2. 1 Cut Waste, Not Trees

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1 2. 1 Cut Waste, Not Trees Lesson Objectives: To understand the fact that the world s forests are a renewable resource as long as they are replanted and given adequate time to grow. Learn about the location of the main forests of the world and the types of forests that are being destroyed. Students will learn that high rates of forest clearance will lead to deforestation. Lesson One: Two class periods Procedure: Begin the lesson by discussing the importance of forests. Make use of the figure below to show that forests provide many goods and services for people and more important help create and maintain life on Earth. In fact without trees, human and animal life on Earth would not be able to survive. Edward Gilson 1

2 Discuss ways how, trees protect the soil from being washed away the cutting of trees will contribute to the Greenhouse Effect trees support life on the planet trees provide food trees make the soil fertile by the addition of humus trees provide a variety of products such as paper and timber Using a world map locate the main forests of the world: Boreal Forests Temperate Forests Tropical Rainforests Forest maps can be downloaded from In groups students may explore the website and with the help of interactive maps found on the site they can work out Worksheets 2.2 and 2.3. From the same website students can find out which types of forests are being destroyed and in which parts of the world these forests are to be found. Distribute copies of, The Amazon Tropical Rainforest a world resource, (Information Sheet 2.1) and discuss the points mentioned in the fact sheet. The original size of the rainforest was around 6 million square kilometres, making it larger than Western Europe. The Amazon now accounts for 40% of the world s remaining rainforests. The Amazon contains about 2,500 different species of trees. The tallest trees called emergents rise to over 40 metres in height. Below these trees a continuous canopy is formed by the overlapping crowns of other large trees. Smaller trees beneath the canopy can reach 15 metres in height. Rope-like creepers called lianas develop from the trunks and branches. Ten square kilometres of tropical rainforest may contain 750 species of tree, about 1500 flowering species, 400 types of birds, 150 kinds of butterfly and more than 100 different types of reptiles. The diversity of life in the forest is so great that only 1% of species have been studied so far by scientists. Edward Gilson 2

3 Unfortunately to satisfy the needs of the developed world vast areas of forest have been cleared. This process is called deforestation. In the last 50 years about half of the world s rainforest has been felled and if deforestation continues at current rates scientists estimate that nearly all tropical rainforest ecosystem will be destroyed by the year Make students list reasons why Tropical Rainforests like the Amazon are being cleared at such a high rate. Provide farmland Building reservoirs for hydro-electricity Logging for paper manufacturing Commercial Cattle ranching Logging for hardwood sales. eg. mahogany d Mineral mining such as iron ore, bauxite, copper etc. What are and will be the results of such destruction? (Refer to Information Sheet2.2). Discussion will be based on the following points: Estimates vary on the rates of forest clearance. However some suggest that the rate is about 1 hectare (the size of a football pitch) per second, or 86,000 hectares per day an area larger than Poland in a year. About 1/3 of the Earth s animal and plant species may become extinct by the year 2030 due to the loss of habitat. To obtain tropical hardwoods such as mahogany and rosewood which are widely scattered, up to 2/3 of the forest around them has been indiscriminately felled. Edward Gilson 3

8 million indigenous people inhabited the Brazilian Rainforest in 1500. Less than 200,000 remain.

4 8 million indigenous people inhabited the Brazilian Rainforest in Less than 200,000 remain. Work out in groups to put together information about tropical rainforests and then run the program PowerPoint to make a presentation. Here is a list of topics, but you might be able to think of some other ideas. Where are rainforests found? What makes the tropical rainforests so special and unique? Biological diversity Causes of rainforest destruction Rates of forest clearance Results of rainforest destruction Conserving the forest. Each group can look for information from different sources, School textbooks Library books Encyclopedias including CD-ROMs The Internet The following websites may prove very useful: The next step would be to put all information (images, text, data) into PowerPoint. You can also add special features but keep it as simple as possible too many special effects will result in a poor presentation. Before presenting it to other members of your class check that it runs smoothly. Edward Gilson 4

The Amazon now accounts for 40% of the world s remaining rainforests. The Amazon contains about 2,500 different species of trees. The tallest trees called emergents rise to over 40 metres in height.

