[Music] michigan is a magical land of lakes rivers and streams most of which are clean enough to swim and splash around in in fact Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States michigan is also a heavily industrial state with a long history of automotive and steel plants with large smoke stacks that create a lot of pollution did you ever wonder how the lakes rivers and streams stay clean in the midst of all that industry you might be surprised to learn that one of the biggest factors in keeping water clean is actually dirt or well soil but how does that work how does soil keep anything clean hi everybody I'm Jeff Cass and today we're going to learn how soil is crucial in keeping our lakes rivers and streams clean how does that even make sense how can soil something we might connect with the idea of dirt or being dirty make anything clean here's what happens certain dangerous chemicals say from a factory or a coal plant leech or slowly leak and dissolve into soil this often happens in a liquid form and interacts with the minerals that make up soil and those minerals can act like a kind of filter or sponge they can catch the dangerous chemicals before they make it to a water source like a stream or a lake and then the soil minerals work to dissolve the dangerous chemicals the same is also true for toxic germs or bacteria the minerals in soil are kind of like mini superheroes who stop chemical villains from infecting our water sources so have I convinced you that soil and the minerals in it are important to keep our water clean let's explore this idea a little further by writing a poem where we express our gratitude or or say thank you to the soil for the good work it does we'll use personification as a writing tool and pretend we can speak directly to soil as if it can understand us we'll say thank you by pointing out how we understand what it does to keep our lakes streams and rivers clean we'll also want to let the soil know we understand its job is not easy that it faces challenges like erosion which is the process where soil can be damaged diminished or even eliminated over time by rain or wind or humanbuilt elements like too much construction last we'll talk about what we're going to do to help soil confront its challenges such as planting more vegetation to keep it stronger a good thing to add to the poem would be experiences where you've personally enjoyed yourself in a lake or a river when you add in those kinds of personal experiences you're telling the soil you really do appreciate its work cuz you understand when the soil works hard the result is clean water that you can enjoy i'll try it first here's what I came up with you'll notice S is capitalized for soil because we're making the soil be alive like a person through that technique personification a poem of gratitude for dirt thank you soil i know you work hard and that sometimes we don't appreciate you as much as we should we dump chemicals and trash and germs onto you and into you and don't even think about what we're doing but deep down we are grateful even if we don't always show it it is you soil who chomps on the chemicals that leak from gas stations and auto factories and coal and steel plants it is you soil who uses your magic minerals to break down the danger so when the rain flows into our lakes and rivers we can swim and dive and frolic and even swallow water without getting sick it is you who absorbs the poisons so fish won't die before we catch them it is you who allows bears and beavers and wolverines to drink when they're thirsty and still be alive soil we owe you so much we must take care of you listen a lake and Dexter taught my children how to swim i can still see them running through the sand splashing into the water growing more and more confident with each step as their feet squirmed into the soft mud how they learned to duck their heads under and the joy of return when they emerged again in the sun and gulp new air soil i thank you for giving me that memory for protecting our lakes and rivers and if we must plant more trees more grass more vegetation to feed you enrich you keep you strong know that we will do it we love you soil we are so grateful we thank you for everything you do okay did you notice how I spoke directly to the soil as if it could hear me did you notice how I thanked it for doing the specific work it does to absorb dangerous chemicals so they don't make it into our water did you notice I talked about a personal experience where I watched my children learn how to swim in a lake in Dexter Michigan now it's your turn write a poem where you thank the soil for what it does to keep our water clean write at least 20 lines my poem was really long i know you don't have to write as much as I did but try to include a personal experience tell the soil how much you appreciate it and then you know what go outside find some soil and read your poem to it let the soil feel how much you care thank you for joining us if you want more fun ways to practice literacy skills don't forget to subscribe to the Michigan Learning Channel and be sure to check the description below for links to activity guides resources and more [Music]