Advice From Owlie - Duckweed

ADVICE FROM OWLIE

Q: Dear Owlie,

My family and I just visited the Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Park. We had such a great time getting to see all the different animals and are planning to revisit soon! While we were there, we noticed something green floating on the water in some of the ponds. It looked like moss or algae, but we weren’t sure of what it was. Any chance you could help us out? Thanks Owlie!

Sincerely,

Keen on Green

A: Dear Keen on Green,

I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed your visit! I can definitely answer your question. What you saw in the water is called duckweed. Duckweed is a type of aquatic plant that floats on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of water. They are the smallest known type of flowering plant, no more than ¼ of an inch long and reproduce by budding. Some duckweed can also produce a specialized bud called a turion, causing the plant to sink to the bottom when it’s cold and grow once again when it’s warm. This explains why you only saw duckweed in some of the ponds and not all of them!

Duckweed is also really important to our wetlands. Waterfowl, such as the ducks and birds at our park, love to eat it! Duckweed also helps to purify the water by absorbing any excess nitrogen and phosphate and even prevents algae growth – so our animals are swimming in some pretty clean water!

Hopefully you can share this information with your family and come back to check out the duckweed again!

Talk to you soo(HOO)n!

Owlie

Advice From Owlie - Photo Contest Announcement

ADVICE FROM OWLIE

Attention all park-goers: The Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Park is hosting its very first Instagram photo contest and the winner will receive a gift bag filled with awesome prizes!

Photo submissions will be accepted starting Saturday, December 7^th until Tuesday, January 7^th. Only one photo is allowed per person, per account AND you must be 18 or older to enter.

Entering is easy, all you need to do is:

1. Take a picture in the Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Park. (It can be of yourself, your family, an animal, or even a plant!)
2. Post your photo to Instagram with the hashtag #ccwphotocontest and tag us (@chinocreekwetlands) in your photo
3. Follow @chinocreekwetlands on Instagram (We’ll be posting important updates and announcements regarding the contest!)

Once the submission period has ended, all the photos will be featured on our Instagram story where the public will vote within a 24-hour period for their favorite photo – so make sure to tell your friends and family to vote! The winner will be announced and contacted via Instagram on Tuesday, January 14^th.

I can’t wait to see all your photos! My advice: head over to the park and enter before it’s too late!

Talk to you all soo(HOO)n!

Owlie