Amazon standoff

We have been exploring the potential damage caused to the Amazon rainforest (and other rainforests) by human activity.

This Reuters Graphic is rather excellent and considers the potential changes following the election of President Bolsonaro in Brazil.

Scroll down to see the story develop...

Rainforest biome

A good rainforest activity from the Rainforest Alliance for Year 9 to get in preparation for a unit later this week. Place the rainforest animals in their correct part of the rainforest... a look at the structure of the biome and different layers... Catch up with last week's Planet Earth 2 as well.

A song for the rain forests

Rio Olympics - the BBC trailer

The BBC trailer for their Rio Olympics coverage places a lot of emphasis on the wildlife of the Amazon… How relevant is that to the urban locations for the games? Is Brazil defined by the Amazon? Are some of these animals threatened by habitat change? Some interesting discussions to be had…

Tropical Rainforests in Google Street View

We were exploring tropical rainforests earlier this week, and following up a speech made by Prince Charles to the WWF where he suggested that the important element that will be needed to find a way to make the forest worth more alive than dead.

Here's a StreetView links page.
Google has created a range of images and maps.

Rainforest Connection

A useful example of how technology can help reduce the risk of rainforests being affected. This will be useful when exploring the sustainable development of forests.
Watch the video here and see how old smartphones can help save the trees....
A kickstarter project.
The project needs to raise a lot more money in the next few weeks if it is to go ahead...

I bought a rainforest...

BBC2 programme on just now about the issues surrounding rainforest destruction...

Charlie Hamilton James was the presenter, who bought a large area of Peruvian rainforest.

The area was threatened by 5 different threats:
a) Gold mining
b) Illegal logging
c) Cattle ranching
d) Cocaine farming
e) Oil and gas exploration

Check out his DIGITAL RAINFOREST site.

Also worth checking out the SIZE OF WALES project. This is often used as a 'unit' for expressing the speed at which rainforests are being destroyed.

Ecotourism Game

An Ecotourism Game that you can use to explore the possible implications of options on developing ecotourism for a community.
Give it a go.

Rainforest Destruction - tips for the exam

Take a look at the poster below.
What does it tell you about the reasons why forests are being removed ?
What value do they have when they have been removed ?
What products are created when forests are removed - do you use any of those products ? Are you sure ?
Check this GREENPEACE ad, for example...

A more SUSTAINABLE use of the forest might be to use it to extract products through harvesting, or perhaps a more selective removal of trees. The easiest way to remove forest is to burn it, and there is a burning season which can be seen from space on satellite images.

Remember the importance of sustainability to actions that we take now...

EXAM REMINDER 1

You will have a number of longer answers to produce in the exam.
These are marked on a level of response rather than being point marked.
We will be looking for you to go deeper with these answers, and explain your points clearly. Don't forget to PEE: Point, Explanation and Evidence for each thing that you add. Don't be repetitive and go round in circles.
Read the revision notes carefully.

EXAM REMINDER 2

Each of the questions needs to be answered accurately, but for the longer questions there are further marks which are available (or which can be lost) for what is called SPaG: Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. Write clearly and legibly, and make sure that you are spelling key words correctly.

Rainforests

Destroying rainforests for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.

E.O.Wilson

Discuss....

Research the value of the rainforests when they are a) intact and b) removed...

Year 9 Rainforests

We have been looking at a number of biomes, as part of preparation for the final exams of the year. These will take place later in June.
It's worth reminding you that there are various biomes that you might want to write about in the exam.
We've focussed on the tropical forests with some groups.

Tropical rainforests may cover only two per cent of the planet’s surface but they’re home to half of all its species, including humans.

Nevertheless, surviving in this hostile environment demands both skill and an intimate understanding of the jungle ecology.

The main impediments to survival in the jungle is not a lack of edible species, but the fact that most of the things you might want to eat live high in the canopy, 30 metres or so above a hungry human’s mouth. As a result, securing enough meat for dinner can be a constant struggle and rainforest-dwellers must develop an extensive knowledge of the plants and animal around them.

Source: BBC: Human Planet

The BBC website has details on all the biomes and the various adaptations of plants and animals.

One useful resource for exploring the different climates of the venues (something we talked about with Roy Hodgson's comments on Manaus), there is this resource on the GeographyPods website.

Finally, keep an eye out for a programme featuring David Beckham in the rainforest that has apparently been made in association with the World Cup.

And check out this INFOGRAPHIC for further information....

Endangered Biomes - Year 9

Over the next few months, Year 9s will be exploring a range of biomes which face threats.
A biome is an environmental area which has a characteristic climate, and therefore vegetation and wildlife. They include tundra (in the Arctic), desert and tropical rainforest.
We will also be exploring the Oceans as an area of the planet which is facing increasing threats, particularly from plastics, which concentrate in certain areas of the ocean, but are also found as microbeads which can come from lots of everyday products.

Get yourself in the mood for studying tropical rainforests by listening to these soundscapes.