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Dealing With the Issues
Main Ideas
- There are many issues related to the use of our forests
- There are no easy answers
- There is more than one side to every issue
Synopsis
Students were approached to determine their concerns about our forests.
Foresters and forest industry workers were consulted to provide their views
concerning these issues.
Forestry will always be a compromise; the forest companies want to use the resource to produce the goods for which there is a demand, and to provide jobs that are important to the local economy; some groups would prefer that the forests are never touched. The goal is a compromise that accommodates as many interests as possible.
Mistakes have been made in the past. The objective is to learn from them and do better in the future. Research goes on all the time to improve forestry and manufacturing practices.
Video Brief
Scene 1
Dealing with the Issues: An introduction
Scene 2
Harvesting: clearcutting, selective harvesting
Scene 3
What about the animals?
Scene 4
Biodiversity: super trees, single species planting
Scene 5
Mills: air quality, water quality
Scene 6
What about bleaching?
Scene 7
Pesticides
Scene 8
Recycling
Scene 9
It's a wrap!
Ready. . .
Before viewing Dealing With the Issues it is important to stress to students
that the viewpoints expressed in the video are those of foresters and forest
industry workers.
As in all situations we want to encourage problem-solving and critical thinking skills in our youth. This video provides an excellent opportunity to do so.
Discuss - critique - research - question - get your students looking for other view-points or alternatives. Use this video as a starting point for more detailed discussions!
Before viewing . . .
- What issues about forestry concern you?
- Which side of the story do you think will be presented in this video?
- How can our class find more information from other sources?
Set. . .
While viewing Dealing with the Issues, ask the students to jot down any
subject about which they would like further information. These could provide
the basis for a research assignment.
Go!
The following activities and resources are designed to complement this video.
They are not intended as an exhaustive list of things to do, merely as a
starting point. Please add your own activities - others will be grateful
you did!
Digging into the Discovery Box
1. Using the samples provided, compare the bleached and unbleached samples
of pulp. Discuss why, in our society, many people feel that we must have
bright white paper, etc. Perhaps your students could do a survey of parents,
school, etc. to see what the majority of people want.
2. Comparing the differences between the tree cookies, list the pros and cons of managed as opposed to unmanaged forests. (eg. pro: the cookie from the plantation is larger/con: the unmanaged forest has been disturbed less)
3. Use the literature provided in the Forest Discovery Box to spark discussion
about various forestry topics. One group could choose a particular topic
and, using a pamphlet as a starting point, further research the topic by
contacting other agencies.
Across the Curriculum
1. Activities to try (Research/Language Arts/Science/Social Studies)
2. What about . . . ? (Science/Social Studies, etc.)
3. Thumb-thing to think about! (Language Arts/Art/Science)
4. Haiku (Language Arts/Science)
5. Find-a-word (2 versions & answer key)
6. Crossword puzzle (& answer key)
Activities to Try
1. Research the major influences man has had in your region.
- Locate those activities on a map.
- As a class, discuss the long term effects these activities have had on your region.
- What if these influences had not occurred?
- What differences would you notice?
- Was the influence a good orbad one in your opinion?
2. Planet Earth
- Using a raw egg, have students draw and colour the earth on its shell.
- Discuss how the egg can represent our planet and the fragility of its environment.
- Have the students carry their Earth around during the course of 2 or 3 days. They can keep a journal of major occurrences in the life of the Earth for this time period.
- If the Earth breaks, it has been destroyed. At the end of the time, discuss difficulties, etc., encountered and how they feel this could relate to humans and our environmental concerns.
3. Dr. Seuss at our age????
Get a copy of the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax (a film has also been made). Read or watch with your students and discuss:
- the reason they feel Dr. Seuss wrote The Lorax
- the main themes in the story
- why the "Once-ler" was called what he was
- what he could have done to better protect the resource
- The excuse the Once-ler used to explain his actions ("If I didn't do it, someone else would.")
- how the students as individuals can affect change in the world through
their actions, etc.
What About?
1. INSECTICIDES & HERBICIDES
Have groups of students check with different agencies (agriculture, forestry,
highways, railway, city or town, schools, etc.) to see what types and quantities
of insecticides or herbicides each uses.
They can determine:
i. what is used
ii. how often it is used
iii. why it is used
iv. the impact of each
Have students create a table to illustrate and compare the results of their findings.
2. GLOBAL WARMING
Have students research what global warming is, its causes, and possible effects. Perhaps before starting, the students could brainstorm what effects a warming trend of only a few degrees would have on our planet. They may come up with both positive and negative impacts. Ask students to consider all forms of life when listing their ideas.
3. MEET THE MEDIA
- have students brainstorm all the environmental issues they can think of and list them on the board
- in groups of 2 or 3, have them rank the issues in order of importance (as they see it)
- in a whole class setting, discuss and come to a consensus on the ranking
- assign students a variety of media sources to be responsible for over a one week period. They will bring in articles, etc., concerning any environmental issues. (those students who are assigned the radio/TV/Internet will have to summarize what they find)
- create a file or bulletin board to display all articles under the issues identified
- at the end of the week, tally the articles, rate in order of frequency, and compare the rating from the media with the original list
- discuss several articles to determine points of view, slant of the
article, source, etc.
Download Crossword Puzzles and Word-Finds with answer keys in
Adobe Acrobat format. You can then print off as many copies as you need.
Acrobat Reader is available from Adobe's
Website for free, and is available for all operating systems.
Activities (PDF format 350k)