5 Cut Waste, Not Trees Information Sheet 2.1 The Amazon Tropical Rainforest a world resource The original size of the rainforest was around 6 million square kilometres, making it larger than Western Europe. The Amazon now accounts for 40% of the world s remaining rainforests. The Amazon contains about 2,500 different species of trees. The tallest trees called emergents rise to over 40 metres in height. Below these trees a continuous canopy is formed by the overlapping crowns of other large trees. Smaller trees beneath the canopy can reach 15 metres in height. Ropelike creepers called lianas develop from the trunks and branches. Ten square kilometres of tropical rainforest may contain 750 species of tree, about 1500 flowering species, 400 types of birds, 150 kinds of butterfly and more than 100 different types of reptiles. The diversity of life in the forest is so great that only 1% of species have been studied so far by scientists. Edward Gilson 5

6 Cut Waste, Not Trees Information Sheet 2.2 Rainforest Clearance - Results Estimates vary on the rates of forest clearance. However some suggest that the rate is about 1 hectare (the size of a football pitch) per second, or 86,000 hectares per day an area larger than Poland in a year. About 1/3 of the Earth s animal and plant species may become extinct by the year 2030 due to the loss of habitat. To obtain tropical hardwoods such as mahogany and rosewood which are widely scattered, up to 2/3 of the forest around them has been indiscriminately felled. 8 million indigenous people inhabited the Brazilian Rainforest in Less than 200,000 remain. Edward Gilson 6

Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.1 Look at the information provided by the drawing. Now try to answer the following questions In what ways do trees protect the soil from being washed away?

7 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.1 Look at the information provided by the drawing. Now try to answer the following questions In what ways do trees protect the soil from being washed away? How do trees support life on the planet? What part do forests play in the water cycle? Explain briefly how the cutting down of trees will contribute to the Greenhouse Effect. Edward Gilson 7

8 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.2 Explore the following website: Refer to the interactive forest maps found on the site to complete the following outline map of the world. Shade in red the areas covered by Tropical rainforests. Title your map: World Distribution of Tropical Rainforests Add the key to your map. Name and label on the map the main Tropical Rainforests. Briefly describe the location of Tropical Rainforests. Edward Gilson 8

9 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.3 Explore the following website: Refer to the interactive forest maps found on the site to complete the following outline map of the world. Shade in yellow all areas covered by Boreal forests Title your map, Boreal forests of the World. Add the key to your map Mark and name on the map itself the main Boreal forests of the world Briefly describe the location and characteristics of Boreal forest. Edward Gilson 9

10 2.2 Cut Waste, Not Trees Lesson Objectives: To encourage students to participate in the recycling schemes that will be launched at local and national levels and other initiatives aimed at reducing waste especially paper. Students are exposed to the concept of source reduction, recycling and reuse in order to save forests from destruction. Lesson Two: Two class periods Procedure: Introduce the lesson by asking students to work in small groups. Each group is to make a list of things found around the school which may have come from forests. Distribute Information Sheet 2.3 listing more products made from trees. However forests provide much more than that. They provide oxygen, clean air and water, prevent soil erosion and provide habitat for many forms of animals and plants. So, immediate action must be taken to stop the destruction of forests worldwide. Governments, non-government organisations (NGOs) and individual people need to find incentives to preserve existing forests, develop faster growing species of trees and replant as soon as possible. Introduce the concept of recycling. Recycling is a way how to help save the forests. In recycling, a product is broken down, reprocessed and returned to active use instead of being discarded to take up space in the landfill. Recycling gives products a second life instead of ending up in the waste stream. Paper is usually made from chipped wood, softened into a wet mush and formed into a sheet. Recycling repeats the process with the paper itself, removing the ink, glue and coating. But the process breaks down some of the fibres, requiring the addition of new pulp to maintain paper strength. Recycling paper uses 61% less water, produces up to 70% fewer pollutants during manufacture and saves up to 40% more energy than paper made directly from trees. In this process newspapers can be turned into tissue paper and animal bedding. High-grade office paper can be turned into lower grades of paper while corrugated cardboard is recycled back into cereal boxes, paper bags and cardboard. Magazines are in turn recycled into newspapers. Edward Gilson 10

