Green Pack Junior - The Regional Environmental Center for Central ...

The Green Pack Junior was developed by the Regional Environmental Center
for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) in cooperation with Bulgarian and
Hungarian contributors, and supported by Toyota Motor Europe through
the Toyota Fund for Europe.
Circulation of and access to the Green Pack Junior is free of charge.
Authors: Kliment Mindjov ■ Tatyana Miteva
Design: Sylvia Magyar
Illustrations: Laszlo Falvay ■ Stoyan Nikolov
Colouring section: Nelly Zlateva
Editing: Steven Graning ■ David Landry
Bulgarian translation: Pepa Docheva
Project management: Kliment Mindjov
Printing: Typonova Kft.
For some parts of this book, information has been borrowed from:
• Connections. Teachers manual. ECO Education. Saint Paul, MN, USA.
• Going Green. Teachers’ fact sheets, Quesrqus, Portugal.
• 101 ideas for Environmental Activities. Borrowed Nature. Bulgaria.
©2007 The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
ISBN: 978-963-9638-23-5
Two types of recycled paper are used in the Green Pack Junior,
110g Gmund Big Money and 115g Dalum Cyclus Offset.
Green Pack Junior

Contents
Message from the REC 4
Message from Toyota Motor Europe 5
Using the Teaching Materials 6
■ Connections 7
Everything around us is connected 8
■ Atmosphere 15
The air we can’t do without 16
■ Water 23
Sacred water 25
Water and people 26
■ Soil 39
What do we know about soil? 40
Soil and people 43
■ Energy 47
Everything needs the sun 48
How to conserve energy 50
■ Biodiversity 57
The plants and animals around us 59
About people and nature 62
The biological diversity of Europe 64
■ Resources 87
Natural Resources 88
■ Human Population 93
What does population growth mean? 94
■ Consumption and Waste 99
Waste generation 100
The life cycle of materials 102
■ Social Development and the Environment 113
Social development 114
Colouring Section 127
Green Pack Junior 3

Message from the REC
The Regional Environmental Center launched the first Green Pack in 2002 in Poland.
Since then, the original educational materials and teaching aids have been adapted to serve
eight other countries, thanks in no small part to financial support from the business sector
and many governmental and non-governmental organisations. The combined efforts of the
REC and its committed partners and contributors have brought environmental education to
over 1.5 million children and 15,000 teachers.
The Green Pack programme received a boost in 2005 when the United Nations Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development was announced, seeing as the goals of the Green Pack
and the initiative are one and the same. We encourage changes in behaviour that will create a
more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society
for present and future generations.
This new education material opens a fresh chapter in our efforts as we widen the target groups
to introduce younger learners to the Green Pack world. Sustainable behaviour can be induced
from and through the earliest age groups, so the Green Pack Junior assists the development
of new values in children and a new model of behaviour at school, at home and in society.
Kids can certainly become the ambassadors of sustainability in society.
I would like to extend my recognition to the authors and contributors to this new education
material as well as to Toyota Motor Europe for their generous support, which fueled the
development and production of this material and has been assisting our efforts since 1999.
Marta Szigeti Bonifert
Executive Director
Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
4
Green Pack Junior

Message from Toyota Motor Europe
Sustainability: a shared responsibility
As a responsible corporate citizen, Toyota’s concern extends beyond products to the natural
environment and sustainable development. Toyota, via the Toyota Fund for Europe, constantly
works to enhance its environmental and social contributions via a range of projects that engage
with, and support, local communities.
Why do we believe in Green Pack?
We believe that investing in children is investing in the future. This is why Toyota is actively
engaged in the promotion of education and in raising children’s awareness about environmental
issues. We believe that environmental education should work both from a top-down and
bottom-up approach to bring about real and lasting change. Toyota has been in partnership with
the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) since 2002. Today,
Toyota’s European network of national affiliates has supported the REC in the development and
production of a Green Pack in seven European countries. Interest in this initiative continues to
grow. Sponsors other than Toyota are now providing regional-specific support, helping us
collectively to train 15,000 teachers and reach 1.5 million students across Europe.
The Toyota Fund for Europe
The Toyota Fund for Europe (TFfE) was created in 2002 to enhance good corporate citizenship
through social contributions in Europe. It aims to support projects in three areas directly linked
to Toyota’s core business: environmental awareness, technical education, and road safety.
The TFfE encourages the development of cooperative partnerships between NGOs and Toyota
companies throughout Europe. Today, environmental education for children and youth remains
one of the most important and active areas of focus for the TFfE.
About Us: Toyota Motor Europe
Toyota Motor Europe has invested over EUR 6 billion throughout Europe since 1990 and
currently employs around 80,000 people both directly and through retailer channels. Its
European operations are supported by 28 national sales and marketing companies in 48
countries, almost 3,000 sales outlets and eight manufacturing plants. Toyota seeks to grow as a
company in harmony with all its stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders,
business partners, and society at large.
For more information visit www.toyota.eu or email toyotafund@toyota-europe.com
Green Pack Junior 5

Using the Teaching Materials
In 2005 the United Nations inaugurated a Decade on Education for Sustainable Development.
This decade is an expression of the realisation that unless citizens are educated to understand
the multitude of complex and interrelated issues that face the modern world today, then the
chance to arrest the effects of our current unsustainable development — socially, economically
and environmentally — is rather low.
Traditionally, school education has been confined to specific or narrow subjects and taught
through approaches that focus on enabling pupils to pass examinations. Where the “real world”
has come in has been to equip pupils to be an effective part of the workforce. This focus has
often meant that technology skills reign supreme. As such the desire to furnish students with the
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to make our societies’ development more sustainable
raises challenges for the education community as a whole.
In order to cover the interaction and inter-linkages of development — and its impacts — we must
see how lessons can represent them meaningfully within the traditional range of subjects. In
addition, while students do need to accumulate knowledge and learn technical skills, the process
of teaching cannot only depend on traditional teaching methods, but also needs to build the
abilities of students to make use of their knowledge to analyse complex problems and their skills
to develop appropriate and equitable solutions.
The documents you are holding have been developed to give teachers and their students
original and accessible materials to begin this approach in teaching sustainable development
issues. They are designed with the intention to allow the complex issues of economic
development, environment and society to be easily taught in the classroom. They are focused on
grades 2 to 6 and on schools with less technical equipment or multi-media facilities. Teachers
would be wise to preview the student fact sheets to ensure that the text is at the appropriate
reading level for the students.
The materials are divided into 10 topics that look at the interaction between environment, society
and economic development. These topics were chosen to demonstrate how humanity is tied to
and is affecting the environment that we live in and, importantly, what that might mean to society.
The topics covered are:
■ Connections
■ Atmosphere
■ Water
■ Soil
■ Energy
■ Biodiversity
■ Resources
■ Human Population
■ Consumption and Waste
■ Social Development and the Environment
Each topic comprises a structured lesson plan and the supporting materials required to plan and
deliver a class on the subject. The lessons rely on an interactive way of learning by using discussions,
brainstorming, role playing and outdoor activities. As such each lesson plan provides the teacher
with background information on the topic, teaching objectives, the methodology used, what
materials are needed, a suggested timing and possible teaching locations. At the end of each lesson
plan teachers will also find supporting fact sheets and schemes, such as colouring pages, simple tests
and even fairytales. Naturally, these may be photocopied and distributed as part of the lesson.
Overall they present key issues facing the world today — why the world is the way it is — but also
they allow pupils to think critically about these problems and let them practice at being involved
citizens. These materials are designed to engage, motivate and encourage the whole class; and,
it is hoped, to bring a satisfying result to the teacher as well.
Robert Atkinson
Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
6
Green Pack Junior

Connections
During the past century, human have managed to take their first glance at the Earth from space.
What they have seen is a huge sphere, covered in the water of the seas and oceans, with the
land and the mountains, plains and deserts scattered on it, and the whole of it wreathed in
a delicate air atmosphere. Around the Earth are the moon, the sun, the rest of the solar system,
and boundless space.
We find it hard to answer the question of whether we are alone in the cosmos. There is a good
chance that other life exists, but until we find it, or even evidence of it, we will continue asking
ourselves why of all places it was on Earth that life began between 3 and 4 billion years ago
and developed the way it has. The answer lies somewhere in the Earth’s peculiar combination
of ecological factors: solar energy, soil, water and air.
Air – Our atmosphere is mainly a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapour
and a number of inert gases. All plants and animals depend heavily on this balance, and when
the balance is disrupted, negative effects are felt throughout the ecosystem. Sometimes the
problem has a natural cause, like a volcano erupting, but often it is man who pollutes the air.
Water is all around. It covers 71 percent of the surface of the Earth. It accounts for two-thirds of a
person’s weight. In other organisms water weight can vary from several to 98 percent. In one way
or another, water is critical for the existence of every living creature,
as well as for the formation of weather and climate on the Earth.
Soil is the top layer of the surface of the Earth. Although it is
a paper-thin layer compared to the rest of the Earth’s crust,
soil is the basis for all life on land. Plants hold themselves in place
with their roots, drawing nutrients and water from the soil.
Soil is teeming with organisms, and is therefore considered
a medium for life. Soil is constantly changing and being recreated,
and is therefore highly susceptible to changes to the environment.
Solar heat (energy) comes to the Earth in the form of radiation,
penetrating the atmosphere and heating our world. Because light from the sun is a key
ingredient in the process of photosynthesis, it is, along with water, the basis of our food chain.
Green Pack Junior 7

Connections
The biosphere is that part of the Earth which sustains life. Apart from the surface of the Earth,
it also includes the air, the water, the upper layers of the soil and all living creatures on our
planet. The oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, the water in the lakes and rivers, and the
minerals in the soil together with the climactic characteristics of a region, determine the
presence and development of different plants and animals, which is called biological diversity
(biodiversity). It is easy to see how numerous and how different the plants and animals are
that have adapted themselves to the environmental conditions of the Earth.
An ecosystem is a unity of organisms that interact with each other and the environment.
Ecosystems are dynamic systems, in which the food and energy are in constant circulation
between the living organisms and the inanimate nature. Urban areas are also ecosystems, with
organisms that are adapted to that specific environment. They also affect the natural cycles in
their vicinity. Human activities that take place in urban areas are the source of a good deal of
environmental harm to existing ecosystems.
Social development requires resources and energy. By resources people usually mean
what they get from the environment to satisfy their needs and wishes. In general, resources
are divided into renewable (their depletion is practically impossible) and non-renewable
(their availability is limited and their depletion is a matter of time).
Gradually and imperceptibly, consumption is becoming a significant part of people’s lives —
it occupies their time, financial resources and minds. That leads to further growth in the use
of natural resources and energy, as well as in further pollution of the environment.
Societies are structured in such way that they can provide goods,
living space, jobs and entertainment. In order to meet people’s
demands, our modern societies place enormous pressure on
the Earth’s resources and ecosystems, whose capacities are
essentially finite.
Today as never before, the Earth’s civilisation is faced with the
challenge of improving people’s lives while conserving natural
resources. Both goals must be met in the context of a world with
growing population and ever-increasing demands for food, water,
shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.
One of the most powerful tools for helping our societies to reach sustainable development
is education. A more specific role for educators lies in teaching children about the connections
between environment and society: how they function, how they depend on each other, and
how they affect us. The seeds of understanding planted now will produce concerned citizens
in a generation’s time.
Lesson Plan: Everthing around us is connected
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
1-2 class periods
Any
The classroom, in the open
A student bag and its content
• To show and raise awareness about the connection of the things
around us
Discussion; brainstorming, game, dilemma solving
8
Green Pack Junior

Connections
Part I: Life depends on . . . (Brainstorming)
1
Ask the students what they think the most significant factors are for the existence of life
on the Earth. Write their answers on the board.
2
Hand out the fact sheet Life Depends On . . . Have the students write in the names of
those things that are essential for life in the boxes at the top. Work toward the conclusion
that life is impossible without the sun, air, water, soil, food, and shelter. Discuss why other
objects are important in our lives, but are not essential.
Part II: My bag’s secrets (Demonstration)
1
Ask for a student to volunteer to take out and analyse
with the rest of the class the contents of a school bag.
Facilitate the analysis through guided questions.
2
Go
3
The
4
You
Example: There are a book, a pencil and a sandwich
in the bag. Give every child the student fact sheet
My Bag’s Secrets for individual work, and draw the
scheme for the sheet on the board.
through the objects of the bag and on the worksheet.
Discuss the questions below and have the students draw lines on the factsheet between
the six items in the boxes and the origins of the materials (the pictures in the middle).
• What is the school bag made of? (e.g. leather — connect the animal and the school bag
in the chart with an arrow);
• What else is necessary to produce a school bag? (e.g. energy, water — draw an arrow
from the school bag to the water and the town, where energy is provided);
• What is the book made of? (paper, which is produced from wood-pulp — draw an
arrow to the plants, water, energy)
• What is the pencil made of? (wood — draw an arrow to the plants, and (black) lead,
which is obtained from the soil);
• What is in the sandwich? (bread, meat, vegetables; water and energy for its production);
• What do the animals and the plants need so that they can exist? (air, water, soil, sun);
• You could elaborate by continuing the discussion with additional questions about the
discharge of waste during the production of these objects and where this waste goes.
students should realise that even the simple things around us are connected through a
complex network of links, and the basis of all of it is the need for air, water, soil, plants,
animals and energy.
could simplify the discussion by reducing the number of objects from the bag or
choose different examples, like: a T-shirt, a desk, chewing gum, etc. Another variant for this
activity is to hand out individual copies of the chart for each student and to organise an
open class discussion.
Part III: Things are interconnected (Discussion)
1
Hand out student fact sheet Trees from the Forest, and describe the following situation: in
order to build a new highway an old forest has to be cut down.
2 Discuss:
• How will the environment change if the trees are cut down?
• How will the felling of the trees influence the rest of the natural elements (animals,
plants, water, temperature, light, etc.)? The answer key is given in the grid on page 10.
Students should try to work out the answers and fill in the grid in the fact sheet.
Green Pack Junior 9

Connections
Factors Forest Clearing
Light Sparing, scattered Full, direct
Temperature Lower Higher
Humidity Higher Limited
Underground waters Closer to the surface Deeper
Strength of the wind Limited Unlimited
Animals
(birds, insects, etc.)
Plants
(bushes and grass)
Various animals
of the forest type
Various forest types
The forest animals either
move out or die; field-type
animals move in
The vegetation changes
3
Lead
the class to the conclusion that changes to the forest lead to other changes to nature
as well.
Part IV: Live picture (Game in the open)
In the open, the school yard or the park, ask the students to scatter. Tell them to stop in their
tracks and, with their eyes shut, to turn around several times. Before opening their eyes, students
place their hands in front of their faces, like imaginary cameras. When they open their eyes,
within 1 minute they “take a picture” of what they see, trying to remember as many elements
as they can and working out how these elements relate to each other (the bees, the butterflies
and the flowers, the birds and the trees, etc.). Organise group presentations of the “photos.”
Other activities
• Ask the students to draw pictures of their “live photos” taken in the open and try to find
more interrelations between the elements in them.
• Ask several volunteers to come to the front of the class, form a small group and discuss
the dilemma Let’s Build a Plant.
• Make copies of the test The Things Around and either give it as individual work to the
students or organise it as an open class activity, having stipulated non-verbal answers for
“true” or “false” (e.g. squatting, clapping hands).
• Make copies of the picture on page 128 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
10
Green Pack Junior

Connections
DILEMMA
Let’s Build a Plant
You are a businessperson. You have to take
a decision on whether to build a new factory.
It is important for you to consider:
• the cost of the land on which you are
going to build the plant and on the
machines which you will have to buy;
• whether enough resources and energy are
available for the plant;
• the impact of the plant on the air,
soil and water;
• whether the local vegetation and animals
will suffer;
• the impact and role of the plant for the
people in the nearby towns and villages;
• other factors.
1Life 2The 3Without 4Solar 5The 6Ecosystems 7The 8Elements 9People TEST
The Things Around
TRUE
FALSE
on Earth depends on the position of the Earth toward
the sun and the other planets in the solar system. ■ ■
air does not influence water or soil.
■ ■
water, all the life on Earth would die.
■ ■
energy is only important for plants.
■ ■
soil is constantly being created and destroyed.
■ ■
include the different organisms
and the environment in which they live. ■ ■
biosphere spreads across the whole planet.
■ ■
on each other. in nature are interrelated and depend
■ ■
are also part of the complex network
of interrelated things on Earth.
■ ■
Answer key: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. False 8. True 9. True
Green Pack Junior 11

Connections
FACT SHEET
Life Depends On . . .
Air
Cars
Mobile
phones
Food
Waste
Books
Water
Electricity
Money
Shelter
Clothes
Sun
12
Green Pack Junior

Connections
FACT SHEET
My Bag’s Secrets
Green Pack Junior 13

Connections
FACT SHEET
Trees from the Forest
Factors Forest Clearing
Light
Temperature
Humidity
Underground
water
Strength
of the wind
Animals
(birds, insects, etc.)
Plants
(bushes and grass)
14
Green Pack Junior

Atmosphere
The air surrounding the Earth is called the atmosphere. Clean air in the atmosphere has no
colour or smell, which is why we often forget it is there. We even say things like “The glass is
empty,” and “there is nothing in the corridor.”
What is air? It is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a number
of inert gases and some water vapour. There are some natural impurities in the air, like dust
and volcanic ash, as well as pollution from human activities.
Many people think that the sole value of the atmosphere is to
provide us with air to breathe, but there is more to it than that.
The atmosphere also:
• holds down the temperature on the surface of the Earth,
which makes it possible for the living organisms to exist.
• determines the climate of the Earth;
• filters much of the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, which
are harmful for people, plants and animals;
• dissipates the smoke and noxious gases released as a result
of natural processes and human activities;
• serves as a reservoir for various gases which sustain life;
• plays a major role in the natural water cycle;
• transmits sound waves, which makes hearing possible; and
• is the medium in which various smells and flavours spread, which is important for pollination
of plants and the orientation of the animals.
People use air in their daily lives. For example, compressed air is pumped into the tyres
to keep them inflated, and various machines are driven by it (e.g. for breaking concrete).
Mountain climbers and divers use compressed oxygen bottles when they climb high mountains
or dive deep underwater.
Green Pack Junior 15

