Sharing the Planet

Teachers: Wafaa Fayad

Maysoon Salloum
Farah Nashebi

Grade: 3A/3B/3C
Rang-Tan - Greenpeace -
#DropDirtyPalmOil
 Think About It
What do you think about when you look at these pictures?

Paper Bow and

Firewood?
aeroplanes? arrow?

Books? Furniture?
What about a tree or perhaps a forest?
 Forest Fact
Around 30% of the Earth is covered by trees.

The Congo
(Central Africa)

Southeast Asia

The Amazon
(South America)
Madagascar
New
Guinea
 Why Are Rainforests So
Important?
Rainforests cover only 6% of the Earth but they are home to 50% of all
plant and animal species. In just four square miles, you might find…

1,500 flowering 400 species of

plants birds

750 species of 150 species of

trees butterflies
...and much more!
 Why Are Rainforests So
Important?

25% of medicines come from plants

Rainforests
Rainforests are often getthe
known as their name
‘lungs of the
found in the rainforest.
Earth’. The treesfrom theharmful
absorb heavy rains
carbonthatdioxide
fall
and produce 20%almost
of theevery day.
oxygen in Trees
Earth’ssoak
atmosphere. up the water and help prevent
erosion. Without them, the soil
would wash away.
 Forest Fact
The rainforests are disappearing.

Do you know why

the rainforests are
disappearing?
 What Is Deforestation?
Deforestation occurs when trees are cut down across a wide area. This
land is then used for another purpose.

Did You Know…?

Every minute, an area of rainforest the size of a football pitch is cut down.
If this rate continues, there will be no rainforests in 100 years.
There are over 7 billion people on
the planet. This number keeps
growing and, by 2100, there
could be 11.2 billion people. All of
these people need food so land is
cleared for farming. Forests are
cleared permanently for animal
grazing, which provides meat.
Land is also used to grow crops,
such as sugar cane and palm oil.
Huge areas of forest are cut
down to grow soya, which is used
to feed cattle and pigs.
Why Are the Rainforests Being Cut
Down?

Trees are useful and valuable. Among other

things, they are used for paper, building and
firewood.
Do you know
what we use
trees for?
The rainforest is home to a unique variety of
tree species. Hardwoods, such as teak or
mahogany, are strong and so are perfect for
building and for making furniture. However,
these trees are slow growing and are not
easy to replace.
 Subsistence Farming
Known as slash and burn, families cut down
small parts of the forest and burn it to improve
the soil and make room for cattle.
It is small scale and the forest can regenerate
but with more people taking more land, this
chance of recovery is slower. Up to 48% of all
deforestation is caused by subsistence farming.

Commercial Farming
This is farming that happens on a large scale. It
is led by companies who need to produce on a
much bigger scale to provide food and products
for the wider world.

“Oil palm plantation” by Martin H is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 Palm Oil
Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. Palm oil is edible and is found
in lots of food. It is used in a huge range of products, such as toothpaste,
deodorant, make-up, shampoo and lipstick. Palm oil can also be used as
animal feed and as a biofuel for machines.

Huge areas of rainforest are destroyed in order to grow oil palm trees. This
means animals and other plants lose their natural habitats.

Fruit of the oil palm tree

What Are the Effects of
Deforestation?
Lack of biodiversity:
Soil erosion: The
Tree roots number
help hold
of
thedifferent species
soil together andbecomes
prevents it
smaller.
from being washed away. Without
trees, the soil is washed into rivers
Climate change: Scientists
and streams, blocking them,
believe deforestation has a
causing flooding and contaminated
worldwide impact on climate.
drinking water.
Trees store carbon dioxide. When
they are cutTrees
Droughts: down,are
theangas is
important
released
part of theand builds
water up Without
cycle. in the
atmosphere.
them, there willCarbon dioxide
be a lack is a
of rain.
known greenhouse gas and
Habitat loss:
contributes Animals
to global and plants
warming.
lose their home so some may
become endangered or extinct.
 What Are the Effects of
Deforestation?
Land loss: Deforestation also means that Indigenous tribes are losing their
homes.

Many of these groups are known as ‘uncontacted tribes’, which means they
have had no contact with the outside world. They rely on the forest to hunt
animals and gather food. Deforestation means they have less food and may
have to move to other areas.

Indigenous – Original
people from a certain area.
What is an
Ecosystem?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwyGpHinJPs
Relationships in Ecosystems
Spot the Mistake
1 Tell the person next to you what the mistake is.

gras rabbit fox

s

The arrows are facing the wrong direction. The arrow represents the
flow of energy.
Click to reveal answer.
2 Tell the person next to you what the mistake is.

lettuce rabbit

owl
slug
lettuce

The lettuce is shown twice. Each individual organism only needs to be

shown once.
Click to reveal answer.
3 Tell the person next to you what the mistake is.

producer primary consumer secondary

consumer

A producer is an organism which makes its own food. Usually a green

Click to reveal answer.
plant. The fish is a consumer also.