11 Students can work out Worksheet 2.4. Here students can realise that paper can never make a new tree, but it can be recycled to make new paper. This is not a true cycle, but it is a man-made cycle that gives new life to useful objects. Ask students to read Information Sheet 2.4, To Make a Ton of Paper, highlighting the aims of recycling. Discuss the advantages of recycling paper. Reduces damage to the environment because less trees need to be cut down Saves landfill space and reduces pollution and litter Saves energy Creates employment in recycling industries Saves money on transporting waste and raw materials A better way to save the forests from destruction is by Reducing and Reusing. Help students define each term. Source reduction reduces the amount of resources ( in this case trees) and the amount of waste we create. Another effective way to manage waste is to reuse products we do not need any more, or perhaps giving them to somebody else who may be able to use them. In this way we are saving money needed to landfill or recycle waste. Ask the students what they can do to practise source reduction in order to save trees. Here are some examples: Write on both sides of every piece of paper Put a cloth napkin in your lunch bag and use it instead of paper napkin Do not use paper bags Take your paper to your nearest recycling plant Take things you no longer need, such as books, to charity Whenever possible you can reuse things such as envelopes, paper etc. Mend wood products that break Return egg boxes to the supermarket Use cloth towels at home to clean up spills Use real cups and plates instead of disposable ones Do not buy products with excessive packaging Edward Gilson 11

12 Use where possible When we use photocopying try to make use of both sides of the paper As follow up exercises; Design a poster to encourage your class mates to recycle paper by cooperating in the recycling programmes that are currently in progress. Microsoft Word is an excellent program for constructing a poster. The first stage is to plan what will be written down. It should not be too long and it would be a good idea to write your points in a list using bullets. You need to emphasise: The destruction of forests The need to save trees To cooperate in recycling programmes To purchase recyled paper Workout Worksheet 2.5. Visit a local paper recycling centre to experience the importance of recycling and to witness The process involved in the recycling of paper The different ways used paper is collected to be recycled The difficulty of finding markets for recycled paper Edward Gilson 12

13 Cut Waste, Not Trees Information Sheet 2.3 Products Made from Trees Barrels Basketball Boards Boats Bowling Alleys Bowling Balls Buttons Canoes Carpets Cellophane Chocolate Christmas Trees Cigarette boxes Clocks Clothing Detergents Disinfectant Disposable Nappies Egg cartons Fertilisers Flag poles Flooring Frames Furniture Guitars Gunpowder Hockey Sticks Ice cream sticks Knife handles Ladders Linoleum Luggage Lumber Magazines Makeup Matches Medicine Model aeroplanes Nylon Napkins Newspapers Oars Organs Paints Paper Pencils Perfumes Photographs Pianos Seat covers Shoe heels Skateboards Sponges Stationary Sugar Tape Tea bags Tennis racquets Tool handles Toothbrushes Toothpicks Toys Violins Wallpaper Edward Gilson 13

14 Cut Waste, Not Trees Information Sheet 2.4 To Make a Ton (1016 kg) of Paper We need these Raw Materials 1673 kilograms of wood 98 kilograms of lime 34 kilograms of soda ash litres of water 28 million BTUs of energy We need to Dispose 39 kilograms of air pollutants 16 kilograms of water pollutants 80 kilograms of solid waste Resources saved by Recycling One Ton of Newspaper Is the equivalent of one ton of paper made from about 17 trees Conserves about 2.3 cubic metres of landfill space Recycling Paper: Reduces damage to the environment because less trees need to be cut down Saves landfill space and reduces pollution and litter Saves energy Creates employment in recycling industries Saves money on transporting waste and raw materials Edward Gilson 14

15 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.4 Label the figure below to show the paper recycling cycle. You can draw or cut and paste the pictures into the correct place on the diagram. Saves Trees New paper Recycling Waste paper The Paper Recycling Cycle Edward Gilson 15

16 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.5 Write down your opinion on each of these statements. There are plenty of forests left in the world and the supply of wood would not run out in our life time Governments of the world must ban logging operations immediately to stop deforestation Adequate help must be given by the government to paper recycling centres so that these can make sufficient profit You Europeans have already cleared your forests. You do not have any right to ask us Brazilians not to make profit from logging operations in the Amazon Edward Gilson 16

17 Cut Waste, Not Trees Worksheet 2.6 Visit to a Paper Recycling Centre 1. Briefly describe the process involved in the recycling of paper. _ 2. Discuss the ways how the recycled materials (used paper and cardboard) are collected to be processed. 3. How easy or difficult it is for the company to sell the finished recycled paper? 4. How many workers are employed in the recycling centre? Full time workers Part time workers 5. Discuss with the manager or the workers how we can encourage people to buy recycled paper. Edward Gilson 17

Deforestation and intensive agriculture in Brazil

Deforestation and intensive agriculture in Brazil Causes of Deforestation in Brazil. 1. Intensive agriculture, e.g. Soya plantations and cattle ranching. 2. Logging 3. Demand for wood as fuel. 4. Construction