Atmosphere
Plants and the animals depend on the gases in the atmosphere. Plants need carbon dioxide for
photosynthesis, after which they release oxygen, which, of course, is taken in by animals, who
then exhale carbon dioxide.
Nowadays the burning of fuel, the processing of waste, intensive agriculture, transport and
other human activities pollute the air. Polluted air harms human health, plants, animals and
natural habitats, and it can also bring about changes in the climate. Exhaust gases from
transport, for example, consist of more than 200 chemical compounds, most of them harmful
to human health and the environment.
Until recently, scientists believed that after their discharge into the atmosphere, the
concentration of pollutants diminishes to insignificant rates. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Depending on the atmospheric conditions, primary pollutants can stay in high concentrations
for a relatively long period of time near to where they have been discharged. Most of the bigger
particles subside in the immediate vicinity of the source of pollution. Some pollutants, however,
can have an impact not only on the local environment, but on regional and global scales as well.
The chemical substances suspended in the atmosphere are
considered pollutants when they are in abnormally high
concentrations, which can harm human health and the
environment. Common air pollutants include sulphur oxides
(SO X ), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), carbon monoxide (CO), lead,
dust particles and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The following air pollutants are considered noxious: metals and
metalloids (cadmium, mercury, arsenic), mineral fibres, dust, and
asbestos (which can be inhaled), inorganic gases (chlorine,
fluorides, cyanides, phosgene), organic substances (aldehydes,
aromatic and policyclic hydrocarbonhydrates, dioxins), and others.
One of the most dangerous things is the mist of dangerous gases called smog, which forms in
towns with heavy traffic when the sun shines brightly and there is hardly any wind.
Most atmospheric pollutants are harmful for people’s health, since they cause:
• inflammation of the eyes and of the respiratory organs;
• poisoning;
• allergies; and
• malignant or genetic mutations.
Lesson Plan: The air we can’t do without
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
2-3 class periods
Any
The classroom
Paper, scissors and felt pens in four colours (variants: note board and
chalk in four colours, or a children’s mosaic consisting of buttons or
pieces in various colours)
• To teach the basic components of the air
• To explain the importance of the atmosphere for the Earth
• To raise awareness that air should be kept clean
Association game, demonstration, discussion, brainstorming,
dilemma solving
16
Green Pack Junior

Atmosphere
Part I: Air can be (Association game)
On the board, draw several balloons and ask the students to come up with words to complete
the sentence: “The air can be . . . ” Answers may include: clean; transparent, warm; polluted; etc.
Part II: What is in the air? (Demonstration and discussion)
1
Start the lesson by asking the students how long a person can live without air. Have several
volunteers inhale deeply and hold their breath for about half a minute (as long as they can).
Let them explain to the rest of the class the way they felt at the end of the experiment.
2
Tell the class about the role of the atmosphere and what the air consists of, using the
information from the beginning of this chapter. Explain that you are going to create a
picture, which will show what air consists of.
3
Set
4
Lead
Variant 1: Use 104 circles cut out from paper in advance (78 yellow, 21 blue and the rest
multi-coloured).
Variant 2: Use coloured chalk or a children’s mosaic consisting of buttons or pieces in
various colours.
Arrange the 78 yellow circles and explain that they represent the nitrogen in the air. The
plants turn the nitrogen into solid compounds, called proteins, which are critial for other
living organisms.
• Add 21 blue circles, representing the oxygen in the air. All plants and animals need
oxygen to exist.
• Add one multi-coloured circle and explain that it represents a blend of carbon dioxide,
water vapour and inert gases. Carbon dioxide is extremely important for the growth of
plants. Water vapour becomes rain and snow, without which life on the Earth would be
impossible.
• Explain that nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapour and inert gases are the
natural components of clean air. Their availability in the air is in the proportions
represented by the hundred circles used so far.
• Ask all students to breathe in deeply, to hold their breath for half a minute and to
breathe out. Explain that the air they have exhaled has changed its composition. They
have consumed part of the oxygen in it, and they have exhaled carbon dioxide and
water vapour in its place. This can be illustrated in the following way: take away three or
four circles and replace them with three or four multi-coloured ones.
up a discussion:
• What would happen if we increased the number of the multi-coloured circles at the
expense of the blue ones? In nature this corresponds to increasing the proportion of
carbon dioxide and various other pollutants at the expense of oxygen.
(You could illustrate this by taking away three or four blue circles and replacing them
with three or four of various colours.).
• What air pollutants can students point out? (e.g. smoke from industrial plant chimneys,
the exhaust pipe gases from cars, smoke from fires)
• How will people and other organisms feel if the air is polluted? When have the students
been in similar situations? Encourage the children to share their stories. One example
might be a room full of cigarette smoke.
• Compare these stories to experiences and feelings in relation to the air during a walk in
the forest, the mountain or along the beach. Encourage students to elaborate on these.
the students to see that all life — people, animals and plants — need clean air for good
health and quality of life.
Green Pack Junior 17

Atmosphere
Part III: The importance of the atmosphere for the Earth (Discussion)
1
Ask the question: Why is air important for the Earth and the living organisms on it?
Write the suggestions on the board. Complete the students’ answers using the texts
in the introductory part.
2
Describe what the Earth would be like without the atmosphere. Help the students to see that
without the atmosphere the Earth would be radically changed and life would be impossible
(much colder, no air to breathe, photosynthesis and burning processes made impossible,
drastic climate change, no sound or smells, etc.)
3
Hand
out the factsheet Why the Earth Needs its Atmosphere. Have the students write the
answers in the boxes.
Part IV: Indoor air quality (Discussion)
1
Explain to the class that:
• Very often the public’s attention is focused on the purity of the air in the open, while
the quality of the air indoors is underestimated or neglected. Scientists claim that
sometimes the air indoors can prove to be much more polluted than outside, even in
industrial cities. Moreover, people nowadays spend more time indoors. Clean air is
very important for children. The volume of the air which they inhale, compared to their
body weight, is bigger than that of adults. Their risk of accumulating dangerous
substances in their body is therefore much greater.
• Spending a long time in front of the TV screen or the computer monitor can have
harmful side effects, and talking on mobile phones may be even worse. These activities
can lead to exhaustion, headaches, eyestrain, and in more severe cases it can cause
cancer, disturbances in the immune system and behaviour, as well as many other health
problems.
• For children, who are in the process of growth, the risk for such diseases is greater.
Scientists suppose that the reasons for all of this are the electromagnetic waves emitted
by the computer monitor or the TV screen, and they affect the mechanisms of the
growth of cells. A similar health risk can be talking on mobile phones, which also emit
electromagnetic waves.
2
Hand out copies of the fact sheet How to Protect Yourself from Electromagnetic Waves
and discuss together with the children the healthy ways to use computers, televisions and
mobile phones.
3
Mention to the students that there has been evidence, provided by the scientists, that the
prolonged carrying of mobile phones by boys near the groins puts them at serious danger
of reducing their fertility in the future.
Other activities
• Hand out copies of the test Do We Know Air? and have the students do it individually.
• Hand out copies of the pupil fact sheet Maintaining Healthy Air Inside Your Home
on page 7 and have the students do it individually.
• Ask several volunteers to form a small group and to discuss the dilemma in The Violator
in front of the others.
• Ask the students to present in drawings the importance of air and what the Earth would
be like without an atmosphere. Set up an exhibition.
• Make copies of the picture on page 129 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
18
Green Pack Junior

Atmosphere
DILEMMA
The Violator
Imagine that you are an important person
in your town. One day you are driving your car
and the police stop you. They test your car and
find out that it is polluting the environment.
They give you a ticket and say you have to pay
a fine. What do you do?
• Call some people who know the mayor and
tell them to cancel the ticket.
• Sell the car.
• Try to change the law so that your car is
now okay.
• Pay the fine and do your best to avoid the
police in the future.
• Pay the fine and have the car repaired.
• Something else.
1The 2The 3Oxygen 4When 5The 6Industrial 7The 8Electromagnetic 9Without TEST
Do We Know Air?
TRUE
FALSE
planet. atmosphere is the “warm blanket” of the
■ ■
atmosphere is the layer around the Earth
in which the weather is formed.
■ ■
is the most common gas in the atmosphere.
■ ■
we breathe, we inhale carbon dioxide.
■ ■
oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air are in
constant rotation due to the plants and the animals. ■ ■
plants and transport vehicles
■ ■
are the biggest polluters of the air.
safe for people.
life and well-being of organisms
depend on the state of the air.
■ ■
waves are completely
■ ■
air, the Earth would be a desert planet.
■ ■
Answer key: 1. True 2. True 3. False 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. True 8. False 9. True
Green Pack Junior 19

Atmosphere
FACT SHEET
Why the Earth Needs its Atmosphere
Only six of the statements listed below are true about the atmosphere.
Write the correct answers on the shield.
makes our weather and
climate possible
provides people with
natural gas
is the media where
photosynthesis takes place
provides people with
building materials
plays a key role in the
water cycle
allows burning
to take place
makes breathing possible
spreads
smells and sounds
is the environment
for all living species
20
Green Pack Junior

Atmosphere
FACT SHEET
How to Protect Yourself from
Electromagnetic Waves
Spending a long time indoors at home, in front of the computer or the TV and making long
mobile phone calls can be dangerous for human health. Precautious and sensible attitudes
are extremely important. Here are several simple ways to reduce the risks to your health:
Watch TV from at least 2 metres away.
Sit at least 50 cm from your computer monitor.
Use safe screens or protective glasses when you work on the computer.
Do not spend longer than four hours daily in front of a computer and
take a ten-minute rest every half an hour.
Do not make long calls on the mobile phone and avoid using it in closed
iron-concrete or metal rooms (including cars).
Regularly air the room in which you study.
Take more walks in the open.
Green Pack Junior 21

Atmosphere
FACT SHEET
Maintaining Healthy Air
Inside Your Home
Don’t smoke.
Clean and air the rooms regularly, even in winter.
Grow plants, which reduce the concentration of harmful substances
in the air indoors.
Limit the use of chemicals at home.
If possible, replace wall-to-wall fixed carpets of artificial material
with ones made of natural materials.
All kinds of household chemical materials should be kept in a place
suitable for the purpose.
22
Green Pack Junior

Water
Water is a unique component on our planet. It is also a product that is managed and sold,
and as such it is the subject of various economic interests as well as complex social interrelations.
The majority of the Earth surface is covered by water, which is why it is known as the
“Blue Planet.” Unfortunately, 97 percent of the water on the Earth is salty and cannot be used
directly by people. The remaining 3 percent is fresh — meaning essentially “unsalty” — and is
found in rivers and lakes, under the surface of the earth, in live organisms, and in glaciers on
the poles and high up on mountains. According to research, only 1 percent of the whole
amount of water on our planet is being used by people.
Physical and chemical characteristics of water
• Water is both simple and complex. The water molecule consists
of just three atoms: two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen,
but this structure turns it into a molecule of magical properties.
• Water molecules are attached to each other, creating hydrogen
bonds. These strong bonds determine almost every physical
characteristic of water and many of its chemical properties.
• Water is the only substance present in nature in three forms:
solid, liquid and gaseous.
• Pure water at sea level boils at 100 degrees Celsius and freezes at 0 degrees.
At higher elevations, where atmospheric pressure is lower, water's boiling point is lower.
This effect explains why it takes longer to boil an egg at higher altitudes.
• Dissolving a substance in water lowers the water’s freezing point. This is well known to
people who, in order to prevent freezing in winter, scatter salt or add various substances
to water to wash car windshields and windows.
• Water is called the universal solvent. It can dissolve more substances than any other solvent.
There is hardly a substance known that has not been identified as soluble in the Earth’s waters.
• Water molecules, as well as binding to each other, bind to many other substances,
such as glass, cotton, plant tissue and soil. This is called adhesion.
Green Pack Junior 23

Water
Significance for life
• Nearly all substances become heavier and thicker
when converted from a liquid to a solid state.
Water, however, increases in volume and becomes
lighter when it turns into ice. This property is of vital
importance for sustaining life in basins during winter.
• A drop of rainwater falling through the air dissolves
atmospheric gases. When rain reaches the Earth,
it affects the quality of the land, lakes and rivers.
• Water can store huge quantities of energy, which can
turn oceans, seas and lakes into giant heat reservoirs. This particular property influences
climates in areas situated near water basins. It is also due to its energy-retaining quality that
water is widely used for cooling and transferring heat in thermal and chemical processes.
• Water-surface tension is a measure of its surface-film strength. The attraction between water
molecules creates a strong film, which among other liquids is surpassed only by mercury.
This surface tension permits water to hold up substances heavier and denser than itself.
Some aquatic insects, such as the water spider, rely on surface tension to walk on water.
• Water surface tension is essential for the transfer of energy from wind that creates waves.
Waves are necessary for rapid oxygen diffusion in lakes and seas.
• In a thin glass capillary, for example, when molecules at the edge reach for and adhere
to the molecules of glass just above them, they tow other water molecules at the same time.
The water surface, in turn, pulls the entire body of water upward until the downward force
of gravity is too great to be overcome. This process is called “capillary action,” and it allows
a sponge to be used to soak up spilled water. Without this property, the nutrients needed
by plants and trees would remain in the soil.
• A large percentage of our blood is water. People must exchange about two litres of water
per day in order to regulate their body temperature.
Water resources
• Places where water is preserved on land are called water basins. Fresh water can be found in:
– rivers, lakes, puddles (surface water);
– animal bodies, plant stems, fruits and leaves; and
– under the surface of the earth (underground water).
• The differences in river flow regimes are apparent in western Europe (where flows are at
a minimum in summer and late autumn), mountain-fed catchments (where flows are
greatest in summer), and eastern and northern Europe (where most runoff occurs during
the spring-melt period).
• Many European and Asian river flow regimes are heavily affected by human activities
such as water abstraction and damming.
• Underground water is not well explored and is still a challenge for scientists.
Human interference
• Water is used for irrigation in the agricultural sector, for
industrial purposes, as a heating or cooling element in
industrial production as well as for daily purposes: drinking,
personal hygiene, cleaning, leisure, etc.
• According to the European Environment Agency, in Europe
roughly 33 percent of water abstracted for human use is
intended for agriculture purposes, about 29 percent is for use
in power station cooling towers, and about 25 percent is for
household use (such as taps and toilets). The remaining
13 percent is consumed in manufacturing.
• There are various ways in which people damage the water reservoirs or pollute water:
– Dumping rubbish into a body of water decreases water quality and destroys
aquatic ecosystems.
– Agricultural activities such as the dispersion of pesticides, fertilisers and other chemical
products cause significant air and water pollution.
24
Green Pack Junior

Water
– Building a bridge or correction of a river’s bed may
cause changes in the river flow or the underground
water level.
– Extraction of sand and rubble from a river destroys
the river’s banks and increases sedimentation.
– Industrial water discharge in a river without (or with
inefficient) wastewater treatment is harmful to aquatic
flora and fauna and affects human health.
– Large animal concentrations in intensive pig
and poultry farms release a great deal of waste.
Discharging this waste into a river without proper
treatment can cause death to aquatic flora and fauna
and affect human health.
– Spills of petroleum-products and chemicals destroy aquatic ecosystems.
– Rivers are often polluted by sewage and land runoffs.
– Many towns do not posses wastewater treatment facilities. Direct wastewater discharges
into rivers destroy aquatic ecosystems.
Lesson plan: Sacred water
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
1-2 class periods
Any
The classroom
The Water Cycle pupil fact sheet, note board, a glass of
drinking water, a glass capillary, a pot filled with water, a sponge,
a carnation, ink
• To teach nature’s water cycle
• To teach the properties of water and its significance to
living organisms
Demonstration, lecture, discussion, individual work, dilemma solving
Part I: Water cycle
1
Bring a glass of drinking water. Ask someone from the class
to take a drink from it and say how old they think water is.
Explain to the class that water is approximately 4.5 billion
years old (the same age as our planet) and is in constant
circulation between the Earth and the atmosphere.
The sun and the wind make water evaporate from the soil,
plant leaves, animal bodies, and from the surface of rivers,
lakes and oceans. In this way water turns into vapour.
Under certain circumstances the vapour condenses
and falls back to the earth in the form of rain or snow.
Some of the water reaches streams and rivers, often
picking up other materials on its way during its flow.
The rain replenishes the rivers and lakes. The rivers in turn flow into the oceans.
Part of the rain falls through the soil and becomes underground water.
2
Hand out The Water Circle pupil fact sheet and together with the students fill in the names
of the various stages of the water circle.
Green Pack Junior 25

Water
Part II: Water: a unique component on our planet
1
Tell the students about some of the unique properties of water and its significance to living
organisms by discussing the following questions (use the information from the beginning
of this chapter):
• How many different physical forms can water exist in? Give examples.
• Why does ice form on the surface of water basins?
What is the significance of this property for sustaining life in winter?
• Water can dissolve many substances. Give examples.
• The various substances dissolved in water lower its freezing point. Why doesn’t sea and
ocean water freeze in winter in the moderate geographical latitudes? What is dissolved
in it? Give other examples of preventing freezing in winter from domestic life.
• Water can store enormous amounts of energy. Why are winters milder near the sea, and
the summers cooler as compared to the mainland? Give examples from your country.
• Why are waves formed on the surface of water bodies?
Where do hurricanes and typhoons start?
Give examples of such phenomena from your country
or in the world.
• Demonstrate the “capillary action” of water with
a suitable glass capillary, mopping up the water with
a sponge or putting the stem of a white carnation into
water with ink in it (the latter demonstration takes
longer). Explain the significance of this property of
water for plants. What else goes up with the water?
2
Explain that water is everywhere. Hand out copies of the pupil fact sheet How Much Water
is There In … Have the students follow the lines to learn how much those particular objects
are made of water. Discuss the results.
Lesson plan: Water and people
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
3-4 class periods
Any
The classroom
1-litre bottle, the test Do You Know Water? the fact sheet
The Water I Use…, 2 plastic cups, a long needle,
a nail, cellophane tape, a timer (stop watch)
the fact sheet Sources of Water Pollution, A4 drawing paper, paints,
felt pens
• To help students to see that in their daily routine they can conserve
a lot of water
• To show students that they can save water with small changes in
their hygienic habits
• To acquaint students with the various sources of river pollution
• To seek ways to protect the purity of water basins
Lecture, discussion, test completion, individual work, brainstorming
Part I: The dowsers
1
Present to the students Part 1 — A terrible morning, of the story in the fact sheet
The Dry Spring.
26
Green Pack Junior

