Sky Rainforest Rescue WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP SAVE 1 BILLION TREES. FSC & Paper activity pack

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Christal Miller
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1 Sky Rainforest Rescue WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP SAVE 1 BILLION TREES FSC & Paper activity pack

3 Welcome to your I Amazon Schools FSC and Paper activity pack This pack will help you raise your pupils awareness of what they can do to make a difference, not only in the Amazon rainforest, but in other tropical forest areas and all over the world in reducing deforestation and its impact on climate change. We ve packed this guide full of information and activities, all of which provide lots of opportunities for your pupils to find out more about sustainable forests and pledge their support to help protect the Amazon rainforest. Simply select the activities with the best curriculum fit for your primary age and stage and use our worksheets to help your pupils start exploring! Facts about the forest Page 4 Discover why deforestation is such a big issue. Create a tree of knowledge display about the importance of trees. Seal of approval Page 6 Learn about FSC certification and how it is helping to protect the rainforest. Paper Page 7 Learn about the processes involved in making paper and discuss the significance of recycling, and the impact it can have on the planet. Then have a go at making paper yourselves! Sustainable source investigators Page 8 Undertake a scavenger hunt, write campaign letters or design awareness posters and conduct a survey to see how much people know about FSC and recycling. Your pledge Page 10 Helping to make a difference is easy to do. Work together to make a pledge to help protect the Amazon rainforest. Key Activity Research Photo Opportunity Creative 3

4 The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world. In fact, it s so big that the whole of the UK would fit inside it 27 times. And it s a good job there s plenty of space there, because the Amazon is home to one in ten species on the planet including: 40,000 species of plant Over 400 species of mammal 3,000 freshwater fish species Nearly 400 species of reptiles, and the same again of amphibians The Amazon spans nine countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Badly managed and illegal cutting down and then burning of forests creates huge amounts of CO 2 emissions the same as all the world s trains, planes, cars and ships put together.

5 Facts about the forest Did you know that a new species is disovered in the Amazon on average every three days? It s an incredible place, but we need to protect it. All these millions of plants and animals rely on the forest that surrounds them. But they aren t the only ones. We all use products made of wood and paper in many ways every day. Cardboard packaging, magazines and books all originate from wood, which may have started life as a tree in the Amazon rainforest. There are hundreds of species of trees in the Amazon, yet about a fifth of the rainforest has already been lost to deforestation. And this remarkable part of the world remains under threat from: unsustainable logging (both legal and illegal) industrial cattle ranching and agriculture infrastructure development, including roads and hydro-electric dams mining, especially gold and bauxite (the main component of aluminium) oil exploration and extraction small-scale farming climate change. We re not going to stop using wood any time soon, but we can take steps to make sure we don t wipe out one of the most fascinating places on the planet in order to get it. Harvesting too many trees can speed up global warming because it releases CO 2 into the atmosphere, while animals, plants and trees may be pushed into extinction if their habitats are destroyed. Many forest owners work very hard to protect the environment, but not everybody sticks to the law, and illegal logging is putting the future of the rainforests at risk. It s estimated that 70% or more of the timber coming from the Brazilian Amazon is chopped down by illegal loggers thankfully though, there are things we can do to help stop this. The main way in which we can make a difference is by choosing wood and paper products which have come from sustainable sources, which don t harm the environment. Tree of knowledge Using the internet and secondary sources of information to aid their research, pupils create a tree of knowledge to present the information they have found out about trees. Nobody knows how many species of insect are in the Amazon, but over 100,000 species of invertebrate have been identified. Tropical rainforests took between 60 and 100 million years to evolve they re the oldest and most complex land-based ecosystem in Earth Use waste/recyclable materials together with autumn leaves, twigs and fruits to create a collage tree around which to display mind map style information about the importance of trees e.g. produce (fruits), products (paper) and benefits (carbon cycle, shade). Around 30 million people live in the Amazon, including 60 indigenous groups that have had practically no contact with the outside world. 5

6 Seal of approval One way to fight illegal logging is to make sure you don t buy anything made with wood that has been chopped down in this way. Instead, only use paper and wood that has been sourced responsibly. Where logging is appropriate in the Amazon basin, or in any forest worldwide, every effort must be made to ensure that social and environmental concerns are addressed. Certification of forestry operations can be an important step towards the elimination of destructive and illegal timber harvesting and also safeguards workers, local populations and the environment. If you see the FSC tick tree symbol on a product s label, you can be sure it s been sourced in a responsible way that protects the forest, and the plants, animals and people that call forests such as the Amazon their home. The logo isn t just seen on paper and furniture though. Anything that s made of wood could have the logo, but it also covers all sorts of forest products like cork, maple syrup, nuts, latex and essential oils. The FSC is not the only certification, but it is widely known as the strictest. It also makes sure the wood s entire journey from the forest to the final customer is tracked and checked at every stage. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) offers the only certification with international market credibility. The FSC certification is assessed on independent environmental, social and economic performance standards, audited in the forest. The criteria for certification cover basic principles including: conservation of ancient forests of major environmental, social and cultural significance environmental impact of logging methods tenure and land-use rights and responsibilities community relations and workers rights monitoring and assessment of management plans. N.C. Turner / WWF-Canon Find out more about FSC at fsc-uk.org 6

