The forests protection is an issue of grave concerned to Tanzania as well. Various reports indicate that Tanzania is running out of their forest and that the environments as well as take a rain check. Tanzanian women are taking a lot of time in search of water. The sources of water are tarnished by people/human daily needs for destroying natural systems and this consequences to climate change. Give KECA a hand and donate as you can for the future of the children of our children.
A CAMPAIGN PROJECT OF TREE PLANTATION, EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS IN MULEBA DISTRICT FROM NOW ON
Kamachumu Environment Care Association is starting a two projects of education for young children and planting trees in Muleba district from November 2012.
1. from now on- to establish trees nusuries at Kamachumu
2. to distribute seedlings and trees plantation to schools in Kamachumu zone and Buganguzi ward
3. Workshop/seminar and meeting in Muleba district about agroforestry, trees uses and types of trees to be planted
4. Education campaign for children especially child-girls
TREES TO BE PLANTED: Environmental trees
For more information and ssupport please visit us to our Kamchumu office and or contact us for the telephones and email given
Title: Awareness Project
Key Stage/ Year Group: Students
Approach: An immersive, cross-curricular one week project
Concepts: Tropical rainforest geography, role of rainforests for regulating climate, people of the rainforests, biodiversity, deforestation and effects, climate change
Key Words: tropics, strata, rain cycle, global warming, deforestation, species, symbiotic relationships, extinction
- What is a tropical rainforest?
- To understand the key features of a tropical rainforest
- To use knowledge of the rainforest strata to create an artistic scale replicate
- Children will be aware of the common structure of a tropical rainforest. They will be developing an awareness of the type of plants and animals which inhabit different strata, and beginning to discuss why this is the case. Children will be enthusiastic and engaged with the project.
- KAMACHUMU Environment Care Association (KECA) Poster Rainforests – hotspot 1.1, metre sticks, paints, tissue paper, selection of different art materials, large rolls of sugar paper.
Pose the question - What are rainforests?
Children must come up with a definition in pairs, no more than 40 words, referencing weather, climate, animals and plants. Discuss definitions and elaborate if needed, providing children with more factual information.
Display a picture clearly showing the strata of the forest.
Introduce terms and discuss each section of the forest.
Show measurements for emergent and canopy. Discuss rounding and down scaling to produce consistent measurements for all class to work with. In groups, paint the forest (to scale). Give children infomation about the different types of plant and animal life they may find in each layer (from KECA iposter Teachers Guide). Children add to the stratum.
Plenary – Discuss products. Praise correct placement of plants. What would it be like to spend a day and night in the Amazon rainforest? Recap question ‘What is a rainforest?’
Read facts relating to different strata, children in pairs discuss which it relates to. (Transfer to classroom forest, when paintings are complete)
- Where next (or extension)
Display the posters, covering all of the windows, to create a classroom rainforest. Children work ‘within the jungle’ all week. Use the display interactively, with children able to add information and images.
- Key Question
Where are rainforests?
- Learning objectives
To use atlases and globes to locate counties.
To look at where tropical rainforests are found, and draw patterns.
Children have an understanding of where tropical rainforests are found within the world. They are developing an awareness of the countries inSouth America, especially those home to the Amazon Rainforest.
BBC iposter hotspot 1.2, KECA iposter pack photocopy sheet – ‘Rainforests of the world,’ class set of atlases, globes, Whiteboard world maps.
Where are rainforests?
Children use an Atlas/ globe (discuss advantages to each) to locate countries with largest amount of rainforest (mark on individual whiteboard maps).
Come back to the carpet. What have children noticed?
Look at where most of the worlds rainforests are, and why (use terms equator, Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer, tropics).
Which continents do not have rainforests? Why?
Where is the TROPICAL Rainforest? Locate 6 countries in Africa. Discuss countries it covers (what do children know about them?) Use Google maps to trace river Rive Congo. Briefly mention colonisation, how the River got its name etc.
Time dependent- independent work ‘Rainforests of the world’ (Sheet available in Google Interactive poster pack)
Activity three Drama & PE
– Ideas from ‘The Prince’s Rainforest Project’ http://schools.rainforestsos.org/
To work collaboratively
To use physical movement to interpret and explore ideas related to the rainforest environment
A parachute, 4-6 skipping ropes
Rainforest Warm Up
Setting the scene
Imagine you are an explorer trekking through the rainforest, your mission is to find your base camp, its in the middle of the rainforest, its getting dark, raining hard and you need to watch out for leeches!
Hacking through the Jungle
Imagine you have a large machete and you have to hack your way through the thick jungle, it’s very tiring, hot, humid and noisy. Start hacking at the top and work your way down, take a step forward and do it again.
Crossing the raging torrents
Ask why you might not want to go for a swim in the tropical forest stream? Encourage answers like crocodiles, piranhas etc
Fortunately there are some slippery logs lying across the stream so everyone has to carefully balance across them.
Crawling through the hollow log
Explain that as a scientist you can’t resist looking for creatures that hide in the end of hollow trees, get everyone to crawl along the floor flat on their tummies, but mind the scorpion!
Glooping through the sticky mud
Mud can contain leeches and all sorts of other nasties so you have to walk though it carefully making sure you don’t loose your boots. This is obviously a very noisy activity so children should make lots of squelchy noises.
Canoeing down the rapid
The children work in pairs and canoe safely down the river, introduce rapids waterfall and low hanging branches. (There might also be a crocodile lurking in the shadows so speedy paddling is a useful skill).
Moving like animals
Many animals live in constant fear of being eaten, move through the jungle like an animal.
Rainforest Parachute Games
Game 1: Animal merry-go-round
Children hold the parachute with one hand so that they can circle round. They then travel round in a circle moving as different rainforest creatures, eg:
- Sloth = walk very slowly
- Ants = take small steps on tiptoe
- Monkeys = jump around the circle
- Bats = flap one wing and run with light steps
- Jaguar = fast running etc.
Game 2: Snakes
Place 4-6 skipping ropes on the parachute. Children stand up and shake the parachute to try and make them slither off.
Game 3: Crocodiles
Everyone sits on the ground with their legs stretched out under the parachute which is held at chest height. One or two children are the crocodiles crawling around under the parachute. They quietly grab the legs of the children around the perimeter and pull them under the parachute. The crocodile now swaps places.
Game 4: All change
Children sit in a circle around the parachute. The adult walks around the circle assigning a number of different rainforest creatures according to the size of the group, for example, jaguar, toucan, sloth, bat etc. Children crouch down to begin and then on the count of THREE extend their arms to lift the parachute up. The adult calls the name of a creature and all those children run under the parachute and swap places.
Making a canopy
On the count of THREE the children raise their arms, lifting the parachute over their heads, pulling it behind them and sitting down with their bottoms on the edge. The children are now under the canopy. Children share what they have learnt about rainforests/ the Amazon rainforest so far.
TROPICAL RAINFOREST TIMBER:
Tropical timber is a popular material that is still quite common in our home-improvement stores. Its use entails many problems and disadvantages, however. Numerous studies have shown that most of it – in some source countries up to 90 percent – was felled illegally, destroying ecosystems forever. Furthermore, trade in illegal timber still has not been banned in the EU.
Every year, 13 million hectares of rainforest disappear worldwide. These figures show that not buying tropical timber at all is still the most effective way to counter the trade in illegally logged timber. Timber grown locally is a sound alternative.