Water
2
Discuss with the class:
• Why do the villagers have to leave the village? Why is water necessary in people’s
everyday lives (for their personal needs: drinking, cooking, personal hygiene, cleaning,
washing, water entertainment, etc; and for economic purposes: watering crops,
producing various goods and offering services, for transport)? Write the answers on the
blackboard or on a flipchart. Let the students name various examples of water use.
• Discuss why the elders in the village chose dowsers for the important mission of finding a
new place to settle. Explain that in historical perspective all settlements of the people have
always been linked to water and have always been near to water (seas, rivers, lakes, etc.).
3
Explain that you have to work out the quantity of water each of us needs. To do this,
first show the students a plastic or glass bottle of 1 litre. This will make it easier for them
to imagine the daily need of different quantities of water. Hand out copies of the test
How Much Water is There In..., and after they have completed it, give them the key
and discuss the following questions:
• How many litres of water does the average European consume each day? (80-110 l);
• In which cases is water absolutely necessary? (for drinking and for food);
• In which cases can water be used more sparingly?
4
Give the students Part 2 – The new place, from the fact sheet The Dry Spring
and comment on what the villagers could choose to do. Ask the children to advise
the elders about various ways in which they could save water.
5
Explain that prudent use of water is important because the world
is facing a global water crisis. Talk about cases in which water
can be used more sparingly. Ask students to come up with
their own ideas for saving of water in the following cases:
• preparing food and washing food products;
• washing up the dishes;
• machine washing of clothes;
• watering the garden;
• washing the car.
6
Give several examples using the information in the fact sheet The Water I Use.
Hand out copies of the fact sheet and ask the students to prepare homework on
their own plans for saving water, which they should discuss with their parents.
Part II: A bit of personal hygiene
1
Explain to the class that with some small changes of behaviour, or with various technical
devices, everybody can save water in their daily cleaning habits. Tell the class that you are
going to prove this with the help of a demonstration and a mathematical problem.
2
Demonstrate the following experiment:
• Take two identical paper or plastic cups and make the same number of holes
in their bottoms (five or six). Use a big needle for one of the cups and a comparatively
big nail for the other.
• Stick some cellophane tape to the outside of the cup bottoms.
• Ask two volunteers to fill the cups with the same quantity of water.
Afterwards, simultaneously take away the tape from their bottoms. Students watch
how long it takes for the water to pour out. Repeat the experiment several times
to see the same thing happening again. You could use a stopwatch (timer) to give
the experiment a touch of science.
• Tell the students that this represents a simple way to save water in the shower.
Nowadays the market offers a rich variety of shower heads, with different functions,
and some of them save water in exactly the same way. Tell students to give “expert”
advice to their parents when they decide to buy a new shower for their bathroom.
Green Pack Junior 27

Water
3
Illustrate
the following mathematical problem
• Ask the students how many times they brush their teeth
each day. Ask a volunteer to go to the sink and show how
this is done. (Note: in case there is no running water in
the classroom, the student can explain the procedure).
• Set up a discussion on the possibility to have another,
more economical way for brushing one’s teeth.
The brusher turns on the tap only when they have to rinse
the brush or their teeth, and turns it off while brushing.
• Tell the class that at first impression this more economical
way does not seem to have a significant water saving effect. However, in reality,
if everybody practices this small change of behaviour, it can have an enormous effect.
To convince the doubters, ask the class to solve the following problem:
Imagine that everybody in your family brushes his or her teeth with the water running
the entire time. After you tell them how that you can all save water, they agree to change
their habits and let the water run only when they rinse their brushes and teeth.
The parameters of the experiment include:
• Your family consists of five members.
• Every family member brushes their teeth twice daily.
• Tooth brushing usually takes about 3 minutes, and the average flow of the water
is 2 liters per minute.
• The alternative, water-saving method saves 1 litre per person.
Ask the students to calculate:
a) The volume of water used by the family when letting the water run continuously.
b) The volume of water used by the family using the alternative method.
c) The volume of water that can be saved for a day by your family.
d) What would happen if 100 families from your town followed this example?
Key:
a) 3 x 2 x 2 x 5 = 60 litres per day
Explain to the students that if this is done for one year the result will be:
60 x 365 = 21,900 litres;
b) 1 x 2 x 5 = 10 litres per day
Explain to the students that if this was done for one full year, the result would be:
10 x 365 = 3,650 litres;
c) 60 litres – 50 litres = 10 litres per day
Together calculate the water saved by a family for one year (18,250 l).
For convenience, round off the figure to 20,000 litres or 20 cubic metres per family.
d) 50 litres x 100 = 5,000 litres per day
Together calculate the water saved by 100 families for one year
1,825,000 l (1,825 cubic metres) or, if you choose to round off, about 2,000 cubic metres.
Explain that with 2,000 cubic metres of water you could fill an Olympic size swimming
pool (50 m x 20 m x 2 m).
Part III: Our river
This activity can be done with the class as a whole, or in groups if the class is large.
1
Make enough copies of the factsheet Sources of Water Pollution so that after cutting out
the separate pictures there is one per student. Give each student a picture and ask him or
her to draw part of the river on an A4 sheet of paper and write the source of the river
pollution on it. Arrange the sheets horizontally. Tell the students to carefully read the text
beside the pictures, which should stimulate them to be creative in their drawings illustrating
the sources of water pollution.
28
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Water
2
When
3
Explain
4
Ask
all have finished, collect the drawings and explain to the class that with their work
they have covered a long part of the river, which is a centre of many human activities.
In their own way, each activity affects the river’s water. Put up the drawings on the note
board in a row, supposing that the river flows from left to right. Concentrate on the
polluters down the river. Ask each student to tell the class in what way their polluter
reduces water quality. Make the class see that all human activities along the river have
a negative impact on the quality of its water.
that for millions of years the river’s wildlife — both plants and animals —
have adapted to the natural conditions. When human activities change the environment
quickly, the wildlife does not have enough time to adapt and soon perhishes.
Remind the students that along with the rest of the living organisms, people also
depend on the purity of the river’s water, which they use for drinking, in their household,
in industry, farming and water entertainment.
students to give their suggestions for various activities aimed at protecting the river.
Make a list of the most appropriate ideas. Pay special attention to those closely connected to
daily habits and routines (dumping garbage or sewage in the river, damaging its banks, etc.)
Part IV: Princely tale
The story of The Little Prince was first published in 1943 and is the most famous book by
the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote it while staying in a New York hotel.
This timeless classic examines the profound and idealistic issues of life and love. In it
Saint-Exupery imagines he has crashed his plane in the Sahara Desert, where he meets a young
prince, who is from another world. Through their talks the author reveals his thoughts on the
insanity of mankind and the simple truths which people forget when they become adults.
More than 50 million copies of the novel have been sold all over the world.
1
Ask the students to make a short list of things that are important to them.
Have some of them explain their lists.
2
Read
the extract from The Little Prince on page 38 and ask the students to share
their impressions. Lead the discussion in the direction of the people’s habit of ignoring
the simple and beautiful things surrounding us, just because they consider them to be
too common and take their presence for granted.
Other activities
• Hand out copies of the test Do You Know Water? and have the students take it individually.
• Ask several volunteers to form a small group and to discuss the dilemma Drop by Drop
in front of the others.
• Find out about the water resources in your town or village, and in your country.
• Organise a Day of Water, and present your research. March 22 is a suitable day, since it is
the international World Water Day (observed after the initiative that grew out of the 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
• Find stories, poems and proverbs about water.
• Make copies of the picture on page 130 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
Green Pack Junior 29

Water
DILEMMA
Drop by Drop
You visit a friend and in the yard you see
that his father, a hose in hand, is about
to start washing the family car.
You decide to:
• offer to help him;
• suggest that using a bucket of water
and a brush to wash the car would
save a lot of water;
• suggest that the car be taken
to a carwash;
• say nothing, because you are shy
and besides you think it is none
of your business;
• do something else.
1Less 2On 3Water 4When 5Only 6It 7It 8The 9Without TEST
Do You Know Water?
TRUE
FALSE
than 50 percent of the surface of the Earth
is covered in water.
■ ■
Earth, water is available in two physical forms.
■ ■
can hold a huge amount of energy.
■ ■
various substances are dissolved in water,
the freezing point of the water rises. ■ ■
3 percent of the water that people use
■ ■
is of vital importance.
down.
is wise to use drinking water to water gardens
and wash down the pavement.
■ ■
is wise to use running cold water to cool things
■ ■
main polluters of water are industry and water transport.
■ ■
water the Earth would be a desert planet.
■ ■
Answer key: 1. False 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. False 7. False 8. True 9. True
30
Green Pack Junior

Water
FACT SHEET
The Water Cycle
Evaporation As water is heated by the sun, it evaporates
and rises into the atmosphere as invisible vapour.
1
Transpiration Water vapour is emitted from plant leaves by a process
called transpiration.
2
Condensation As water vapour rises, it cools and condenses.
It becomes a liquid again or turns directly into a solid (ice, hail or snow).
These water particles then collect and form clouds.
3
Precipitation Precipitation, in the form of rain, snow and hail,
comes from clouds.
4
Runoff Runoff is the visible flow of water into rivers, creeks and lakes
as the water stored in basins drains out.
5
Percolation Some precipitation and melted snow moves down through the
soil, percolates and infiltrates through cracks and pores in soil and rocks.
6
Groundwater Subterranean water is held in cracks and pores.
It can be tapped by wells.
7
Water table The water table is the level to which water rises in
an open well.
8
Green Pack Junior 31

Water
FACT SHEET
How Much Water is There In. . .
32
Green Pack Junior

Water
FACT SHEET
The Dry Spring
Part 1 – A terrible morning
One day the people in a small village woke up to find something terrible had happened.
The only water spring they had, which sustained the life of the village, had run dry.
The village elders got together and thought for a long time. They decided that they
had no other choice but to leave the village, which had been their home for ages.
They would have to settle somewhere else. They announced they would send
three dowsers to find a new place for their future village.
Part 2 – The new place
After a long search the dowsers came upon a place suitable for a new village.
The place was calm, the soil was fertile, but the spring they found was small and it
could only give each villager 150 litres of water per day. The dowsers came back home
and told the people what they had found. The elders gathered again and again began
racking their brains. What should they do? Could they get along with so little water?
Green Pack Junior 33

Water
FACT SHEET
The Water I Use
Personal hygiene
• Don’t leave the water
running while you are
brushing your teeth
or washing your
hands and face.
• Think what you would rather do:
take a bath (100-200 litres) or a
shower (about 80 litres).
• Don’t throw rubbish in the toilet.
Cleaning
• Before washing up,
scrape the scraps off
of the dishes.
• Don’t soak the dirty
dishes under running
water — fill the sink with water instead.
This saves 50 percent of the water
you need.
• Use the full capacity of the washing
machine.
• Pre-soak soiled clothes in a separate
washbasin with water and washing
powder.
• Use a bucket with soapy water to clean
the car and only use the hose at the end.
• Wash balconies while it is raining.
• Use a broom to remove fallen leaves
instead of a hose.
Cooking/drinking
• Put the plug in the
sink when you wash
fruit and vegetables.
• Don’t chill food or
drinks with drinking
water.
• If you want to have colder water
from the tap, don’t wait for a long time
for the water to run until it is cold,
but rather keep a bottle in the fridge.
Irrigation
• Don’t use drinking
water to water the
garden — use a
well or rain water
collected in advance.
• Water houseplants with water you
had used to rinse clothes or dishes.
• Avoid watering when it is windy
or hot, which is when water
evaporates fastest.
• Use drip, which irrigation saves
a great deal of water.
• Cover watered areas with straw
or leaves to limit evaporation.
34
Green Pack Junior

Water
FACT SHEET
Sources of Water Pollution
Ships, motorboats and jet-skis
Water sports pollute the water with oil and petrol.
Fertilisers and agricultural chemicals
Fertilisers and pesticides pollute lakes and rivers when water
washes soil off of farmland.
Animals and farms
Waste from farm animals often ends up in water bodies
without being properly treated, killing plants and animals
and harming human health.
Sewage water
Wastewater treatment centres can cause water pollution
if they are not operating properly.
Litter on beaches
Poorly regulated beaches can quickly fill up with rubbish.
Green Pack Junior 35

Water
FACT SHEET
Sources of Water Pollution (continued)
Changes to the riverbank
Building bridges and changing riverbanks can alter river flows
and groundwater levels.
Open mines and collieries
Extraction of sand and rubble from a river destroys
the river’s banks and increases sediment pollution.
Acid rain
Acid rain damages rivers, lakes and the fish and plants
that live in them.
Industrial discharge in rivers
Industrial water discharge in a river with poor wastewater
treatment is harmful to acquatic animals and plants
and can harm human health.
Cars
People sometimes wash their cars next to a body of water
and dump the used petroleum products in it.
36
Green Pack Junior

Water
FACT SHEET
Sources of Water Pollution (continued)
Refuse dumps
Dumping rubbish into a body of water decreases its quality
and destroys acquatic ecosystems.
Building sites
The use of paints, oil and other chemicals at building sites
can pollute water bodies.
Poachers
Illegal fishing and hunting techniques can harm water quality
and destroys water ecosystems.
Military activities
Military activities can change the shape of the land
and cause severe pollution of water basins.
Heavy rains
Rivers are often polluted by sewage and land runoff
caused by heavy rains, floods and other natural disasters.
Green Pack Junior 37

Water
FACT SHEET
An Excerpt from The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The well that we had come to was not like the
wells of the Sahara. The wells of the Sahara are
mere holes dug in the sand. This one was like
a well in a village. But there was no village
here, and I thought I must be dreaming . . .
“It is strange,” I said to the little prince.
“Everything is ready for use: the pulley,
the bucket, the rope . . .”
He laughed, touched the rope, and set the
pulley to working. And the pulley moaned,
like an old weathervane which the wind has
long since forgotten.
“Do you hear?” said the little prince. “We have
wakened the well, and it is singing . . .”
I did not want him to tire himself with the rope.
“Leave it to me,” I said. “It is too heavy
for you.”
I hoisted the bucket slowly to the edge of the
well and set it there — happy, tired as I was,
over my achievement. The song of the pulley
was still in my ears, and I could see the sunlight
shimmer in the still trembling water.
“I am thirsty for this water,” said the little prince. “Give me some of it to drink . . .”
And I understood what he had been looking for.
I raised the bucket to his lips. He drank, his eyes closed. It was as sweet as some
special festival treat. This water was indeed a different thing from ordinary nourishment.
Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars, the song of the pulley, the effort of
my arms. It was good for the heart, like a present. When I was a little boy, the lights of
the Christmas tree, the music of the Midnight Mass, the tenderness of smiling faces,
used to make up, so, the radiance of the gifts I received.
“The men where you live,” said the little prince, “raise five thousand roses in the same
garden — and they do not find in it what they are looking for.”
“They do not find it,” I replied.
“And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water.”
“Yes, that is true,” I said.
And the little prince added:
“But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart . . .”
I had drunk the water. I breathed easily. At sunrise the sand is the colour of honey. And
that honey colour was making me happy, too. What brought me, then, this sense of grief?
Irene Testot-Ferry, translation
38
Green Pack Junior

