This swamp had been here for years and years? How had he not noticed it last term? If he had, Ethan was sure to have been down here regularly to study it in detail.. But all that mattered was he was here now and his slightly widened green eyes flickered to every corner of the mini wetland, taking in the aquatic vegetation and occasional insect.

He stared for a while, leaning a hand on the rope at the front of it, and became increasingly aware of a question being answered by his classmates. Something about a characteristic of swamps.. Willing himself to focus on the other answers so he didn't repeat anything, the boy listened for a moment then raised his hand.

"There are very few trees that can grow in a saltwater swamp because of the salt content in the water," he started, thinking that might have been somewhat pointed out by someone else. "But one that does grow there is the Mangrove tree.. and they can grow well there because of their unique root system. They look like a tangle of vines that grow out from the trunk and branches.. and they can get carbon dioxide from the pores in the roots above ground if they can't get enough through the very wet soil." And yes, they also did that stuff that Spike said about keeping sediment from washing away.