7 Paper We can help make a difference to the Amazon rainforest and help reduce the impact of climate change by reducing the amount of paper we use. This is because not only are trees cut down in order to make the paper, but also making paper uses lots of water and energy which creates the greenhouse gases known to cause climate change. How do pupils think they can reduce the amount of paper they use? Get groups to discuss their ideas and present back to the class. They could: use up all the space, including the back of the sheet, before starting a new one draw a narrow margin or manage without only print if they absolutely have to if printing, then try to print on both sides. And it also helps if they: Use recycled paper Always recycle waste paper and newspaper Want to know how paper is made? Share this clip with your class to show them how! youtube.com/ watch?v=jgh7kq30sko Paper maker Recycled paper uses less energy and doesn t need any more trees. Use the activity below and see for yourself! Resources required Scrap paper or newspaper A blender or wire whisk Hot water A bucket Plastic drawer or tray A plastic acetate sheet A measuring cup, paper towels Steps 1. Tear the scrap paper into tiny pieces and soak them in a bucket of hot water for about 10 to 15 minutes Put a handful of the soaked paper into the blender or use a wire whisk to beat it into a pulp. Pour the blended pulp into a measuring cup. 3. Pour some water into the plastic tray, then placing the acetate in the tray pour one cup of the paper pulp onto it. 5. Spread the pulp evenly in the water with your fingers. Lift acetate carefully and let the water drain. 4. Lay the paper towels over the pulp-covered acetate and flatten and press to get rid of any excess water then leave to dry overnight. 5. Check out your new paper in the morning! 7

Sustainable source investigators We have a range of activities for your class, where they can play the role of Amazon explorers and investigators.

8 Sustainable source investigators We have a range of activities for your class, where they can play the role of Amazon explorers and investigators. The activities are designed to encourage pupils to understand the variety of wood and paper-based products that can carry the FSC logo, while raising awareness of its importance with parents, family and friends. Simply photocopy the Amazon explorers worksheet for 5-7s or 7-11s, and use the notes below to run your session. Activities for your young explorers Explain to the children that some of the paper that s in their classroom could have come from trees in the Amazon. The wood fibre (called pulp) may have travelled over 5,000 miles in boats across the ocean, just so they could be turned into the books they read every day. Ask the children to look at the paper or exercise books and see if they can spot an FSC or any other logo, or words, talking about where the paper has come from. If they can, ask what that tells them about the book in their hand. Be a Classroom scavenger! 5-11 Children find items in the classroom that originally came from trees. You could split them into teams, and whoever finds the most, wins. Are there any others they haven t thought of? Tell the world! Help the children design awareness posters to communicate what they like about the Amazon, or why they think it is important to manage the rainforests sustainably Pupils write campaign letters to communicate the importance of the FSC logo in helping to protect the rainforest and/or encourage paper recycling in your school or local community. Additional tip: You could use the paper pupils made during the paper-making activity detailed earlier in the pack. 8

FSC Investigator 5-7 Thinking about the information collated on the tree of knowledge, talk pupils through the survey that has been designed to help them investigate how much people know about FSC

We want to know what your pupils have been up to so don t forge

9 FSC Investigator 5-7 Thinking about the information collated on the tree of knowledge, talk pupils through the survey that has been designed to help them investigate how much people know about FSC and paper recycling. Explain how the survey could be used to get a snapshot of people s understanding of the ideas. And finally! We want to know what your pupils have been up to so don t forget to send us photos of your explorers in action. You can us at: iloveamazonschools@wwf.org.uk 7-11 Pupils design their own survey, which they could use to question friends and family to find out when and where the FSC logo is used, and if the pupil surveyed know what the logo means. (Refer to the lower age group worksheet for ideas of questions.) Results from the surveys can be used to introduce the concept of data handling through in class collation and comparison activities. Please note: If conducting the survey in the local community, please ensure that pupils are working in small groups and understand the risks of stranger danger. 9

11 Your pledge As you can see, protecting the Amazon is extremely important not just for the people and animals that live there, but for the whole planet. Even though it s a long, long way away, you can still pledge your support and show that you and your pupils care about the world. A pledge can be any kind of promise, from simply agreeing to tell their friends about the Amazon, to taking part in fund-raising activities. Helping to make a difference is easy to do. Use what you have learned to design a class pledge, then encourage pupils to make achievable personal pledges to help protect the rainforests. Make a promise Encourage pupils to make their own pledges by filling in the heart on the worksheet. These can then be displayed in the classroom or perhaps hung on the tree at Christmas. The great thing about a pledge is that if lots of children do it together, they feel like a team and can encourage one another to help make a real difference by being rainforest wise and making sustainable, responsible buying decisions that help to protect the rainforest Begin by reviewing what you have learned about the importance of protecting the rainforest. 2. Brainstorm a list of ways you can help to protect the rainforest, and or communicate what you have learned to a wider audience. 3. As your class consider which idea is the easiest to implement. 4. Write your class pledge up and put it on display. 5. Don t forget to take time to monitor and review your pledge(s) and reward progress/ difference(s) made. We d love to add your commitment to our online gallery! Please a photo of your class s pledges to iloveamazonschools@wwf.org.uk 11

Remember to let us know what your class has been up to by emailing your photos and pledges to iloveamazonschools @wwf.org.

12 Remember to let us know what your class has been up to by ing your photos and pledges to Keep an eye out for the next I Love Amazon Schools activity pack for more great ideas for bringing the rainforest into your classroom! Further information on the themes covered in this pack can be found at: rainforestrescue.sky.com/activitiesfor-children-and-schools FSC International website FSC UK website FSC educational resources FSC Friday website celebrate trees and FSC! FSC Forests First website help to grow the virtual FSC forest I Love Amazon Schools, c/o WWF-UK, The Living Planet Centre, Rufford House, Brewery Road, Woking, GU21 4LL. WWF-UK registered charity number and registered in Scotland number SC A company limited by guarantee number panda symbol and WWF Registered Trademark of WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund).

Devastating Deforestation

Devastating Deforestation To learn why the rainforest is being destroyed Describe the rate of deforestation Compare the lives of those in the rainforest to that of our own Describe/Explain/Analyse the