Soil
The soil is the upper layer of the Earth’s surface and is the basis for terrestrial life on our planet. It is
thought of as a living system, because it is inhabited by a wide variety of living organisms and is in a
constant process of formation and destruction (erosion). The soil has a unique property — fertility.
Soil formation is a lengthy process. The soil can be seen as a complex formation resulting
from the permanent circulation of substances and energy between the living organisms
(plants, animals and microorganisms) and the non-living nature (rocks and minerals).
A 30-centimetre layer takes from 1,000 to 10,000 years to form. The process is so long that
the soil can be considered a non-renewable resource. Some 65 percent of the total surface of
the Earth’s continental area is covered in soil (about 14.8 billion hectares). Of this area, less than
one-third can be directly used for agricultural activity: pastures,
meadows and arable land.
The following factors influence soil formation: the proto-base,
living organisms (plants, animals, human activity,
microorganisms), climate, topography and weather.
Soil consists of four phases:
• solid — mineral and organic substances;
• liquid — soil solution;
• gaseous — soil air; and
• living — soil organisms (microorganisms, invertebrates and
burrowing vertebrates).
In the upper 30-cm layer of one hectare of soil there are about 25 tonnes of soil organisms
like bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and coleoptera. The organisms like snails, mice and earthworms
represent from 50 to 75 percent of the total weight of the living organisms in arable land. The
soil flora and fauna turn the organic matter into humus, which then combines with the mineral
mass. In addition, the worms create air pockets that are important for plant roots.
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Soil
The soil is an important part of all ecosystems. Unlike protecting the atmosphere and
the hydrosphere, however, the need to protect the soil has only recently been recognised.
Due to its static character the soil easily soaks in various harmful substances discharged for
various reasons in the environment. Since the decomposition period of these substances when
they are deposited in the soil is comparatively longer than when in the air or water, the problem
often remains hidden.
Unlike air and water, the soil can be private property, which makes its protection more
difficult, since it depends on the will of owners and managers.
The soil performs six different functions:
• It is the basis for biomass production and food for animals, people and trees. Also, the
decomposition of the dead plants and animals takes place in the soil.
• It filters, buffers and transforms. Soil purifies the underground water and acts as a natural
filter and stabiliser.
• It serves as a habitat and gene reservoir, as many plants and animals grow and live in the soil.
• It serves as a foundation for the homes, public buildings and roads that are built on it.
• It is a source of raw materials for building and furnishing, and for renewable sources of fuel
(e.g. straw, turf, wood refuse).
• It is a historical medium that preserves valuable historical and cultural heritage.
The layer of soil on the earth is diminishing and in many places its quality is deteriorating.
We need to do our best to stop the process of soil destruction, so that it can perform all its
functions. The most serious problems and threats to the soil are erosion, acidification, pollution,
compaction and salinisation.
About 75 percent of all soil on the planet has reduced productivity owing to insufficient
humidity and heat. One of the most disturbing facts is that, due to bad management, 5-7 million
hectares of fertile land is lost every year, which leads to the use of ever more natural land for
increased agricultural production.
More than any other time before, human society needs to target their efforts at protecting the
soil and preserving its fertility. It must diminish the negative impacts of human activities on the
soil qualities as much as possible.
Lesson plan: What do we know about soil?
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
2-3 class periods
Any
The classroom, in the open
Blackboard (flipchart), felt pens, chalk
Worksheets for colouring in
A big glass or plastic jar, pebbles, sand, leaves, artificial worms and
insects (can be made of paper), water, a big spoon, a magnifying glass
Soil gathered from different places; 3-4 laboratory glasses, a knife,
blotting paper or filter paper
• To acquaint the students with the soil and its basic functions and
characteristics;
• To visualise the components of soil
• To raise awareness that soil formation takes a long time
Discussion, experiment
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Soil
Part I: What is soil (Discussion)
1
On the blackboard write various words and phrases related
to soil, such as:
• upper layer, part of the Earth’s crust;
• covers the whole planet, covers the land;
• liquid, solid, live, fertile;
• complex mix of living and non-living nature;
• necessary, unnecessary.
Afterwards, ask the students to complete the sentences:
• The soil is .............
• The soil ...
• The soil is .........
2
Ask the students why the soil is so important for the Earth and what its main functions for
living organisms and people are. Write the answers on the blackboard or on the flipchart.
Facilitate by giving additional information from the introduction.
Part II: Let’s create soil (Experiment)
1
Explain to the class that many people think of soil as dirt that needs to be kept off their
shoes and washed from their hands. Ask the students what is in the soil. Add more
information using the information in the introduction. Explain that not all components of
the soil can be seen at first glance. Inorganic materials like pebbles, sand and clay are
mixed with organic matter and live organisms. There is also water and air mixed in. Pay
attention to three of the factors (climate, topography and time) that determine the
formation of the soil.
2
To
3
Emphasise
The climate plays an important part in the speed with which the processes in the soil
transpire. The warm geographic latitudes are favourable for soil formation. Topography
refers to the fact that if the land is in the mountain or in the plains, and whether the area is
sloped or level. Stemming soil erosion where the area is sloped is much harder. This is why
people consider soil protection in the mountains a major priority. Emphasise to the class
that soil cannot be formed by only mechanically putting together its components. Time is
needed as well.
prove this last point, make the following demonstration
with the assistance of some of the students:
• Put some pebbles, sand and clay in an empty jar. Mix
them well. Add some leaves and the artificial worms and
insects. Stir again. Add some water, but do not fill the jar
to the rim. Explain that in this mixture there is also air,
which is necessary for animals and plant roots. Ask the
class if they think this is real soil.
• Divide the class into groups and ask each group to dig
up and bring two or three handfuls of real soil. (This task
can be assigned in advance on the previous day to several volunteers.) Ask the students
to compare the soil that has been brought to class, and the one from the experiment.
Do this with and without the magnifying glass. Discuss the differences that can be seen.
that soil formation is a long process, which takes many years and depends on
the original base, the live organisms (plants, animals, human activity and microorganisms),
the climate, the topography and the weather conditions. Explain that all of these conditions
cannot be simulated in the classroom, and there would not be enough time anyways since
it takes 50 to 100 years to form 1 cm of soil layer. Lead them to the conclusion that the soil
should be valued and protected.
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Soil
Part III: Lets study soil (Experiment)
Explain to the students that soil has many properties, but today you are going to study three of them:
colour, humidity and density. For this purpose you will have to do the following research task:
1
Put in identical containers fresh samples of soil, taken from different places. Label the
containers and draw a grid on the blackboard, as shown below:
Soil Colour Humidity Density
No. 1 – From the school yard
No. 2 – From the woods
No. 3 – From a farm
No. 4 – ….
2
The
colour of the soil depends on the presence of various chemical compounds and water.
Regarding the chemical composition there are three basic colours:
• Black – due to the presence of humus;
• brown (red, rust-coloured) — due to the presence of ferrous compounds; and
• grey (whitish) — due to the presence of carbonates and silicates.
3
The
4
The
The proportion of the various compounds gives nuances of the basic colour. The more
humid soils always look darker. Write the study results in the first column.
humidity of the soil depends on the presence of water at the moment of description.
It can be rated roughly using blotting paper. Consider the following degrees of humidity:
• Dry soil — when touched it crumbles to dust and does not wet the blotting paper.
• Fresh soil — when touched it is cool, but does not wet the blotting paper.
• Damp soil — when held in hand it forms a ball and wets the blotting paper.
• Wet soil — when held in hand it drips water and is sticky.
Identify the humidity of the soils and fill in the results in the second column.
density of the soil can be rated using a knife.
Consider the following degrees of density:
• Very dense — the knife cannot penetrate the soil.
• Dense – the knife penetrates the soil with difficulty.
• Rather dense — the knife penetrates the soil comparatively easily.
• Loose – the soil crumbles easily.
Write the study results in the third column.
Explain that there are hundreds of soil types in the world and that their names often relate
to their colour, e.g. black earth, grey forest, brown forest, etc.
Other activities
• Hand out copies of the test What Do We Know about Soil? Ask the students to do it as an
individual task.
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Soil
Lesson plan: Soil and people
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
3-4 class periods
For the experiment: 10 minutes daily for 2 or 3 weeks, followed by
discussion for 1 class period
Any time
For the experiment: preferably, during a warmer part of the year
The classroom, the school lab
An apple, a pocket knife
For the experiment: a plastic bag, a magnifying glass, a thermometer,
stickers, little pieces of scrap (metal, chewing gum wrapping, a plastic
coffee cup, an empty soft drink can, a piece of cotton cloth, a piece
of glass, a piece of paper, a banana peel), some garden soil
Fact sheets for colouring
• To demonstrate that the amount of soil in the world is by no means
unlimited
• To demonstrate what can disintegrate naturally in the soil
• To raise awareness of the main factors endangering soil
Demonstration, experiment, discussion, brainstorming
Part I: How much soil is on the Earth? (Demonstration)
1
Begin the activity by asking the following questions:
• What do we all walk on daily when we go from home to school?
• When do we talk of soil and when of the Earth’s surface?
• Can we call the street “pavement soil?”
• Where can we find soil in a town?
2
Ask
Remind the students of the role the soil plays in feeding plants, animals and people and
of the importance of soil fertility.
the students if they think there is a lot of fertile soil in the world. After hearing their
suggestions, show the class an apple. Tell the students to imagine that it is a miniature
model of the Earth. Explain that with your next demonstration you are going to prove that
the fertile soil in the world is by far less than it seems:
• Cut the apple into four equal sections and put three of them away. Explain, that threefourths
of the Earth’s surface is taken by the seas and oceans, which is not land we can
use for traditional agriculture (though you may mention that there are ideas for it).
• Cut the fourth section into two and put away one half. Explain that this part of the
Earth is taken by deserts, where food crops cannot be grown.
• Cut the remaining eighth of the apple into four pieces and put away three of them.
Explain that the parts you put away represent the part of the Earth’s surface taken up
by rocks and stones — this land is not fertile.
• Tell the students that the remaining sector represents 1/32 of the Earth’s surface — the
portion that is considered fertile. Peel the skin of the sector explaining that this is
actually the upper layer — the soil, which feeds the plants and produces food for all
animals and people. Emphasise that building roads, houses and factories on fertile land
diminishes the amount of soil capable of supporting crops even further.
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Soil
Part II: What pollutes the soil?
1
Preparation: Organise and carry out the following
experiment with the students over the course of two or
three weeks:
• Fill two-thirds of a plastic bag with garden soil. Add small
pieces of scrap: metal, chewing gum wrappers, plastic
coffee cups, empty soft drink cans, a piece of cotton
cloth, a piece of glass, a piece of paper, and a banana
skin. Mix them well and pour water in the mixture. Close
the bag tight and put a sticker on it with an inscription of
what you have added to the soil and the date.
• Put the bag near the window in the sun (if you are doing the experiment during a
warm season of the year) or near a heater (but not on it) if it is winter.
• Every day for two or three weeks, examine and note down your observations about the
temperature, the smell, the outer appearance and the visible changes. If the soil in the
bag looks dry, add water.
2
Discussion: After two or three weeks ask students to analyse the changes you have
observed and to prepare short reports answering the following questions:
• Can you see any organisms in the mixture?
• What changes of temperature did you observe during the experiment?
• Which scraps changed and which look the same as before?
3
Determine which scraps can be assimilated by the soil and which remain unchanged.
What other kinds of scrap, in the students’ opinion, would not be broken down by the soil?
4
Encourage the students to share personal experience and impressions from pollution of the
soil with litter, waste and/or the use of fertilisers and chemicals in farming. Lead them to
understand that preserving the purity of soil is of vital importance for its properties and for
the aesthetic appearance of the environment.
Part III: What endangers soil (Discussion, brainstorming)
1
Ask the students to observe, after school, the soil pollutants in the schoolyard and in the
park when you go on an outing. On the basis of the experiment, have them analyse how
probable it is that the litter they see will be quickly assimilated by the environment. Make
short reports on their observations and read some of them to the class.
2
Hand out the worksheet What Endangers Soil? Together, discuss the main threats to the soil
(pollution, compaction under road and building construction, exhaustion, erosion) and their
impact on soil, on its fertility and the living organisms in the soil. Note that the state of the
soil is directly related to the other components of nature — air, water, living organisms — and
both depends on their condition and has its own influence on them at the same time.
3
Brainstorm possible measures which can be taken to protect the soil in the schoolyard, in
the park, at the farm, and other familiar outdoor areas.
Other activities
• Ask several volunteers to form a small group and discuss in front of the rest of the class the
dilemma The Garden in Autumn.
• Organise a clean-up of the schoolyard, the park or some other place.
• Ask the students to share what they have learned with their families. Tell them to make a
plan, together with their parents, about the proper treatment of household refuse (for more
details see the unit on Consumption) and about the protection of their garden soil.
• Study more extensively the various soils in your town or village and in your country.
• Make copies of the picture on page 131 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
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Soil
DILEMMA
The Garden in Autumn
One day you get home to find the whole
family in the yard gathering and throwing away
the leaves which had fallen from the trees.
You decide to:
• help with throwing out the leaves;
• suggest digging a hole and burying the
leaves there, where they will rot and thus
make your garden more fertile;
• agree that burning the leaves is a good idea;
• do nothing and watch TV instead;
• something else.
TEST
What Do We Know about Soil?
In the sentences below there are pairs of phrases in bold.
Cross out the one you consider wrong to make true statements.
1Soil covers / doesn’t cover all land on the Earth.
2A layer of 30 centimetres of soil needs 100-1,000 years / 1,000-10,000 years to form.
3The most important property of soil is its density / fertility.
4Living organisms do not take / take an active part in the formation of soil.
5Because of its stationary position and due to its composition,
soil holds / does not hold many pollutants.
6Human activities have a major favourable / unfavourable impact
on the state of soil nowadays.
7Burning stubble-fields after harvesting is good / not good for the soil.
8Using chemicals against pests pollutes / doesn’t pollute soil.
9The state of the soil depends / doesn’t depend on the state of the other elements
of nature — air, water and living organisms.
Answer key: 1. doesn’t cover 2. 1,000-10,000 years 3. fertility 4. take 5. holds 6. unfavourable 7. not good 8. pollutes 9. depends
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Soil
FACT SHEET
What Endangers the Soil?
Erosion — The fertile upper layer of the soil is good for farming, provides pasture for
animals and holds nutrients for plants. When the trees, bushes and grass are taken away,
the soil is unprotected and erosion begins. Erosion is the process of washing away of the
soil by water and, on a smaller scale, by wind. Soil erosion can result from any human
activity that exposes the soil to rain and wind. Agricultural activities like ploughing of steep
slopes, removal of the vegetative soil layer, neglecting terraces, and increasing the number
of grazing animals all make erosion worse.
Acidification — Depending on where it is, soil can have higher or lower levels of acid. The
plants that grow there are used to these levels, and so making the soil more acidic can
harm these plants. Human activities often put extra nitrogen and sulphur in the soil,
through air pollution, precipitation (acid rain) and fertilisers.
Pollution — In most cases soil is polluted by metals and their compounds, organic
chemicals, oils and tar, pesticides, explosives and toxic gases, radioactive or biologically
active materials, fuel and other harmful substances. These things most often come from
industrial and communal waste released into the soil.
Compaction — Soil is squeezed together as a result of repeated and continuous pressure
from heavy machines or of cattle on wet soil terrains.
Salinisation — Soil becomes overloaded with salt because of bad irrigation equipment or
direct sources of salt. The process is bad for the living things in the soil and the quality of
agricultural production.
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Energy
Energy is part of all human activities: it heats homes, makes cars move, cultivates land,
and makes machines do work. The intensive exploitation of the world’s energy resources over
the past few centuries has brought about an unprecedented rise of living standards. People
nowadays are so dependant on the use of energy that they can hardly imagine living without it.
There are various energy sources, but people are seldom aware of the fact that solar energy
is the original source of all energy in the world and therefore makes life possible today.
Solar radiation penetrates the atmosphere and heats the Earth. The Earth also radiates infrared
energy, which is invisible but also transforms into energy. Part of the heat is emitted and lost in
outer space. The remaining part of the reflected heat is absorbed and does not leave the Earth,
due to the gases in the atmosphere known as “greenhouse gases.” These gases are like a blanket
covering the Earth, and play a natural role in keeping the Earth warm. Other planets without
an atmosphere are much colder, and life as we know it cannot exist there.
Sunlight is a basic component in the process of
photosynthesis. It is very important for the existence of plant
and animal organisms. Regions with favourable light and heat
conditions usually feature a great variety of plants and animals,
and the people’s living is much easier.
Today, people use different types of energy sources:
• fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil);
• nuclear energy; and
• renewable energy resources (water, wind, geothermal
energy, biomass, etc.).
Energy production causes serious negative impacts on the environment. The burning of
hard and liquid fossil fuel is accompanied by the release of acidic gases, dust, soot and other
pollutants. Mining in open pits leads to changes and destruction of the natural landscape.
The operation of nuclear power stations carries risks, while the storage and treatment of nuclear
waste is still expensive and untested.
Green Pack Junior 47

