Section 2

Activity: Weedy Socks & Wheels

Overview: This activity will demonstrate how weed seeds are spread by animals, recreation, and roadway transportation. Students will conduct a simulated sock or wheel seed collection in a 'weedy' area.  These collected seeds will be planted in sterilized 'weed free' soil and the germinating plants will be identified over a 3 week period.
 

Grade Level: K-6
 

Focus: Life Science, Ecology, Investigation, Experimentation
 

Objectives

• Understand the ways that plant seeds are spread naturally. (Wind, Water, Wildlife)
• Illustrate the major ways humans can spread weeds. (Vehicles, Recreation, Animals, Collecting)
• Students will brainstorm ways of preventing the transport of weeds.
• Students will observe the growth of weeds in their weed sock or wheel plantings and answer the question: "Why are almost all the seeds that germinate from the socks & tread weeds?"

Site: Outdoors (Weedy Area)

Time Format: 1 class session and  follow-ups over a 3-5 week period

Materials:

•  Old 'fuzzy' socks
•  Bicycle with off-road tire tread
•   plastic bags
•  Sterile soil that has been specially prepared for this activity (Click here to learn more about making a Solar Soil Sterilizer)
•  Containers for the soil (approx. 8-16 oz container.  Old water bottles, milk cartons, or plastic pots work great) For a   self-watering bottle design click here
•  Water

Advanced Preparation:

1.  Prepare enough sterilized soil for each student to have at least 16 oz. for planting.
2.  Have students save and bring in their old socks and a small 16 oz. plastic water bottle.
3. Go to your weedy area and try both the sock and tire method described below. This activity works best when fields and vegetation are dry.

Activity:
1.  Review with students: What is a weed? What are the four characteristics of weeds?
(  Teacher Help:  "Weeds are plants that crowd out native plants, harm animal habitats, and increase erosion" )
Weeds generally:

•      Produce many seeds
•      Monopolize nutrients or water
•      Germinate quicker and grow faster than natives
•      Avoid predation from herbivores

2.  Explain to students that we will be looking at ways of removing and preventing the spread of weeds. Explain that the first step in removing weeds from our ecosystems is to prevent the spread of weeds.  Ask Students: How do plant seeds spread in nature? (With no human influence) 
Answer: Plant seeds have adapted to being spread by: Wind, Water, and Wildlife.

Ask students:  What are some ways that humans spread weed seeds?
Teacher Help: Make a list titled 'How humans spread weeds' on the board and organize it with the following categories.

• Vehicles: Cars, trucks, trains, motorcycles
• Recreation: Hiking, Camping, Bicycling, Clothing/Gear
• Animals: Horses, Dogs, Livestock
• Collecting: Picking weed flowers or buying and planting weedy plants, like French Broom, in our yards.

• Vehicles:  Drive on established roads and trails away from weed infested areas.
• Recreation: Clean camping and hiking gear of weeds before continuing to a new area or other campsite.  Clean your bicycle tread and hiking boots of seeds before and after going out into an area.
• Animals:  Feed pack animals weed free feed.  Brush animals and check their feet before leaving weed infested areas.
• Collecting:  Learn to identify noxious weed invaders and pull them.  Remember to leave them where they are or bag them in plastic and carry them out to a garbage area.

Ask students:  What are some things that we should not do because they might help spread weeds. Make a list titled 'Don't'.
 

• Don't pick flowers or seeds of noxious weeds and take them home.
• Don't pick and transport wild flowers that you can't identify.
• Don't camp, drive or ride in weed infested areas.

5. Take students to the weedy area. Explain to students that what they call 'stickers' are generally the seed of a 'weedy' plant. Remind them that animals and vehicles are responsible for transporting numerous weed seeds across vast areas.
 

Have students put the old socks over their shoes. (Some cutting maybe necessary to get a good fit)

Explain to students that now your feet are hairy like the feet of an animal. To make things more interesting students can pick the animals they want to be.

Have students walk around in the grass, sand dirt, and/or leaves in the 'weedy' area outside your classroom.
 
 

Have students carefully remove the socks and put them into plastic bags. This is to prevent the spread of possible weed seeds on the way back to the classroom.

Return to the classroom.
If you are also using the bicycle tire tread push the bike through the same area and have students collect the seeds from the tires into a plastic bag. Explain to students that recreation and transportation off of trails and roadways can spread weeds that get trapped in the tread of tires.

Back in the classroom:   Prior to planting have students draw pictures of some of the seeds that they collected. Have students focus on:

What do the seeds look like?
How big are they?
What color are they?
How are the seeds attached to the socks or tires?
How do the seeds feel?
How many seeds are in groups or bunches?
How many different types of seeds are there?
  Note: Students might count the number of seeds they see in their sock and predict how many will germinate.
 
 
 

Have students cut out a seedy section of their sock (approximately the diameter of their water bottle or container.)

Place the seedy material on top of a few inches of  specially prepared soil.

Cover the sock material with an inch of soil . Water from the top until the base is filled with water. Make sure that the moisture travels up the sock wick until it reaches the level where the seeds are.
 
 
 

If you are planting the seeds collected from the tire tread simply fill the container with soil and plant the seeds an inch down in the soil.
 

Place the planting in a window sill. Water the soil every day. Note: If you are using the water bottle construction simply make sure there is water in the base of the bottle.
 
 
 

Wrap-up/Evaluation

1.  To answer the objective question: "Why are almost all the seeds that germinate from the socks & tread weeds?"

Reinforce the four 'weedy' characteristics.

  Produce many seeds - More seeds on the ground mean more on the sock.

  Monopolize nutrients or water - Those that reach the light and sprout the roots get the nutrients and water

  Germinate quicker and grow faster than native seedlings. - Grow faster dominate space.

  Avoid predation from herbivore.- Seeds don't get eaten so they can grow.

2.  Keep a record or chart of the soil and seeds.  Some suggested observation questions are listed below.
 

• Are any of the seeds split open or beginning to sprout?
• Which seed broke through the top of the soil first?
• How much do the seedlings grow every day?

Going further

Collect seeds from known native plants and noxious weeds.  Plant them both together and plant natives separate from weeds. Observe which seeds dominates the pot space.  This can coincide with the sock/tread plantings.  Take pictures of the plants as they grow and keep records of them, even ones that didn't sprout. Print your findings, make a copy for your records, and make a poster showing your results.