Keep soil covered - It helps keep soil in place. Cover_me.pdf (130 KB)

Avoid this, disturb the soil as little as possible - It helps the natural organisms in the soil clean our water and hold soil in place. Avoid this - Disturbed.pdf (101 KB) Promote this - Little_disturbance.pdf (96 KB)

Keep soil clean - What goes in the soil can end up in your glass. Soil filters our water, but can not filter everyting(200 KB)

Use as few chemicals as possible and choose those that easily degrade in the environment or are non-toxic.

Below are examples of potential class projects. Use a digital camera to document good and not-so-good environmental conditions in your neighborhood. This is a good way to illustrate the effects and consequences of good stewardship and land management practices.

Powerpoints 1 and 2 - Examples of erosion and sediment control issues in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. (from Erosion_and_sediment.ppt (20 MB)) Erosion_and_sediment2.ppt (15 MB))

Pdf files 1, 2, and 3 - Examples of erosion and sediment control issues in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. (from Erosion_and_sediment.pdf (177 KB) Erosion_and_sediment2.pdf (290 KB) Erosion_and_sediment3.pdf (240 KB)) Erosion_and_sediment4.pdf (418 KB))

The previous pictures illustrate how delicate our soils are. Small disturbances can cause a great amount of soil erosion. This occurs even during a relatively light rainfall event.

Movie of a small storm in West Virginia. Notice the amount of sediment leaving a relatively small work-site. P6110006.MOV)

Movie from the same storm showing the origin of the sediment. P6110013.MOV)

Picture of the origin from the movie. P6110011.JPG)

Movie from the same storm from nearby areas where the soils have not been disturbed as much. P6110007.MOV)
 

Individual Pictures of sites in North Carolina.

Picture Number 1 - Picture of crusting which can result in clean runoff after all loose material has been washed away and the surface sealed (from P8170047.JPG)

Picture Number 2 - Picture of a small construction site resulting in soil disturbance (from P8170050.JPG)

Picture Number 3 - Picture of rills formed as loose soil was washed from the site during a brief rain storm. The intensity of the storm was moderate.(from P8170049.JPG)
 

Picture Number 4 - Picture of sediment in a small depression downhill from the construction site. Much loose soil was washed off the site, into the street and into the storm drains. (from P8170052.JPG)

Picture Number 5 - Close-up of the small depression. (from P8170051.JPG)

Picture Number 6 - Another close-up of the small depression. (from P8170048.JPG)

Picture Number 7 - Soil that was not trapped in the depression washed out onto the road surface and was washed away to storm sewers. (from P8170053.JPG)