Energy
The environmental impact of global ecological problems such
as acid rains and climate change have been studied for decades
now and are becoming better understood by politicians and
the public. These negative phenomena are caused to a great
extent by the process of energy production.
Although energy can be produced through “cleaner” techniques,
using renewable energy sources like the sun, the wind, warm
geothermal water or biomass, no method is harmless to the
environment, which is why one of the biggest challenges facing
us today is how to use energy more effectively in our everyday
lives, in industrial production and in rendering various services.
Lesson plan: Everything needs the sun
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
1-2 class periods
Any
Classroom
Various objects in the classroom, fact sheets
• To raise awareness that the sun is the main source of all energy
on Earth
Discussion, group work, brainstorming
Part I: Everything needs the sun
1
Ask the class what they think the role of the sun is in the existence of plants, animals
and people. Find examples from everyday life that illustrate the need and desire of living
organisms for sunshine (e.g. sunflowers turn towards sunlight; cats like basking in the sun;
people sunbathe when the weather is fine).
2
Remind the students that the sun is a star at the centre of our solar system. The Earth and
the other planets receive energy and light from it. Upon reaching the Earth, the solar
energy is transformed into various forms of energy, which is then used in many different
ways. Support your examples using the information from the introductory part.
3
Divide the class into groups of six or seven. Ask each group to choose a different object
in the classroom (for example, objects made of wood, glass, metal, paper, plastic, leather
and ceramics). Explain that every object needs energy to become what it is and to be
in the place where it is. At the origin of all forms of energy is the sun. Ask all groups to
brainstorm ideas for 10 or 15 minutes about the role solar energy plays in the process
of production of the various objects.
Example: A wooden table is made of wood and metal and is painted.
• Wood: First, trees need to grow, which is impossible
without sunshine. Cutting, transport and processing
of timber require energy. This energy is normally
derived from the burning of fossil fuel.
• Metals: Mining, transporting and producing metals
is impossible without the use of various machines
driven by energy. The machining of metal parts is done
with instruments and driven by electric power.
• Paint and varnish are usually obtained from petrol
products and their production requires electric power.
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Energy
4
Ask
• Fossil fuels (coal, petrol and natural gas) are obtained from underground, where they
have been resting for millions of years after being transformed from the plant and animal
organisms buried there in prehistoric times. The existence of these ancient plants and
animals would have been impossible without the sun.
• Electric power is most often obtained by burning fossil fuel or using the energy of water
as it travels downward from a higher point. Precipitation carries the water to this higher
point as part of the hydrological cycle, a process driven by the sun.
• Other sources of energy like wind generators or solar collectors also take energy
from the sun.
• The delivery of the wooden table to the school is carried out by transport vehicles,
which are powered by fossil fuels.
• The people who take part in all the stages of production and transport of the table
to the school receive energy from food. At the base of all food chains are plants that
derive energy from the sun via photosynthesis.
one of the groups to present to the class the results from the discussion.
Part II: Forms of energy
1
Hand out copies of the fact sheet Forms of Energy. Focus first on the top half of the
fact sheet, which deal with a standard sandwich.
2
Discuss the components of a normal sandwich. Try to trace the process of production
for each element and the energy used in these processes. Assist the students, if needed,
with the following additional information:
• The sandwich ingredients are bread, cheese
and tomato.
• Cereals grow in fields where the work is done
by machines that consume energy.
• Breadmaking includes several processes and each
of them requires energy, especially heating.
• Cheese is made from milk from domestic animals
(cows, sheep) after processing, made with the help of
machines and driven by energy, especially for cooling.
• Tomatoes grow and ripen owing to the sun; but their gathering and transport are done
with the help of machines that burn fossil fuels.
• People make sandwiches with energy that moves their muscles.
3
Look at the bottom half of the fact sheet Forms of Energy. Look at the different people
and ask the students to explain what the people are doing.
4
Discuss the following questions together:
• What happens to the energy, hidden in the firewood?
(the energy hidden in the burning wood is transformed into heat energy)
• What type of energy do the guitarist and the drummer use and what does it transform
into? (muscle energy is transformed into sound energy)
• How does the lantern give light?
(by transforming the energy hidden in the liquid fuel into light energy)
• How is food cooked?
(by transforming the energy hidden in the gas into heat, which helps food to cook)
• How does the child his way in the dark?
(with a torch — the chemical energy of the batteries is transformed into light energy)
• How does the biker start his motorcycle? (by transforming the hidden energy
in the petrol into mechanical energy, which drives the bike)
5
Try to think of an object which does not need energy.
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Energy
Lesson plan: How to conserve energy
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
2 lessons
Any
Classroom
Fact sheets Conservation of Energy, test What We Know about Energy
• To raise awareness and create skills for energy conservation
Sharing of experience, discussion, brainstorming
1
Begin
2
Explain
3
Go
the lesson by turning the light in the classroom on and off several times.
Ask the students if they think this activity in any way has an influence on the environment.
Explain that many people would think this is an odd question, since light at home is a
household matter. What happens at home can be hardly related to the environment.
that the production and consumption of electrical power result in an extraordinary
amount of pollution. The burning of hard and liquid fossil fuel is accompanied by discharges
of acidic gases, dust, soot and other pollutants. The operation of nuclear power stations
carries risks, while the storage and treatment of nuclear waste is expensive. Combustion
engines release burnt gases. Ask the students to give examples of pollution they have
witnessed caused by the production or use of energy (smoke from the chimneys of power
plants, gas from the exhaust pipes of the cars, smoke from the fireplace or stove at home).
back to the example of turning on and off the light in the classroom and explain that from
15 to 20 percent of the energy produced in the country is used for lighting. If every family
turned off one lamp at home for an hour it would lead to significant energy savings. This in
turn would mean less pollution of the environment and more money in the family budget.
4
To justify these savings, give the following example (simplify the example for younger students):
• Assume that there are 1 million families in your region.
• Imagine that every family turns off one lamp with a 100-watt bulb for one hour.
• This activity will save 100,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy and EUR 10,000
(price for 1 kWh = 0.1 EUR).
• This experiment would allow a small-sized power plant to stop working for one hour,
and stop polluting the environment for this time.
5
Hand out copies of the test What We Know about Energy. After the students have completed
it, give them the key and discuss the answers. Stress that the production and use of energy
have a serious impact on the environment. Everyone can help by using energy sparingly.
6
Divide
the class into four expert groups and give each group a different version of
the worksheets on How to Save Energy. Give the students 10 minutes to discuss the
specific information from the fact sheets on how power effectiveness could be improved.
After that a speaker for each group tells the class what simple changes in the daily routine they
suggest to conserve energy. Choose a fun way for the students to present the information,
such as telling stories, giving demonstrations, miming, interviewing, advertising, etc.
Other activities
• Ask several volunteers to form a small group and to discuss in front of the class the dilemma
How to Make Our Home Warmer.
• Ask the students to work out a plan for saving energy at home, which they have to discuss
with their parents. As follow-up ask for feedback from the discussion.
• Make a plan for energy saving in the classroom and do your best to follow it.
• Make copies of the picture on page 132 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
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Energy
DILEMMA
How to Make Our Home Warmer
Your family moves to a new home
which still needs finishing and furnishing.
One of your first tasks is to take care of
the heating and comfort. How would you
prioritise the following options:
• heating your home using electric appliances;
• heating your home with coal and wood;
• find ways to use natural gas in your home;
• improve the insulation of outside walls
and the windows;
• install solar panels on the roof;
• make sure all lights and electric appliances
have minimum consummation of power;
• other.
1Solar 2The 3We 4Burning 5Using 6Households 7Insulating 8Solar 9We TEST
What We Know about Energy
TRUE
FALSE
other energy sources.
the environment is solid fuel.
more than natural gas.
energy is the origin of all
■ ■
biggest power polluter of
■ ■
will never run out of coal.
■ ■
coal pollutes the environment
■ ■
renewable sources of energy speeds up the negative
changes in the climate.
■ ■
and families can save energy in simple
and easy ways.
■ ■
the home helps the environment.
■ ■
batteries and collectors will only be usable
in the distant future.
■ ■
should not put warm food in the fridge.
■ ■
Answer key: 1. True 2. True 3. False 4. True 5. False 6. True 7. True. 8. False 9. True
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Energy
FACT SHEET
Forms of Energy
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Energy
FACT SHEET
How to Save Energy — at Home
Put heat insulation on the outside of the walls of your house/flat.
Fill in the windowsill gaps.
Improve the heat insulation of the floor.
New buildings in cold climates should have large windows facing south
to get a lot of light and heat from the sun during the winter.
The overall effect of this will be a warmer home (by 4-7 degrees Celsius).
FACT SHEET
How to Save Energy — while Heating
Place heaters (radiators, stoves) under windows so that they can heat
the air as it comes in (saves up to 5% energy).
Use automatic thermo regulators, fixed permanently on appliances,
which maintains a constant temperature (you save up to 15% energy).
Replace all old and low-efficient heaters (you don’t have to replace
all at once) with more efficient models (you save up to 5-15% energy
compared with the energy before the replacement).
Green Pack Junior 53

Energy
FACT SHEET
How to Save Energy —
while Cooking and Cooling
A tightly closed oven door when cooking saves energy (5-7%).
When cooking in an oven its whole capacity should be used,
and when possible, cook several dishes immediately one after
the other to avoid pre-heating again.
Use pressure-cookers, which save energy (up to 20%) and time.
Use pots whose diameter at the bottom is equal to or bigger than the
diameter of the hot-plate (saves up to 15% energy)
The pots you cook in should have even and thick bottoms
(unevenness of just 1mm will cost 15% more energy).
Defrost the fridge regularly (saves 1-2% energy).
Do not put warm food or pots in the fridge (saves up to 5% energy).
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Green Pack Junior

Energy
FACT SHEET
How to Save Energy —
while Ironing, Cleaning and Washing
Use an iron with a regulator of the temperature (saves up to 5% energy).
Use steam irons (saves up to 10% energy).
Use the washing machine at its full capacity.
Use automatic washing machines — they are more economical both in
terms of water and energy. Always choose the most suitable programme
(saves up to 5% energy).
Clean the dust bag of the vacuum cleaner regularly
(saves up to 10% energy).
Replace broken hoses of the vacuum cleaners (saves 5-8% energy).
Green Pack Junior 55

Energy
FACT SHEET
How to Save Energy —
while Lighting
Decorate the walls in light colours
(saves 2 percent of the energy needed for lighting).
Plant trees at least 5 metres away from building walls.
Always keep windows clean (saves up to 1 percent energy).
Turn off lights when you don’t need them.
Have timers or movement sensors to control the outside light,
so that it turns off when it is not needed.
Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps. They are
extremely durable (lasting up to 10 times longer than the common bulb). The
replacement of a common 75-watt bulb with a 20-watt fluorescent lamp at 10
hours of work per day will reimburse the investment within less than a year.
Don’t leave electric appliances on standby. Appliances on standby use
power all the time even when they are turned off.
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
The living organisms on the Earth can be grouped in species. A species is a group of
organisms that are similar in outlook, way of living and behaviour. The organisms that reproduce
sexually must be capable of producing prolific numbers of offspring. At the end of the 20th
century, specialists had only examined and described a small part of all life — about 1.5 million
species. According to estimates from some scientists, there are 4 million to 5 million further
species, which remain unclassified, i.e. undiscovered and undescribed, while others believe there
are 30-40 million species living on our planet.
We all know that humans share the planet with several million
species of plants, animals and other organisms, collectively
referred to with the term “biological diversity” or “biodiversity.”
Biodiversity is defined as the most valuable natural resource
and is commonly accepted to consist of three components:
• Genetic diversity. All species on the Earth keep inherited genetic
information, a key to adaptability to environmental conditions.
In future, humans may be able to regenerate some extinct
species, if their genetic material is available.
• Diversity of species. A diversity of life forms have adapted to specific conditions of the
environment; over billions of years new species have formed, and those not managing to
adapt to the changing conditions have died out. Since the Proterosoic Era, life has developed
toward expanding diversity and we are living in a period of maximum biological diversity.
Each plant and animal species has its own environment from which it receives all necessary
conditions for existence: air, food, water, living space and shelter. When the environment
of an organism changes, it adapts, migrates or dies out.
• Diversity of ecosystems. This includes various bio-communities such as forests, deserts, fields,
rivers, seas and oceans. The inhabitants of an ecosystem interact both among themselves
and with the non-living environment. Ecosystems exist due to the diversity of species,
each species satisfying its needs for substances, energy and information while stimulating
the existence of other species. The richer in species an ecosystem, the more stable.
Green Pack Junior 57

Biodiversity
The term “biological diversity” is commonly used to refer to the diversity of species,
but its other two components — the genetic diversity and the diversity of the ecosystems —
should not be forgotten.
The countries richest in species are Brazil (the Amazon basin), Indonesia, the US, Russia
(Siberia), India and China.
Biodiversity in numbers
Number of species
Animal or plant species In the world In Europe
In your
country
Vascular plants 260,000 12,500
Fish – all species
freshwater only
20,000
8,400 334
Amphibian 4,000 75
Reptiles 6,500 198
Birds 9,600 514
Mammals 4,300 270
• Find the data for your country and complete the table.
The protection of biodiversity is not only necessary, it is also a very important condition
for the stability of natural systems, because only then will they be able to regenerate and develop.
Biodiversity preservation is important for:
• Natural systems that have the ability to maintain, protect
and evolve. Organisms fulfil a cycle of food and organic
substances. They take part in processes in the atmosphere
and in the water cycle; they also influence the behaviour
of natural elements. Water organisms purify water,
predators ensure natural control of pests, and insects
are the main pollinators of plant life.
• People who make use of provisions (food, wood, fabrics),
raw material, chemicals and medicine, maintain human health
and satisfy the needs of Earth’s growing population.
In nature, extinction of species is a natural process. Investigation of fossils has shown that,
over the course of millions of years, species may die out at a rate of one to three per year.
Contemporary estimates show that today several thousands of animal and plant species
are becoming extinct every year, a reason for serious concern. Three-quarters of all known
bird species and one-quarter of all known mammal species
are currently thought to be in danger of extinction.
Some of the most serious reasons for the manifold rise in
the species extinction rates are pollution resulting from economic
development; excessive use of fertile soil; sharp increase
in agricultural activity; development of transport; and expansion
of cities. In other words, insensitive and imbalanced human
activities can immediately influence biodiversity directly
by destroying animal and plant species themselves or indirectly
by destroying their habitats.
Contemporary values say that reduction of biodiversity is contradictory to the idea of
harmonious and sustainable development of contemporary society. This is why, on a worldwide
scale, measures are suggested to remove the causes leading to a decrease of biodiversity.
Their realisation in practice can be achieved through mobilising significant material, financial
and human resources.
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
Lesson plan: The plants and animals around us
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
3-4 class periods
Any
The classroom, in the open
Blackboard (flipchart); flipchart with several habitats marked on it;
colour chalk or pastels, Worksheets
• To teach the meaning and the significance of biological diversity
and its role for people and nature
• To raise awareness about the notions of ecosystem and food chain
Associations game, discussion, game in the open
Part I: Biodiversity
1
In advance, draw the following on the board: forest, represented by a few trees; meadow,
by grass and bushes; the water basin, by a river or lake; and a house with a yard.
2
Hand out the worksheet If I Were . . . and ask the students to complete the following:
If I were a plant, I would be a .................................., because...........................
If I were an animal, I would be a .................................., because............................
Every student should choose a water or land animal and plant.
3
Show the illustrations prepared in step 1, explaining that these are various habitats.
Every student tells the class what plant and animal he or she has chosen. Have each
student place his or her worksheet on the illustration most likely to serve as habitat for
his or her choices. Ask the students if they know other plants and animals which live in
these habitats, adding these to the illustrations.
4
For advanced students, ask four volunteers to present
information from the Basic Organisms and their Significance
worksheet in front of the class. Discuss with the class whether
plants, animals, bacteria and fungi can be found in the four
habitats mentioned above. Add the names of the main
groups of organisms if they have not already been included.
5
Discuss with the class what these plants and animals need
to survive (air, water, light, food, heat, space, shelter).
Write the suggestions on the blackboard or flipchart.
Conclude that the environments — water, land, soil, or, in the
case of parasites, other organisms — where species live can vary and that they get all
they need to survive from their environment.
6
Give more information on biological diversity, its three components, and the importance
of its protection. The information in the introduction may be used for the purpose.
Part II: Why are plants and animals important?
1
Ask the students to consider the plants and animals they chose in the previous activity.
Tell them that you are going to discuss why these life forms are important for nature
and people. Hand out the worksheet We Can’t Do without Plants and Animals to fill in.
Green Pack Junior 59

Biodiversity
2
When
3
Discuss
the students have finished filling in the worksheets, ask some to show the class what
they have done. Have the students look around and identify objects of plant or animal
origin (pencils, paper, furniture, clothes), and ask them to think what they had for breakfast
or lunch. Ask them what plants or animals they keep at home, and why and where their
families go for holidays or at the weekends. Summarise the results.
the question: Are there harmful plants and animals in nature?
Come to the conclusion that every organism is important in nature, and that usefulness
and harmfulness are relative notions usually described in reference to people.
Part III: My plant is
1
Take the students outside, into the schoolyard or the park, and ask them to scatter
in search of plants — each child should look for a plant which she or he likes best.
Without picking it, the child should look at it carefully, touch and smell it and then
tell the group about it, by describing the following about it without saying its name:
• My plant lives in ..................................
• My plant is ..................................
(a peculiar characteristic — height, blossoms, fruit, smell, bark, etc.)
• My plant is important because ..................................
(it makes a shade, is beautiful, can be eaten, etc.)
2
The rest of the class guess the plant by its description. If they find it difficult, they may ask
Yes/No questions.
Part IV: The food chain
1
Explain the food chain to the class using the information given in worksheet The Ecosystem
and the Food Chain, and on the board draw a graphic similar to the illustration on page 70
for the current activity.
2
Ask seven students to be volunteers. Have them choose the roles of plants and animals, for
example cabbage, carrot, wheat, apple, mouse, rabbit and hawk. (One possible variant is to
have the roles written on role cards in advance so that the volunteers can draw their roles.)
3
Ask the “plants” to get into pairs and hold their wrists to make a “basket”.
Explain that they are the producers in nature and as such they form the first level of the
chain. Ask the two pairs to stand facing each other.
4
Explain that the rabbit and the mouse form the second level of the food chain and
are called primary consumers because they feed on plants. Ask them to stand in a way
that they form a “basket” by holding on to one another’s wrists.
5
Ask the “hawk” to take his place in the food chain by sitting in the “seat” made by
the mouse and the rabbit. Explain that this bird belongs to the group of the secondary
consumers, because it feeds on the animals it catches every day.
6
Discuss with the class the following issues:
• What would happen if there aren’t enough volunteers to play the roles of the plants?
(In nature this would mean that a great deal of the plants — grass, bushes, forests —
have been destroyed.)
• What would happen if one of the volunteers drops out? (In nature, this would mean the
extinction of a species.)
• How do the animals from the upper levels depend on the plant and animal species
from the lower levels?
Watch for the children’s safety during this game. You may wish to give the roles of the
producers to the students who are physically stronger. You can add variety to the game
by suggesting that students choose different plants and animals and form the food chain
with them. Include a human in the chain, too.
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Biodiversity
Part V: Who eats who
1
Make copies of the fact sheet The Food Chain. Divide the class into five groups
and give each group one copy of The Food Chain and one the five ecosystems.
2
Have the students cut out the different plants and animals and paste them into the boxes
of the Food Chain. Have them draw arrows indicating which animals eat which plants
and animals. Use the schemes below as a reference.
3
Have the students discuss what happens if part of the ecosystem disappears. on plan:
About people and nature
Forest Ecosystem 1
Forest Ecosystem 2
Tawny owl
Hedgehog
European
wild cat
Badger
Garden
dormouse
Peacock
butterfly
Red
squirrel
Wood
mouse
Beech
Wych elm
Wild
strawberry
English
oak
Hawthorn
Wild
strawberry
Meadow Ecosystem 1
Meadow Ecosystem 2
Common
toad
Cuckoo
Common
buzzard
Weasel
Field
cricket
Earth- or
Buff-tailed
bumble bee
Bank vole
Roman
snail
Red clover
Field
bindweed
Hawthorn
Annual
meadow
Dandelion
Greater
plantain
River Ecosystem
European
otter
Marsh
frog
Crucian
carp
Common
green
shield bug
Common
reed
Lesser
duckweed
Common
bladderwort
Green Pack Junior 61

