The Tale of Lauren & Dermot the Destroyer

By Sarah Deane & Claire BackhouseIllustrated by Colin Shelbourne

It was a beautiful, hot, sunny afternoon. Lauren decided to take Einstein Ted and Jack her dog to go and play down by the lake. Lauren threw a stick for Jack, but today Jack didn’t want to go in the water. Lauren looked closer at the water and saw something shimmering and green floating around the edge of the lake. “I wonder what it is?” she said.

Lauren went home and asked her mum about why the lake was so green.

“I’m not surprised that Jack doesn’t want to swim,” her mum said, “all this sunny weather makes it easy for blue-green algae to grow. It can make you poorly. Algae loves it when the sun shines and there are too many phosphates.”

“Phos-whats?” asked Lauren.

“Phosphates,” replied her mum. “You find them in lots of things we use around the house like dishwasher tablets and washing-up liquid.”

“Hmmm I wonder how the phosphates get into the lake?” thought Lauren.

In the kitchen Lauren peered at a label on a dishwasher tablet box to find out more.

“Agh!” she exclaimed, as a face suddenly appeared on the box. It gave her a wink.

“Hi, my name is Dermot and you can find me in every kitchen. I escape down your drain and I know all the shortcuts to the lake. It’s a great adventure zooming down the pipes to the river and from there - whoooosh - I go into the lake!”

“I wonder what will happen if we keep letting these phosphates into the lake?” said Lauren.

Well, Lauren was no ordinary girl. She had an extraordinary time-travelling magic umbrella. She grasped Einstein Ted’s hand, closed her eyes, did her little time-travelling dance and then…

“Oh, where are we? This can’t be our lake!” Lauren exclaimed. “We can’t let this happen!”The lake was covered in algae. Dead fish floated on the top and not a duck or person could be seen. “Eugh, how horrible! We’d better go back in time and stop Dermot before this happens!”

Lauren and Einstein Ted closed their eyes, did their time-travelling dance again and found themselves back in their kitchen back home.

“I shall call you Dermot the Destroyer because you are ruining the lake. We put so much of you down the drains that there is too much of you getting into the water. Once you are in the lake the phosphate makes the algae grow and the wildlife suffers,” said Lauren angrily.

Later on that day Lauren and her mum went to the supermarket and chose some eco-friendly dishwasher tablets that don’t contain phosphates. Dermot the destroyer is left on the shelf! Lauren tells all her friends as well.

A year later and it is summer again. Lauren and Einstein are playing happily by the lake.

Dermot the Destroyer is gathering dust on the supermarket shelf, the nasty algae has gone, the fish swim merrily and Lauren thinks she might go for a swim too!

Comprehension

1. What can happen if you swim in blue-green algae?

2. What do some washing up liquids and dishwasher tablets contain?

3. What does too much phosphate do to algae?

4. What can too much algae do to the lake?

5. What should you check when buying washing-up liquid or dishwasher

tablets?