Sustainable Forestry (Intermediate)

Learning Goals

By the end of the lesson, students will develop knowledge on the various methods of sustainable logging.

Success Criteria

• I can understand what sustainable forestry is.
• I can identify and explain different methods of sustainable logging.
• I can investigate a series of questions to make a justified decision.

Materials Needed

• Whiteboard and markers (or board and chalk, Smart Board etc.)
• A variety of cards, post-it notes, etc. with various purposes for logging written on them (one per group)
• Student journals, clipboards with blank paper, etc. (one per student)
• Pencils
• Collection of materials needed for students to represent their learning (for instance, if you decide to have students make a video, have devices available)

Minds On (Activating Prior Knowledge)

Have students think about how trees benefit the environment, thinking only about their uses before they are cut down. Then, have students think about the benefits of trees to humans after they are cut down. Have students come up with a pro/con list (either in groups, individually, or as a class) about cutting/ clearing trees. Afterwards, you can display something like this on the board, adding additional student ideas to it:

Pros:

• We get wood products (paper, pencils, etc.).
• Jobs are created (loggers, arborists, etc.).
• We need to clear areas, so we have spaces to build.
• Trees that are dead need to be cut down because they can be a hazard.
• Wood is a building material for structures.

Cons:

• Trees clear the air of Carbon Dioxide. The less trees we have, the more Carbon Dioxide we have in the atmosphere, which can lead to climate change.
• Trees store carbon. When they get cut down, they release that carbon into the atmosphere.
• Many plants, animals, and other organisms depend on trees as habitats.
• Trees help cool the air. Their canopies provide shade and absorb sunlight.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just an example of facts you can add to student lists. When finished, discuss each fact, and determine what students have learned previously about trees. Ask students if it is possible for humans to stop cutting down trees. Prompt the response “No” and get students to come up with justified reasons why. Tell students that today, you will be learning about sustainable forestry and the ways that humans can cut down trees in a way that reduces the overall negative effects.

Instruction

Depending on where students are at in their learning, you may need to teach them some components of sustainable forestry before starting the activity.

Sustainable Forestry:

• The Million tree Project offers some great information regarding sustainable forestry practices in Canada that you can read through with your class: https://www.sciencerendezvous.ca/million-tree-project/en/resources/sustainable-forestry-in-canada/
• This is another article your class can read to learn about sustainable forestry and why it’s important: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/sustainable-forestry.htm

Controlled Burning:

• This video explains the reason for controlled burns and how they can actually support ecosystems: https://vimeo.com/77792710
• This national geographic article explains how controlled burns work and benefit forest growth: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/controlled-burning/
• This slideshow can be used as a discussion point to determine previous student knowledge about controlled burns, or just used as a visual as you instruct students:https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/nature-lab-lesson-plans/FightingFireControlledBurnImages.pdf

Clear Cutting

• This YouTube video explains how clear cutting can be made into a sustainable practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Cn1FwuRpg

Forest Stand Improvement:

• This YouTube video explains how this method can help improve unhealthy forests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZhOPQHdJM8

Invasive Species

• Use this resource to identify certain invasive species that may be affecting forests near you: https://invasivespeciescentre.ca/forest-invasives/
• Use this resource to show students how they can tell if a tree has been affected by an invasive species: https://climate-woodlands.extension.org/monitoring-forest-trees-for-symptoms-and-signs-of-potential-problems/

Activity (Teacher or Volunteer Lead)

Explain to students that they are going to take on the role of forest manager. Their job is to (hypothetically) remove some trees from a given area for a specific purpose. They must first examine the forest and then decide on the form of sustainable forestry they will use. They must consider their purpose for logging and the impacts on the environment.

First, divide students into groups. Give each group a “purpose” for logging. For example: You are a forest manager looking for lumber to build with; to maintain the health of the forest; to get rid of an invasive species, etc. How would you sustainably harvest the trees?

Remind students of some of the sustainable forestry practices that they should consider:

• selective harvesting: when loggers remove a select number of trees, perhaps only old or unhealthy trees.
• controlled burning: burning a forest to rid it of dead debris or invasive species, to stop a wildfire, or to return nutrients to the soil so new trees can grow.
• clear cutting: mimicking natural processes and clearing trees in a way that allows them to be re-planted or to re-grow.
• forest stand improvement: if a forest is very unhealthy, loggers improve the forest’s health by removing trees that are crowded, dying, or prone to disease/invasive species.

Give students some investigative questions to consider when examining the forest. Give them time to copy them down in their journals.

• Do you see evidence of animal habitats?
• Are there trees both young and old?
• Do you see evidence of any invasive species?
• Are there a lot of dead/dying trees?
• Is the forest healthy (do trees have space to grow, are they getting enough sunlight, etc.)?
• Does the forest have a wide biodiversity of trees, or are their only a few tree species?

Take students to a wooded area (on school grounds, a conservation area, etc.). Give students time to examine their forest, make observations, and record their findings to these questions in a journal.

Bring students back to the classroom. Give each group some time to discuss which form of sustainable forestry they will use to fulfil their purpose. Groups will have to justify their choice in a method of their choosing- creating a video, writing a short report, explain verbally to the class, creating a poster, etc. Assess each group based on their understanding of sustainable forestry, how they represented their learning, and their justification for choosing the method they did.

Modifications for Online Learning

For the activity, have students work through this independently. Create a hypothetical forest and scenario ahead of time for students to examine. Include pictures of a forest (ensure they closely resemble the forest you want to capture) and make up some factors that exist in your forest. Some examples include:

• You are a forest manager working for a city park. Your duty is to ensure the park is attractive, safe, and healthy. The forest has a lot of trees that seem to be dead/dying. Local people are worried it’s a safety hazard. How would you sustainably harvest these trees?
• You are a logger who is cutting down trees for timber to build with. The forest you are tasked to work on has a lot of young trees that grew very close together, making them quite unhealthy. How would you sustainably harvest these trees?

Display these in an engaging way (creative google slide, a Mindomo mind map, book creator, etc.). Make it accessible to students so they can work through it on their own. Have students identify the sustainable forestry practice they think would work best for the scenario and why. For more advanced students, create multiple scenarios for students to work through.

Extension Actvities

Engage students in a research project related to trees! Have students research a particular topic, such as different invasive species, the pros/cons of a specific sustainable logging method, or carbon sinks. Bring in an expert (a worker at a conservation area, a naturalist, an arborist, etc.) if possible and have students ask questions about their topic for research. Or give students devices to look up information on the Internet. Have students display their findings in any creative method of their choosing; a poster, a video, through Minecraft, or any other way they can think of.