Biodiversity
Lesson plan: About people and nature
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
3-4 class periods
Any
The classroom, in the open
7-8 lengths of rope of 3-4 metres each
• To demonstrate that when changes occur in the environment some
organisms adapt themselves, others migrate and still others die
• To raise awareness about the difficulties the birds encounter
during their migrating
Role play, games in the open, discussion
Part I: The forest and the woodcutters (Role play in the school yard)
1
Take the class into the schoolyard or a nearby garden. Have the students use the rope
(or just draw on the ground) to designate seven or eight areas of about 1 square metre
in the shape of a circle or a square. Explain to the students that these shapes represent
7-8 decares of old forest inhabited by various plants and animals.
2
Choose 12-15 volunteers. Ask two of them to play the roles of woodcutters. Give the rest
cards with names of various animals (forest mouse, deer, woodpecker, phyllophagous
beetle, forest ant, titmouse, owl, fox, hedgehog, etc.).
3
The game begins with the distribution of the animals in the
forest — place one or two animals within each figure.
First, when the woodcutters come to the forest, they say
they will cut down 1 decare of it. They choose a figure,
where they “cut down” the trees by taking the rope
with them or by erasing the figure from the ground.
The forest animals leave their habitat and move to other
figures or stay, depending on their character and on their
own judgment. Ask the students to mime the mode and
speed of their migration — flying, jumping, crawling, etc.
When the woodcutters come again, they “cut down”
another decare of forest, the animals leave their habitats and this goes on until just two
figures remain. Eventually, a lot of animals are crowded within the last 2 decares.
4
After the game, discuss with the students the way they felt while playing. What did the forest
dwellers have to do while their forest was being cut down? Try to guess what happened to
the other forest organisms such as plants and fungi. Explain that in real situations, some
organisms (e.g. trees) can be destroyed immediately, some are forced to adapt themselves
to changes in the environment, some manage to move to different habitats, and others are
destined to die. Conclude that human activity in this case has caused a decrease of the
biodiversity mainly through destroying the habitat of forest animals and plants.
Part II: Migration isn’t easy
1
Choose a fine, sunny day to take the class out to a meadow. Ask the students if they
know about animal migrations. Let them come up with various examples of their own.
Use the information given in the fact sheet Facts on the Move on page 81.
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Biodiversity
2
Tell
3
Ask
4
Explain
the class you’re about to play a game called
“Migration isn’t easy.”
• Tell the participants in the game that they are going
to play a flock of white storks, which migrate south
every autumn to spend the winter and return north
in spring to the places where they breed.
• Mark two areas 20-30 metres apart for winter time and
for nesting. Allocate four to five spots between the two
areas as “safe zones,” where the storks will be able to rest
during their migration. Safe zones could be trees, large
rocks or some other natural place where birds can land.
• Ask students to choose roles or have them draw role cards at random. Two will act as
hunters (a person and a non-human predator such as a fox) with the remainder of the
class playing storks. The birds move fast, running from one area to another having the
right to stop only in the safe zones during their crossings. The hunters try to catch the
birds while they are migrating but they cannot enter the safe zones or the winter and
the nesting areas. Every bird caught is out of the game. The start of every migration is
signalled by the teacher.
• During the first migration, all zones are active. But before the second, tell the class
that one of the zones is a marsh which has been drained and can no longer be used.
Before the third migration, explain that on another safe zone wind turbines have been
built and it cannot be used, either. Continue playing until only one safe zone remains.
Use various justifications for destroying the safe zones — building a factory or a
highway, turning a water area into a recreation centre, etc.
• Note the number of storks which survive after each migration. They will obviously be
easier to catch by the hunters as the safe zones grow fewer. If the storks complain that
this is not fair, tell them that the hunters tend to easily find the places where birds rest
during their flight and also that, when safe zones are destroyed, it is very difficult for the
birds to survive during migration.
• You can elaborate by dividing the storks into couples and suggest that they have chicks;
every stork couple can bring back two players from among those caught to play
the roles of stork chicks. After a while, the game can be repeated by changing the roles
of the participants.
the students to discuss how they felt playing their roles and what their hardships were.
Draw their attention to the fact that during the real migrations, just as in the game, resting
places are crowded with predators and hunters who stalk migrating birds thus endangering
their lives. Add information about other endangering threats, e.g. power cables, food
shortage, poisonous substances used in farming, oil spills in water basins.
to students the general belief that animal migration is an easy and secure way
to cope with winter. In reality, migration is a costly and quite often risky undertaking.
During migration, animals require a lot of energy, food and resting places.
They have to avoid predators and be able to find convenient habitats when they arrive.
Other activities
• Ask students to find more information on different migratory species to discuss in a future
class period.
• Make copies of the picture on page 133 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
Green Pack Junior 63

Biodiversity
Lesson plan: The biological diversity of Europe
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
2-3 teaching hours
Any
The classroom, in the open
Blackboard or flipchart, cards with various plants and animals
typical for Europe, physical map of Europe, tests
• To teach biological diversity in Europe
• To raise awareness and sensitise the students to habits of protecting,
recovering and sustainable use of biological resources
Discussion, group work, brainstorming, case studies
Activity 1: Do we know our wealth?
To prepare, hand out copies of the worksheet The Living Wealth of Europe and ask students
to explore the text and find more information from other sources.
1
Ask volunteers to present to the class the result of their research on the flora and fauna
of Europe. Discuss the following questions:
• What are the reasons for the current status
of European biodiversity?
• What are the characteristics of plant life in Europe?
• What is most important to know about European fish,
amphibians and reptiles?
• Is Europe rich in birds and are these species
endangered?
• What is most important to know about
European mammals?
• Why is it so important, from a global viewpoint, to
protect biological diversity in Europe and how is this done in practice?
2
Divide
3
Ask
After the presentations, ask the students how much they had known about the rich
biodiversity of Europe prior to their research.
(In a similar way, research on the flora and fauna of your own country/region
may be organised.)
the class into small groups and give each group a copy of the worksheet entitled
What Do We Know About . . . containing information about six animal species valuable
both for Europe and the whole world. Give about 10 minutes for individual work:
to take in the information, share facts they had already heard on similar occasions, etc.
each group to present their animal in front of the class,
drawing attention to:
• the places where it is found most often;
• its importance;
• the threats to its survival and the measures that must be taken for its protection.
Part II: Having them forever
1
Ask the students to point out the factors and conditions which are a threat to the biological
diversity of Europe, basing arguments on the examples presented in the previous activity.
Write their ideas (pollution, hunting, cutting down of forests, farming, etc.) on the
blackboard or on the flipchart. Give more feedback.
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
2
Remind
3
Give
4
Explain
the class that three-quarters of all known birds are threatened by extinction.
Tell them that, according to research by the international organisation Bird Live International,
the factors which have the strongest impact on the places of ornithological significance are:
• intensive farming;
• industry and urbanisation (growth of the cities);
• building of dikes, dams and barrages;
• disturbance to birds, especially during
their nesting period;
• recreation and tourism;
• drainage of water basins and land areas;
• fishing and extraction of aquatic species;
• discharging sewage and waste in the environment;
• infrastructure development.
examples of activities which can be carried out to protect this natural wealth.
(changes and different laws; banning of hunting and shooting for specific periods of the year;
declaring important areas to be protected; careful investigation of the possible impact
economic activity may have on the environment and subsequently conforming plans based on
the results of the investigation; considering the positions and views of all interested parties)
to the class that every person — meaning every child as well — can help to protect
plant and animal diversity. At first glance, the activities of a single person to save or to help
the existence of a single plant or animal may seem insignificant compared to the size of the
planet or its population. But this is not so. Support your argument by asking a volunteer to
read aloud the story in the worksheet A Walk on the Beach.
Dwell on the significance of the small efforts which every person needs to do sometimes in
order to change things for the better in the world. Ask, “What would happen if most of the
people did like the little boy?” Ask the students to share their own ideas and observations.
Other activities
• Ask the students to take the worksheets from this lesson plan home to talk about what
they learned and experienced in class with family members.
• Have the students take the test Be a Friend of the Animals and the Plants.
Organise group discussion for each question. Conclude that it is very important
that people should always think before doing something if it will have any impact
on the environment both at the moment and in future.
• Do the dilemma exercise A Stork Couple. Discuss them in groups. Give the students the
freedom to support different arguments about what they think is the right thing to do.
• Invite an expert from an ecology institution or from a non-government organisation to
present information about the species specific to your region and to discuss the problems
with their protection.
• Do research on local plant and animal wealth and the protected areas in your region.
• Write a letter or a declaration in the first person singular on behalf of a plant or
an animal threatened by extinction and have it published. It can start something like,
“Dear humans, I am the White Stork and I am writing to you because . . .”
• Organise activities like tree-planting, making birdfeeders, etc.
• Celebrate the International Day for Protection of Biological Diversity by organising
competitions and quizzes.
Green Pack Junior 65

Biodiversity
DILEMMA
A Stork Couple
A stork couple have made their nest on
a utility pole not far from your home.
There is electric power in the post, which is
dangerous for the storks. What do you do?
• scare away the storks because you care
about their safety;
• build another nest in a safe place nearby;
• call the local power company;
• call an government ministry or
a non-government organisation involved
in environment protection;
• tell the mayor about the problem;
• nothing; or
• something else.
1When 2When 3When 4It 5There 6The 7If 8It 9You TEST
Be a Friend of Animals and Plants
TRUE
FALSE
picking mushrooms, it is good to cut them with a knife.
■ ■
picking herbs it is good to pull them out with their roots.
■ ■
picking roots of a medicinal plant it is good to dig out the
other plants around, too.
■ ■
is good to only collect big snails, leaving the small ones
■ ■
in their natural environment.
is no problem leaving poison in the garden to
■ ■
protect it from field rodents and garden pests.
nests of birds which have flown away should be
destroyed in autumn.
■ ■
an animal is ill, you should take it out of its nest/den.
■ ■
is good to keep quiet and not enter areas used for nesting
and reproduction.
■ ■
should not fish in spawning season.
■ ■
Answer key: 1. True 2. False 3. False 4. True 5. False 6. False 7. False 8. True 9. True
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
If I Were…
If I were a plant, I would be a(n)
because
If I were an animal, I would be a(n)
because
FACT SHEET
What Plants and Animals Mean to Us
MY
Mark boxes that have correct statements.
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
is used for food
is used to produce medicines and
chemicals
is valuable raw material
is used for heating
is used to make clothes
is used for scientific/research purposes
is used in building
is used for forage
can give pleasure
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
(name of chosen plant or animal)
is used by other organisms
as living environment
maintains the structure
and the fertility of the soil
is often praised in the arts
helps pollination
helps the cycle of organic substances
in nature
is a good friend to people
Other (fill in):
This is why it IS/ISN’T valuable for people and other living organisms.
(strike through incorrect answer)
Green Pack Junior 67

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Basic Organisms and their Significance
Plants are usually fixed organisms that have chlorophyll, which is
necessary for the process called photosynthesis. All plants breathe,
feed independently, have tactile receptors and can reproduce.
Most plants have roots, stems and leaves. There are about 600,000 known
plant species on Earth. The plants as a whole — the vegetable kingdom —
are also called “flora.” Plants play a major part in life on Earth.
They release oxygen and produce food for animals and people. Using the energy of the sun,
plants form organic food substances through photosynthesis, which defines their role as
the producers within ecosystems. Plants buried in the earth millions of years ago have
become fossil fuel, which we use as a source of energy.
Animals are organisms which possess a tactile sense, are capable of
voluntary movement, and can reproduce. All animals are made of nuclear
(eukaryotic) cells, which during the evolution process have grouped
together to form various tissues, the tissues in turn forming organs and
systems. The animal world is also called “fauna.” All animals depend
on chemical energy, accumulated in the form of organic compounds,
produced by plants. Animals assimilate this energy through their metabolism. The feeding
of animals is non-independent, which defines their role as consumers within ecosystems.
Animals breathe by taking in oxygen from the environment and releasing carbon dioxide.
Fungi feed non-independently, i.e. they take organic substances from
the environment. Some species feed on living organisms; these are parasites
such as rust fungus, ergot or Claviceps purpurea, vine mildew.
Saprophytes such as bread mould take substances from food, and dead
animals. There is no clear borderline between parasites and saprophytes.
Mycorrhizal fungi, which develop along the roots of trees, help the tree
take up water and mineral salts. In this way, they function as root fibres for which they
receive food, vitamins and other substances. There are about 100,000 species of fungi.
Bacteria are mostly one-celled microorganisms. They reproduce
by dividing themselves. As cosmopolites, bacteria can be found on
all continents, in the air, the water, the soil, the plants, the animals,
the people, food products and objects. They feed independently
and non-independently. They take part in the cycle of substances in
nature; in the formation and destruction of minerals and ores; and in
the formation of soil structure and fertility. Bacteria are used in the food, microbiological,
chemical and other industries. Pathogen bacteria cause diseases in plants, animals
and people (e.g. anthrax, tuberculosis, brucellosis). It is believed that bacteria were
the first organisms to appear on Earth.
Fungi and bacteria have additional significance for the biosphere. They are called reducers
because they decompose organic compounds by rotting (putrefaction) and mineralisation,
thus turning them into elementary non-organic substances. In this way, the food chain
is closed and the non-organic substances can be assimilated by the green plants
to create organic substances again. Fungi, especially soil fungi, contribute to the improvement
of soil fertility. Mycorrhizal fungi help in the feeding of plants such as trees and grass.
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
The Ecosystem and the Food Chain
The ecosystem is a community of
organisms which interact with one
another and with the environment.
The ecosystem is a dynamic system
in which food and energy are in
constant circulation among living
organisms and non-living nature.
Examples of common ecosystems
are forests, rivers, lakes, seas,
meadows, farms, and cities.
Plants are called producers
because they produce food
from mineral salts and solar
energy during the process
called photosynthesis. The food
substances include six main elements: carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen.
These elements are obtained from the soil, air or water. Another ten elements — potassium,
magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt and boron —
are also involved in the food cycle which occurs between the living organisms, soil, water
and air. The food substances remain in the plants until they are eaten by animals feeding
or until they die and decompose.
Animal organisms feeding on plants and other animals are called consumers.
By consuming plants, they help in furthering the circle of energy and food substances.
Food substances remain in these organisms until their death. Bacteria, fungi and worms,
which play the roles of reducers, decompose dead organisms, thus returning the food
substances to the soil, where the cycle in the ecosystem may begin again.
The food and energy chain shows the complex interdependence between plant and
animal organisms in the ecosystem. The producers are at the bottom, the broadest part
of the pyramid which is called the “first level.” The second level is occupied by primary
consumers, organisms feeding on plant food. The third and fourth levels of the pyramid
belong to the secondary consumers, which feed only on animal food or both plant
and animal food. Very often some consumers belong to more than one level.
For example, humans eat plant and animal food from different levels of the food chain.
Within the chain, along with food substances, an exchange of energy also takes place.
The transformation of energy from a lower level to energy of a higher level is approximately
10 percent. For example, the primary consumers mainly consume biomass (plants).
From 100 kilograms of plant mass, the primary consumers produce about 10 kilograms
of biomass. Similarly, the secondary consumers which eat these 10 kilograms produce
about 1 kilogram of biomass. This fact is often mentioned by vegetarians to prove
that consuming food of the lower levels of the food and energy chain saves energy,
and is therefore good for the environment.
Every impact on the lowest level is felt upwards in the system. If, due to huge disasters,
like fires, floods, freezing or because of unwise human activities like cutting down of
forests, chemical poisoning, release of toxic waste or some other pollution, big plant areas
are destroyed, then the food of the primary consumers will decrease. This will have a
similar impact on the food of the secondary consumers — it will likewise decrease.
The humans are also dependent on the changes occurring in the food and energy chain.
Green Pack Junior 69

