How to use this resource...

Our Forest, Our Future helps teachers and pupils to explore the interdependence of people and forests and the vital role forests play in sustaining our environment – in the past, the present and hopefully the future.

The Scots Pine forests in Scotland and the Congo Basin rainforest in Africa provide case studies through which pupils will begin to understand why our forests are under threat and the implications for our planet. Further information about these forests is provided in the following documents.

In making connections between consumerism, people and the environment, pupils will be encouraged to see how they and their actions have an impact on the lives of others globally. It encourages reflection on the possible futures of the world's forests and ways of taking positive actions for a future where people and forests co-exist in a sustainable way.

The resource is structured around a global citizenship framework devised by Oxfam.

The reflection and evaluation sections in each activity support formative assessment and ongoing monitoring of pupils learning.

Additional assessment opportunities are indicated by...

Outdoor learning opportunities are indicated by...

Homework activities are indicated by...

Taking Action for Change

Education for Global Citizenship is committed to enabling pupils to bring about positive actions for change either locally or globally. This process should support pupils to make their own informed choices through a critical evaluation of the options open to them and the possible implications of those choices.

Throughout the resource there are ideas for possible actions, such as reflecting on our power as consumers, peer education and tree planting. Your pupils themselves should be encouraged to think creatively about the many actions they could take, critically evaluate the impact these actions might have and then evaluate what they have done.

The materials below support your pupils through this process.

> Making connections

5. A history of two forests

What you need:

A set of History of the two forests cards [pdf], prepared for each group
A copy of the timeline [pdf] for each group (large enough to place the cards on).

Aims

To compare the histories of the Congo Basin rainforest and Scotland's forest

What to do

Explain that pupils are going to compare and contrast the histories of Scotland's forests and the Congo Basin rainforest.

Give each group a set of cards and ask them to read the cards and decide if they are about the Scottish forest or the Congo Basin rainforest.

Ask pupils to share their choices and explain why. Talk about any differences in opinion and come to a class consensus.

Ask each group to now place the cards on a timeline in order for both the Congo Basin rainforest and Scottish forest. The activity can be simplified by giving them some of the positions of the cards as a starting point.

Ask groups to share the order they have put the cards in and discuss any differences groups have and why.

Teacher prompts

What similarities are there?
What differences are there?
At what points are the histories the same?
Have you any ideas on what caused the changes?

Reflection and evaluation

Which events do you think will have had the biggest impact on each of the forests? Why?

What do you think will be the future for the Congo Basin rainforest and the Scottish forest? Why?

Early use of both forests was by hunter-gatherer and farming communities. These people depended upon the forest and lived with it in relative harmony. However, this changed as communities living great distances from the forest began using its resources and as populations increased and technological improvements enabled people to exert more control over the natural environment. The futures of the forests are explored in more detail in Section 4.

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4