the bottom. What does it look like? Do you see the colored dots? How does this show how plants can help clean water along a steam, river or wetland?

The red dots show that the water has beeen drawn up into the celery stalk. All plants draw water into their roots and up through the stalks, stems, or leaves. If water contains chemicals and nutrients, plants can suck them up along with the water and store them. Therefore, they may "tie up" these substances, and sometimes can be changed into less harmful forms.

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