“I learned that wood is important to human life and the environment.”

“[I learned that] an ecosystem needs to be balanced. If one organism is not part of the process, it would make it hard for the other organisms to survive.”

These were the comments from some of the students of Lagro Elementary School in Quezon City after lessons from the Forest Education Teacher’s Guide were piloted in their class. The “Forests for a Sustainable Future: Educating Children” program was recently launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization, Department of Educatio and Department of Environment and Natural Resources to teach primary school children about the value and benefits of forests to people and the Earth.

The series of teacher’s guides, covering Science (for Grades 4 to 6) and TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education) curricula, discusses concepts like biodiversity and sustainable forest management using an innovative teaching method that involves games and hands-on activities, within and outside the classroom. This mix of theory and activities aims to engage and inspire school children age 9 to 12 years to support sustainable development and forest use.

Weekly lessons

Each guide, divided by quarter, provides teachers with detailed plans and information for weekly lessons on topics like tree species and forest animals in the Philippines, forest layers and water cycles, deforestation, forest ecosystems and sustainable beekeeping.

Jordan Fernandez, a teacher at Lagro Elementary School who has used the guides in his class, said that the materials are useful because the activities are “doable, attainable and the kids will love them!”

The program was first launched in Tanzania, and then, the Philippines, but it is designed to be easily adaptable for use in any country.

March 21 is International Day of Forests. Here are some useful facts:

• Forests cover 31 percent of the Earth.
• Nearly 31 percent of the world’s population depends on forests for livelihood, food security and nutrition.
• Forests provide almost 75 percent of the world’s accessible freshwater.
• Forests play a vital role in sustaining our agri food systems.
• Forests are home to so much life: 80 percent of amphibian species, 75 percent of bird species and 68 percent of mammal species.

By fostering a greater appreciation of the interconnections between forests and living beings, we can empower our youth to take decisive steps toward sustaining life on earth and make available for them options to work in the forestry and environment sectors in the future. —CONTRIBUTED INQ

Her love of the environment has taken the author to different parts of the Philippines to work in environmental education and community-based sustainable tourism. Email her at [email protected].