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
The Food Chain
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Forest Ecosystem 1
Tawny owl
(Strix aluco)
Hedgehog
(Erinaceus europaeus)
Garden dormouse
(Eliomis quercinus)
Peacock butterfly
(Inachis io)
Beech
(Fagus sylvatica)
Wych Elm
(Ulmus glabra)
Wild Strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Tawny owl (Strix aluco)
This compact, medium-sized owl has large, black eyes and feathers that
are many colours, from greyish to more reddish-brown. The tawny owl
breeds mainly in the holes of trees in forests, parkland and wooded
farmland. It is found near man in gardens and towns in all of Europe
except Ireland and the far north. The tawny owl lives in the same place all year
and is active at night. Its calls of “hoooouh……..ho, ho’ho’ho’hoooouh” are heard in early
spring and autumn. It eats voles and insects, but also birds, including other small owls.
Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
The head and body of the hedgehog are 25 centimetres long, with a tail
of 3 centimetres. It weighs up to 1 kilogram and lives about nine years.
Its body is covered by about 6,000 spines that are 2-3 centimetres long
and dark brown with a white end. It has yellow hair on its head and throat.
It has a pointed muzzle with small eyes. Hedgehogs live in parks, gardens, forests, hedges
and fields. It is found everywhere in Europe. The hedgehog eats worms, snails, spiders,
centipedes, insects, frogs, lizards and fruit. The young are born blind, nude and without
thorns. Hedgehogs come out at night. When danger appears, they roll up in a ball and
freeze. It hibernates during winter, hidden in the leaves or in a hole.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Forest Ecosystem 1 (continued)
Garden dormouse (Eliomis quercinus)
The head and body of the garden dormouse is about 15 centimetres long, and
its tail alone is 10 cm. It has grey, brown and red fur on its upper body, and
white underneath. It has a black mask on its face. The garden dormouse lives
in parks, orchards, gardens, forests, vineyards, rocky areas, and in buildings like
barns. It is found in Europe, Asia and Asia Minor. The garden dormouse eats insects, spiders,
centipedes, snails, lizards, eggs, fruit and bark. A nocturnal animal, it climbs on walls and
trees, and jumps well. It hibernates from October to April in a tree hollow or building.
Peacock butterfly (Inachis io)
The wingspan of the peacock butterfly is 6 centimetres. It has reddish-brown
colours above, each of them decorated with a big eyelike spot at the end.
The underside is almost black, providing excellent camouflage when
the insect is hibernating. The caterpillar is up to 45 millimetres long.
It is black with small white spots and yellow legs and has 11 pairs of thick prickles.
This butterfly lives in open landscapes, gardens, parks and other flowery places.
It is found throughout Europe, except the far north. It lays its eggs on leaves,
which the young caterpillars then eat. The eyelike spots on its wings scare away predators.
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
The beech tree grows to 30-40 metres tall, with an enormous, spreading
crown. The bark is smooth, thin, and grey. The leaves are oval shaped, shiny
dark green in colour becoming brown by late autumn. Male seeds hang on a
long stalk, while the female is borne in short-stalked, erect clusters. Flowers
appear just after leaves in the spring. Nuts are triangular, shiny brown and can be eaten. They
are found in pairs in a woody husk, which splits into four sections. In central Europe beech
usually grows in mountains, forming forests with oak or spruce. Its wood is used for furniture.
Wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
This tree is 10-40 metres tall, and develops a broad, spreading crown.
The bark is smooth at first but later develops thick, straight ribs and turns
grey. The leaves have short stalks and are egg-shaped with sharply pointed
tips and a base shaped like a heart. The upper surface is dark green, hairy
and very rough to the touch. The red flowers appear in late February and the winged fruit
is visible before the leaves are expanded. The wych elm is found everywhere in Europe,
usually in woods in hilly areas and the foothills of mountains.
Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
The thin leaves of the wild strawberry come in threes, with sharp-tipped
teeth. The flowers have white petals and come out from April to July.
They are pollinated by bees, flies, moths and butterflies. The fruit looks just
like small strawberries. They are about 1 centimetre across and ripen from
May to September. The wild strawberry has been cultivated in Europeans gardens for
centuries. The modern garden strawberries Fragaria ananassa that are used in commercial
strawberry production are clearly larger than wild ones. The wild strawberry grows in the
woods, in grassland and scrubs. It is native to the temperate regions of Eurasia.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Forest Ecosystem 2
European wild cat
(Felis sylvestris)
Badger
(Meles meles)
Red squirrel
(Sciurus vulgaris)
Wood mouse
(Apodemus sylvaticus)
English Oak
(Quercus robur)
Hawthorn
(Crataegus
monogyna)
Wild Strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
European wild cat (Felis sylvestris)
The body of the European wild cat is 60-70 centimetres long, and the tail
is about 30 centimetres. Its fur is grey to yellowish-brown with darker stripes.
The male is somewhat larger and darker than the female. It looks like the
domestic tabby cat but with a bushier, ringed tail. The eyes are
yellowish-green with vertical pupils. Kittens have thin, yellowish fur with dark spots.
These cats live in many places, but mainly in woodlands and scrub land across Europe.
The cats spray a scent to mark their territory. Litters of two to six kittens, typically born
in May, begin life in dens usually in tree hollows, but sometimes in abandoned fox
or badger holes. They mainly eat mice and voles, but also birds and small mammals.
Badger (Meles meles)
Up to 90 centimetres long including the tail, the badger weighs 10-20
kilograms. It can live up to 20 years. The badger has short legs, a long and
blunt muzzle, short ears and small eyes. Gray on the upper part of its body
with brownish sides, its head has black and white stripes, black limbs and
long, fierce nails. The badger inhabits deciduous and mixed forests, as well as grasslands in
the mountains. It is found throughout Europe. Badgers eat earth worms and snails, as well
as rodents and chicks. They hibernate in dens from October to February. Badgers live in
couples or extended family groups, sometimes in big galleries dug by itself and inhabited
for decades, consisting of corridors up to 40 metres long and various “rooms.”
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Forest Ecosystem 2 (continued)
Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
The head and body of the red squirrel measure 21-25 centimetres in length,
and its bushy tail is 15-20 centimetres. It lives 10-12 years. The fur is usually
brown or red, but can be black-brown as well. Its underparts are white,
and it has a tuft of long hair at the end of its ears.
The red squirrel lives in woods, forests and parks, and is found in Europe, Siberia, Japan
and Korea. The red squirrel feeds on plant and leaf buds, tree seeds, mushrooms, insects,
and the eggs and chicks of certain birds. Active throughout the year, the red squirrel builds
a nest out of leaves, moss and small branches high up in trees. It mostly moves on trees
during the day and rarely goes to the ground for food, jumping from branch to branch
and from tree to tree.
Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
Its body is 7.5-11 centimetres long, covered in yellowish-brown fur, and has
a pale grey belly. Its eyes and ears are large, while its tail is roughly the same
length as its body. It has a whitish underside and is covered lightly with hair.
The wood mouse lives in fields, forests, hedgerows and many other places that
are not too wet. They sometimes move into manmade buildings, especially during winter.
They are found everywhere in Europe, digging burrows in the ground to live in. Its burrows
have long tunnels with separate rooms for nesting and feeding. They run fast, and climb and
jump well. The wood mouse eats berries, seeds, buds, shoots, and fungi and invertebrates.
English oak (Quercus robur)
This large tree grows up to 35 metres high. The bark is smooth and
reddish-brown at first, later turning dark grey and finely cracked and rigid.
The fruit is the familiar acorn, enclosed shallowly in a scaly cup in small
clusters on 5-12 centimetre long stalks. English oak is common throughout
Europe, except in the far north. Some animals like jays and squirrels bury acorns in hoards,
so that groups of small trees are sometimes seen.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hawthorn grows as a dense thorny shrub, but can become a small tree up to
12 metres high. The bark is bright brown and flaking. Leaves are variable but
normally with three or four pairs of lobes. The white flowers appear in late
May and early June, turning pink as they mature. The fruit is small, apple-like,
deep red, ripening in September. Hawthorn is found in the lowlands of Europe.
Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
The thin leaves of the wild strawberry come in threes, with sharp-tipped
teeth. The flowers have white petals and come out from April to July.
They are pollinated by bees, flies, moths and butterflies. The fruit looks just
like small strawberries. They are about 1 centimetre across and ripen from
May to September. The wild strawberry has been cultivated in Europeans gardens for
centuries. The modern garden strawberries Fragaria ananassa that are used in commercial
strawberry production are clearly larger than wild ones. The wild strawberry grows
in the woods, in grassland and scrubs. It is native to the temperate regions of Eurasia.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Meadow Ecosystem 1
Common Toad
(Bufo bufo)
Cuckoo
(Cuculus canorus)
Field cricket
(Gryllus campestris)
Earth- or Buff-tailed
bumble bee
(Bombus terrestris)
Red clover
(Trifolium pretense)
Field bindweed
(Convolvulus
arvensis)
Hawthorn
(Crataegus
monogyna)
Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
Up to 15 centimetres long, the female toad is much bigger than the male.
The skin is warty, greyish brown, yellow or brick coloured with little or
no pattern. The beanlike glands behind the eyes are visible and protect
the toad by spreading an unpleasant liquid onto its skin. The common toad
is found in all kinds of land habitats. It inhabits all of Europe except for Ireland and the far
north. The common toad spends most of its time on land. This nocturnal amphibian eats
many small animals.
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
The cuckoo is a slim, medium-sized bird with a long rounded tail and
pointed wings. The male is grey above and on the breast, with horizontal
bars below. The female can be grey or brown above with barred belly,
breast and throat. It resembles the kestrel and sparrowhawk in flight.
The cuckoo adapts easily to different habitats, including all types of woodland, farmland,
mountains and coasts. It can be found across Europe. The cuckoo mainly eats caterpillars.
It is known as a brood host, whereby the female lays an egg in another bird’s nest.
The host bird then incubates the egg, and when the cuckoo chick hatches,
it pushes out the other eggs and chicks from the nest.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Meadow Ecosystem 1 (continued)
Field cricket (Gryllus campestris)
Up to 3 centimetres long, the field cricket is black on the whole, except for
the forewings, which are brown on a yellow background. It has fine and
comparatively short antennae on its large head. Found in Europe, Asia
Minor, and northern Africa, the field cricket inhabits dry and sunny regions
such as grasslands, gardens and hedges near country roads. Unable to fly, the male
protects its territory by chirring from May to September by rubbing its hind wings.
It hides in holes that it digs in the ground. It mainly eats plants that hold a lot of water.
Earth- or buff-tailed bumble bee (Bombus terrestris)
Up to 24 millimetres long, the queen bumble bee is over 2 centimetres in
length and has a wingspan of up to 43 millimetres. Workers and drones are
14-17 millimetres long and have wingspans of 30-35 millimetres. It has a
pollen basket in a specially adapted hind leg, in which the bee builds up a
dense mass of pollen, slightly moistened with nectar. This is then transported back to the
nest. One of the most common European bumblebees it lives in almost any well-vegetated
habitat throughout Europe. It nests in the ground, sometimes in a mouse-hole or mole’s
burrow. When fully developed, each colony comprises a single, egg-laying female —
the queen — and a number of sterile females called workers. In general, a minimum of
100 bees occupy one nest, but bigger nests may consist of more than 600 animals.
Red clover (Trifolium pretense)
Red clover’s leaves are deeply divided into three separated lobes with
a V-shaped pale patch in the centre of each one. Its stems branch out
and are up to 50 centimetres long. The pink flowers are grouped in plumb
flower heads. Red clover grows in open landscapes, particularly in wet
meadows and pastures. It is found throughout Europe.
Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
A climbing or sprawling weed, the stems of the field bindweed grow up
to 200 centimetres long, winding anticlockwise up any suitable support.
The leaves are shaped like arrowheads, and its flowers are funnel-shaped
with white to pink coloration. The field bindweed grows in waste ground,
grasslands and cultivated areas. It often climbs cereal stalks at the edge of fields.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hawthorn grows as a dense thorny shrub, but can become a small tree up
to 12 metres high. The bark is bright brown and flaking. Leaves are variable
but normally with three or four pairs of lobes. The white flowers appear
in late May and early June, turning pink as they mature. The fruit is small,
apple-like, deep red, ripening in September. Hawthorn is found in the lowlands of Europe.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Meadow Ecosystem 2
Common buzzard
(Buteo buteo)
Weasel
(Mustela nivalis)
Bank vole
(Clethrionomys glareolus)
Roman snail
(Helix pomatia)
Annual
Meadow Grass
(Poa annua)
Dandelion
(Taraxacum
officinalis)
Greater
plantain
(Plantago major)
Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
The buzzard grows to about 50 centimetres long, with a 125-centimetre
wingspan. It has broad wings, a short neck and a medium length tail in flight.
The colouration varies vastly from dark brown through reddish-brown
to white spotted dark. There is often a pale patch on the breast.
The buzzard breeds in different types of forests or small woods with access to open lands,
and nests in trees. Often seen perched on fence posts or telephone poles watching for
prey, the buzzard is highly vocal, especially in spring. It mainly eats voles, but also birds,
susliks, reptiles, amphibians and sometimes insects and earthworms.
Weasel (Mustela nivalis)
At 11-26 centimetres in length and with a 4-9 centimetre tail, the weasel
is Europe’s smallest carnivore. It has a long, slender body, short legs
and a short tail. Brownish to ginger in colour, it has a white belly.
In northern Europe, the weasel turns white during the winter.
It thrives in a number of European, Asian and North American habitats, such as forests,
fields, gardens, parks and places near people. This agile animal is active all of the time.
It mainly eats small rodents such as voles and mice, but also preys on birds and insects.
Green Pack Junior 77

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Meadow Ecosystem 2 (continued)
Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus)
The head and body of the bank vole measure up to 12 centimetres long,
with a tail of up to 7 centimetres. It is brownish-red above and grey below.
Young voles have a paler, brownish-red colour. The bank vole lives in woods,
hedgerows and scrub, including shrubberies and rural gardens. It lives nearly
everywhere in Europe. Active both day and night, the bank vole eats fruit, seeds, leaves,
moss, fungi and other small animals. It climbs well and often eats fruit on trees and bushes.
It usually has three to seven babies at a time.
Roman snail (Helix pomatia)
The shell of the roman snail is 6-7 centimetres across, round and light brown,
grey or yellow, with stripes running lengthwise. It has four tentacles,
with eyes on the longer pair.
The roman snail inhabits different habitats, such as hedges, gardens, parks,
grasslands and forests. It is found throughout Europe. Young snails grow for almost three
years. When hibernating for the winter, the snail seals off the opening of its shell.
It does exactly the same during long dry periods to save water. It is more active in wet
conditions, especially in the morning because of the dew. It eats grassy plants.
Annual meadow grass (Poa annua)
This grass grows to about 30 centimetres tall and has leaves that are light
green arising from flattened shoots. The flower clusters have relatively
few branches. The flowers are pollinated by the wind or are self-pollinated
without flowers ever opening. Annual meadow grass has a fairly weak and
shallow root system. Meadow grass grows well in moist areas in full sun. However, it can
also do well in semi-shaded conditions. In coastal regions or in moderate temperature areas
where turf is frequently irrigated, annual bluegrass may persist all year. In warmer areas,
it usually dies in summer. It is found on arable land, grassland and in gardens.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis)
The dandelion has basal leaves that form rosettes and are divided
into several triangular lobes. The flower stems are hollow and up
to 50 centimetres long. It has yellow flowers and its seeds are in
umbrella-shaped structures that serve as parachutes when the wind blows.
When leaves or steams are broken a milk-like liquid comes out. This extremely common
plant is considered a weed by most people. It grows in different types of waste ground,
especially in meadows, along roads, and in gardens throughout Europe.
Greater plantain (Plantago major)
A perennial herb, the greater plantain’s leaves are rosette-forming and broad.
The tiny flowers are grouped in long dense dark flower heads.
The flower stems are up to 50 centimetres high. The lowest flowers open
first and rings of purplish stamens gradually move up the flower head.
The greater plantain grows in open landscapes and as it is resistant to trampling.
It is often seen on paths, drives and pavements. It is common throughout Europe.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
River Ecosystem
European otter
(Lutra lutra)
Marsh frog
(Rana ridibunda)
Crucian carp
(Carassius carassius)
Common green
shield bug
(Palomena prasina)
Common Reed
(Phragmites
australis)
Lesser
Duckweed
(Lemna minor)
Common
Bladderwort
(Utricularia vulgaris)
European otter (Lutra lutra)
The body of the European otter is 70-80 centimetres, and its tail is
40 centimetres. The male is a little larger and heavier than the female.
The otter’s head is flat and its ears are small and round. The fur is shiny
brown. The feet are both webbed and clawed. The European otter lives in all
kinds of freshwater areas and sometimes inhabits coastal areas. It lives all over Europe,
northwest Africa, and Eurasia. Otters are active at dusk and during the night. They swim and
dive exceptionally well, closing their ears and nostrils when diving. Their fur is waterproof
and a thick undercoat holds a layer of air that keeps it warm. Its dens are found in earth
tunnels, tree roots, boulder piles, shrubs, and banks, and usually entered from beneath the
water’s surface. Otters mainly eat fish, but also water birds, frogs, crustaceans and molluscs.
Marsh frog (Rana ridibunda)
The marsh frog is the largest frog in Europe, growing to be 15 centimetres
long. Its body comes in many different colours. In general, its back is green,
sometimes with dark spots. Males have big vocal sacs on the sides of
their mouths, which appear grey when inflated. Marsh frogs live in different
types of wetlands in Central Europe, Asia Minor and some parts of northern Africa.
They spend most of their time near rivers or marsh banks when hunting.
The mating period is during April and May, during which males call throughout the night.
Females lay between 700-13,000 eggs attached to plants in the water. They mainly eat
insects, but also other frogs or fish, and sometimes small rodents, capturing prey with
their elastic tongues. They hibernate under the water.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
River Ecosystem (continued)
Crucian carp (Carassius carassius)
The Crucian carp can grow to be 51 centimetres long. The dorsal fin is long,
with a strong, lightly serrated third spine. Colours range from olive green
to reddish brown on the back, while the paler feature a brassy tint with
a rounded dark spot near the base of the tail. Its other fins are a bright
reddish bronze. This carp is found throughout Europe in still waters and, less commonly,
slow-flowing rivers in the lowlands. It is very tolerant of low-oxygen conditions
and lives in marshes with only occasional pools of open water, and in small ponds.
It eats small invertebrates and water plants.
Common green shield bug (Palomena prasina)
The common green shield bug has a flat, shield-shaped body, about 10-15
millimetres long. It is bright green in spring and summer, but becomes dark
bronze-green in autumn, just before hibernation. The green shield bug lives in
forests, shrubbery, and near bodies of water in most of Europe. This species
passes through five nymphal stages, where it loses its shell between each one. Each stage
brings a different colouration, and short wings appear in the final stage. The shield bug has
specialised sucking mouthparts, which it uses to eat plant sap from a wide range of trees,
shrubs and tall plants. In Europe it is a minor pest that causes most of its damage to beans.
Common reed (Phragmites australis)
An aquatic grass, the common reed can grow up to 6 metres tall.
Strong leathery horizontal shoots growing on or beneath the ground surface,
give rise to roots and tough vertical stalks. These stalks support broad leaves
20-40 centimetres long. It has large purple flower heads that turn grey in late
summer. Reeds grow in dense colonies along sunny wetland habitats like riverbanks, marshes,
swamps, and lakeshores. Reeds are often found in disturbed or polluted soils along roadsides,
ditches and dredged areas. It is perhaps the most widely distributed flowering plant.
Lesser duckweed (Lemna minor)
Duckweeds are among the world’s smallest flowering plants. Individual lesser
duckweed plants are tiny, round, bright-green disks, each with a single root.
They are found scattered among emergent plants or massed together in
floating mats. They have no true leaves. The leaf-like body is called a tallus.
It is nearly circular to oval, 2-5 millimetres in diameter. Flowers are tiny and rarely seen.
Floating freely in freshwater ponds, marshes, lakes, and quiet streams, duckweed spreads
rapidly across quiet bodies of water rich in nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate.
It is widespread throughout temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres.
Common bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris)
Bladderwort is a carnivorous, underwater, free-floating aquatic plant.
Its leaves are delicate and finely-divided under water, and its flowers are
bright yellow. The bladderwort uses small traps to capture small invertebrates
or even tiny fish that trigger the trap door. It uses enzymes to digest the prey,
which provides the plant with nutrients. Floating freely in the shallow water of lakes, ponds,
marshes and rivers throughout the northern hemisphere, bladderwort lives where there is
a lot of microscopic life, which means there is a healthy aquatic environment.
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Green Pack Junior

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
Facts on the Move
Animals migrate periodically for reproduction, finding food,
seasonal change, change of day and night, and other reasons.
Many birds such as swallows, storks, nightingales, orioles, kingfishers,
and herons come in spring and build their nests in Europe, and
some kinds like rooks, peewit-gulls, ducks, and wild geese come
from the north to spend the winter in warmer countries to the south.
Only few kinds of birds can fly over large bodies of water:
Quails can fly for up to 300 kilometres and the golden eye up
to 3,000 kilometres.
Animal migration can take place over small distances.
Field sparrows migrate in the autumn from the fields to the towns;
some birds come down from the higher to lower areas
in the mountains when the weather gets cold.
Animal migration can be short (several hours), but some migration
takes years. For example, the European eel goes to Sargasso Sea
to reproduce, traveling around 10,000 kilometers.
The north polar kingfisher is an absolute champion of long-distance
flying: Every year it flies from Alaska to Patagonia and back.
Green Pack Junior 81

Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
The Living Wealth of Europe
Europe’s land, without the human intervention of the last 3,000 years, would be 80 to 90
percent covered by forests today. The remainder would be virgin meadows, pristine
mountains and clean rivers. Human activities have made big changes to the original
landscape through deforestation, agriculture, the drainage of wetlands, coastline and river
course modifications, mining, road construction, urbanisation and other environmentally
harmful activities. As a result, lowland forests and wetlands have disappeared, and many
plants and animals have had to find refuge in relatively small enclaves. It is now impossible
for people to avoid these issues if a love for nature and admiration of its beauty is to grow
into wise management and a caring attitude for its resources.
Approximately 6 percent of the entire continent is under protection, but the enacted
measures are far from strict or effective enough everywhere. Despite progress in nature
conservation in Europe, the population of many species continues to decline rapidly.
Presently, about 53 percent of fish species, 45 percent of reptiles, 40 percent of birds and
21 percent of the 12,500 European vascular plant species are seriously endangered or
facing extinction. The population of a number of animal species associated with human
activities, however, is increasing, and some plant species tolerant to high nutrient levels
are spreading. There is also some recovery in the number of breeding birds in areas
where organic farming is practiced.
Mammals Europe is home to 250 species of mammals belonging to
nine different orders. Of these species, 91 percent are indigenous,
while the remaining 9 percent (21 species) are not native to Europe
and were introduced by humans, often on a very local scale.
Such introductions have had significant impact in Britain, France,
Germany and Italy. Forty-four species of mammals are endemic,
found mainly in Southern Europe, the Alps and the Caucasus. No mammal species
has become extinct throughout Europe in the past century. Currently, however,
seven mammals are critically endangered, 19 are endangered, and 56 are vulnerable.
Birds Presently, 78 percent of the 520 recorded species of European
birds are believed to be threatened. Six species are critically endangered,
six are endangered and 40 are vulnerable. More than one-third of
the birds found in Europe are rare, declining or localised to a few sites.
The intensification of agriculture, fishing and forestry, together with
continued urbanisation and industrialisation, have reduced the diversity
and degraded the quality of Europe’s natural habitats.
Significant problems arise from the drainage and reclamation of wetlands. The survival of
birds such as herons, ducks, geese, swans and shorebirds is intimately linked to wetlands.
The need to protect these areas, as well as to maintain a network of wetland “service
stations” in order to provide migrating birds with food and shelter, is vital for their
protection. Birds of prey constitute a group of species that is especially vulnerable to
environmental threats like pollution and contamination. Due to their position at the top
of the food chain, they are more exposed than other birds to the accumulation of
large amounts of poisons.
Hunting, disturbance and fragmentation of habitats also have negative impacts on
bird populations and reproduction.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
The Living Wealth of Europe (continued)
Amphibians and reptiles As you go southward in Europe, there is a
clear increase in the number of species. Most amphibians and reptiles are
found around the Mediterranean Sea and in South Eastern Europe. There are
currently 71 species of amphibians and 199 species of reptiles, including sea
turtles, in Europe. All of them suffer from habitat destruction, the main cause
of their decline. Reptile habitats are particularly vulnerable to fires, which
destroy habitats and kill animals. The change to habitats is often so fast and
strong that the species cannot recover. In Europe, there are eight critically endangered reptiles,
12 endangered and 11 vulnerable. Among amphibians, there are two critically endangered,
one endangered and seven vulnerable species. In Europe, amphibians and reptiles have not yet
received as much protection, or money for this protection, compared to other species, like
birds and mammals. Environmentalists now realise that reptiles and amphibians are among the
more heavily threatened animal groups in Europe and require urgent protection measures.
Fish There are 227 species of freshwater fish in Europe: 200 are native and
27 were introduced, mostly from North America. Humans have destroyed
a lot of fish habitat and many rare species have disappeared over the past
two centuries. There are 13 critically endangered fish, 23 endangered and
47 vulnerable. We know little about the status and distribution of freshwater
fish in many countries.
The pollution of lakes and rivers is probably the single most significant factor in the major
decline of many fish populations in Europe. Most pollution comes from domestic,
agricultural or industrial wastes, and can be so toxic that all fish species present are killed.
The impact of land use changes (land drainage schemes, monoculture forests, filling-in of
ponds) often results in problems such as silting, increased acidification and alteration of
the hydrology, affecting important sites for fish. Migratory species are particularly threatened
by dams and other obstructions, and if such fish are unable to reach their spawning grounds
they may become extinct within a few years.
Plants Compared with other parts of the world, Europe has few plant
species. There are more flowering plants (some 12,500 species) in some
parts Europe and less in others. A lot of Europe’s original plants grow
in mountain regions. There are many threatened plant species in Europe,
especially in Central Europe. Many species are gone from their original
home in Central Europe and are now more in Eastern Europe. Economic
growth and more farming in Eastern Europe may make things worse if
nothing is done. The unique diversity of habitats and the large number of endemic plants
in some eastern and southern regions, such as the Carpathian, Trans-Caucasian and Balkan
mountains, the maritime Alps, Cyprus, the Greek mountains, Crete and Sierra Nevada,
make their decline or loss a matter of global importance.
There are things that can help plant species diversity, such as: reducing pollution; making
an international system of large nature reserves, primarily in comparably unaffected regions
such as the Alps, Central and Eastern Poland, northeastern France, and Slovakia; and avoiding
further loss of the most threatened plant habitats (damp meadows of large watercourses,
dry grasslands, coastal dunes, oligotrophic bogs and lakes, and inland salt springs).
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
What Do We Know About…
Red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Description: Its body length is about 2 metres long. The male (stage)
is larger than the female (hind). During summer, the body colour
is reddish-brown, and greyish-brown in winter. Calves are spotted.
Stags grow impressive sets of antlers that can weigh up to
15 kilograms. The antlers are shed each season and grow back larger
than before. The shape and size of the antlers depends on the age
and health of the stag, and greatly determines the stag’s status
and rank among members of his species.
Habitat and range: The red deer lives in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests up to
the tree line, as well as parkland, upland moors and river valleys throughout Europe.
Habits and food: The red deer runs and jumps very well. The hinds live in groups with
their calves. Stags compete both violently and non-violently with their rivals during
mating season (September-October). Mainly herbivorous, the red deer eats leaves,
treeshoots, bark and fruit.
This impressive animal is often a victim of road traffic and illegal poaching.
Little owl (Athene noctua)
Description: This comparatively small owl is 25 centimetres long
with a large, broadly rounded head, long legs and a short tail.
Brown above speckled white, it is whitish below densely streaked
brown with yellow eyes.
Habitat and range: The little owl prefers to breed in open
country with a mixture of fields, copses, cliffs, gardens, parks,
hedgerow trees, rocks and semi-deserts. It is found across Europe
except Ireland and the far north.
Habits and food: The little owl is sedentary and partly diurnal, often seen perched
and fully exposed. It feeds on mice, worms, insects, birds, small amphibians and reptiles.
Nesting in holes in trees, buildings or rocks, its most common call is a sharp “kee-ew.”
This fascinating bird is often the subject of myths and superstition.
Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Description: About 27 centimetres long, the hoopoe is one of the
most striking and distinctive birds in Europe, with a puffy-pink head,
neck and breast, and black- and white-striped wings, back and tail.
Its long, narrow bill curves downward slightly. It has an erectile crest
on its crown that makes it resemble an Indian chief of lore.
Habitat and range: The migratory hoopoe breeds in open,
grazing country with copses, hedges and bushes. It is found
across Europe except for the UK, Ireland and northern Europe.
Habits and food: The hoopoe’s song is a hollow “oop-oop-oop” repeated several times.
It nests in the hollow of trees or walls. If the chicks are disturbed they emit a foul-smelling
liquid. The hoopoe feeds mainly on insects.
This attractive bird is easily identifiable by its appearance and song.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
What do we know about… (continued)
European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis)
Description: Up to 36 centimetres long, the European pond
terrapin has a life expectancy of 70 years. Its carapace is
comparatively flat, brownish black to greenish and greyish
with light stripes or dots. Its legs, neck, head and tail are greyish
black with yellow spots.
Habitat and range: Inhabiting all types of fresh or semi-salt water
wetlands, and even small puddles, the European pond terrapin
is found in Europe and eastern Asia.
Habits and food: The European pond terrapin feeds on amphibians, fish, water
invertebrates and carrion.
This amphibian depends strongly on the availability of wetlands.
Drying up wetlands is essentially a death sentence to the terrapin.
European Tree frog (Hyla arborea)
Description: Up to five centimetres long with cups on the tips
of its fingers, the European tree frog varies in colouration
depending on environment, temperature and humidity.
It can be greyish brown or bright green.
Habitat and range: Inhabiting deciduous trees and shrubs,
it is found in central and southern Europe.
Habits and food: This frog climbs trees extremely well. It spends
the winter under stones, trees and foliage. During breeding
season, the male calls with a resonator on its throat and can be heard over a kilometre
away. It is active mainly at night, but also during the day. It feeds on small invertebrates.
This attractive animal is easily identifiable.
Its reproduction depends on the existence of water basins.
Honeybee (Apis melifera)
Description: The honeybee is perfectly adapted to its way of life.
Workers and drones grow to be 15 millimetres long, and the
queen reaches 20 mm. The abdomen is mainly brown with dark
and pale bands. The whole body is covered by fine hairs, and on
the hind pair of legs it has a special “sack” where it collects pollen.
Habitat and range: Wild populations of honeybee live
in rocky and woody regions, but people often keep bees to
produce honey. They are found in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Habits and food: Honeybee colonies have a lot of workers, some drones and one queen.
They have a sophisticated society and communication system. The honeybee collects
pollen and produces honey that serves as food in the winter. Honey and larvae are kept
in a honeycomb made of wax. The bees use a complex system of signals to tell each other
about new fields of flowers. When hibernating, the bees flutter their wings in order to
maintain a specific temperature in the hive. It stings once to defend itself and then dies.
Some scientists now think that mobile telephones confuse bees’ navigation
and has reduced dramatically their population.
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Biodiversity
FACT SHEET
A Walk on the Beach
Somewhere along the ocean beachfront at sunset,
there was an old man taking a walk. A big storm had just
calmed and the man enjoyed taking in the sea breeze.
He was deep in thought when suddenly he noticed a child.
The child kept picking up things from the sand and
throwing them into the water. The old man became
curious, so he came closer to see that the boy was picking
up starfish from the sand and throwing them back into the ocean. Only then did the old
man notice that the beach was strewn with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of starfish.
“What are you doing?” the old man exclaimed. “You’re just a little boy and there are
thousands of starfish around. Do you really think you can change anything?”
The boy looked at him, picked up a starfish from the sand, threw it into the ocean and said:
“Well, for that starfish I’ve just changed everything!”
Task for reflection at home: what could my family and I do to help
protect the plants and animals around our home, in our region, in our country
(suggest ideas, and if possible, discuss them with your family):
1Near my home there are:
We could:
2In our region we can find:
We could:
3Our country is proud of hosting the following plants and animals:
To protect them we need to:
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Resources
When we speak of resources, we are talking about things we can take from the environment
and use to make our lives better. Some of these resources, like solar energy, air, water from
rivers and lakes, and plants and the animals found in the wild, are immediately available.
Other resources, such as underground water, fossil fuels like oil and coal, and minerals
like iron ore, which we use to make steel, are only available after we extract them or convert
them into a more useful form.
We think of resources as either renewable or non-renewable. Although they are not infinite,
renewable resources replenish themselves over time. We can harness the wind to make energy,
for example, and tomorrow there will be more wind.
Non-renewable resources, on the one hand, will run out once we have used them. There is
only so much oil in the earth, and once we have used it up it is gone forever. Although people
argue about how much fossil fuel and other non-renewable resources are actually left for us
to find, everyone agrees that they will run out one day and that sooner or later we will need
to find alternatives. Conserving resources by using less, by reusing what we already have,
and by recycling materials to be used again can slow the process of depletion.
Recently, and in connection with the fast rates of development in production and consuming of
goods and services, a new concept has been introduced: potentially renewable resources.
Scientists include in this group clean air, drinking water, fertile land, and biological diversity,
which is the variety of plants and animals in the world. All of these are of crucial importance
to preserving life on earth. Until recently their depletion was considered to be practically
impossible, that is they were thought of as renewable resources. And indeed, if used sensibly,
they can be renewed in nature.
However, if our air, water, soil and biodiversity are used carelessly, these potentially renewable
resources could be exhausted. This is why modern society has introduced the concept of
sustainable use of resources, which is the maximum amount of a resource that can be
taken for our purposes that does not endanger its natural regeneration. Using more of the
resource results in environmental degradation.
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Resources
Lesson Plan: Natural resources
Duration
1-2 teaching hours
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
Any
The classroom
Blackboard (flip chart)
• To teach the concept of natural resources and the types of natural
resources
• To raise awareness about the need to use natural resources in a
sustainable way
Discussion, game, case study analysis
Part I: Natural resources (Discussion)
1
Ask the students to name some things that people take from nature in order to satisfy
their needs (e.g. food from plants or animals, water, air, energy).
Write their answers on the blackboard or flip chart.
2
Explain to the class that natural resources can be renewable
or non-renewable, and a new concept has recently appeared:
potentially renewable resources (see the introduction).
3
On separate flash cards write the names of the following
energy and material resources:
• ore, oil, natural gas, solar energy, wind energy; and
• plants, animals, fresh water (rivers, lakes, wells), soil, air, ore
(iron, other metals), construction materials (clay, stone,
sand), etc.
Draw the following grid:
Natural resources
renewable
non-renewable
potentially
non-renewable
4
Pay
Begin the discussion and categorise the resources from the flash cards, distributing them
in the three columns. Explain to the students the advantages and disadvantages of various
natural resources. Give examples. Explain that people nowadays use much more resources
than at any other time in human history. Together with the students, decide which of the
mentioned resources are the most available in your country.
special attention to the potentially non-renewable resources by giving several examples
for sustainable extraction of natural resources:
• The quantity of fish caught should not exceed its sustainable regeneration
in fishing grounds.
• The quantity of extracted water should not exceed its regeneration
in underground aquifers.
• The cutting down of trees should not exceed the planting of new trees.
• A sustainable economy does not destroy plant and animal species faster than the rate
of their regeneration.
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Resources
5
Hand out copies of the matching game Sustainable – Non-sustainable.
Part II: About the hen and the golden eggs
1
Explain to the students that it is a modern notion
for people to continually strive towards a better life.
They want to satisfy their needs quickly and permanently.
Many of them prefer activities and services with immediate
returns, which they imagine will bring them instant
prosperity without thinking about the consequences
of these actions. The effects often lead to problems
and negative impacts on the environment and society.
2
Give the class the case study Lovely Town on page 92.
3
Ask the students what thoughts and feelings this story evokes in them.
• Did the people of Lovely make any mistakes?
• What can go wrong when people act without thinking or when they seek quick
earnings?
Discuss and summarise how the needs of people are balanced with those of nature. Try to
show that the key is to use natural resources sensibly.
Other activities
• Ask the students to discuss the stories about Lovely and the hen that laid golden eggs
with their families. Together with their parents they could think of similar stories coming
from your country, region or town.
• Find time during the next lesson to discuss some of the most interesting stories.
• Hand out copies of the test What Do We Know about Resources? and ask the students
to do it as an individual task.
• Ask several volunteers to form a small group and to discuss in front of the others
the dilemma To Fish or not to Fish.
• Make copies of the picture on page 134 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
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Resources
DILEMMA
To Fish or not to Fish
You and your parents take a three-day trip to a
beautiful lake where you can go fishing. Fishing
rules say that your family can catch no more than
10 fish during you stay. The first day fishing goes
slow and you manage to catch only three fish,
and very small ones at that. However, the second
day you get luckier, and in just a couple of hours
you have managed to catch seven big ones.
You remember that there are rules about how
many fish you can take. What should you do?
• Go on fishing no matter what.
• Throw out the small fish from the
previous day and go on fishing,
hoping the next three will be bigger.
• Stop fishing and cook the fish
you have caught.
• Stop fishing and decide to rest and enjoy the view.
• Something else.
1Resources 2We 3Solar 4People 5We 6By 7When 8If TEST
What Do We Know about Resources?
TRUE
FALSE
are things we take from nature
■ ■
in order to satisfy our needs and wishes.
can take as many fish from the seas and the oceans
■ ■
as we want and there will always be more.
energy is a renewable and inexhaustible
■ ■
source of energy.
only need clean air, fresh water,
delicious food and shelter.
■ ■
are depleting the natural sources of oil.
■ ■
using things more than once we save resources and
■ ■
energy because we don’t have to replace them right away.
I cut down a tree I should think about
■ ■
where I can plant another one.
the hen lays a golden egg every day,
■ ■
then there must be a hidden treasure in her stomach.
Answer key: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. True 8. False
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Resources
FACT SHEET
Sustainable – Non-sustainable
Read the sentences underneath each pair of boxes. Choose the two pictures that go
with each sentence. Put the picture of the resource in the box on the left and the picture
of how we use it on the right.
The number of fish caught
should not be more than the number
of fish that become adults.
Water should not be taken from
the ground faster than it refills.
Trees should be planted as
fast as they are cut down.
Hunting should watched carefully
to make sure the number of animals
does not go down.
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Resources
FACT SHEET
Lovely Town
Once upon a time there was a small town by the sea. It was
very beautiful, with clean blue sea, sand as soft as silk and
wonderful forests along the coast. They called it Lovely. People
lived in it peacefully and happily. They fished, took vacationers
into their homes, and offered them walks in the forest nearby
or boat trips in the sea. They offered them food made from
local plants and animals.
One day the residents of Lovely got together and decided to change their town by turning
it into a big and attractive tourist centre, which they imagined would give them a chance
to make more money and have better lives. They cut down the forest and started building
new hotels in its place. They also built wide roads along the beach, which destroyed the
sand dunes and the plants growing on them. Many tourists drove their cars to Lovely,
making the town a noisy place. Every day lorries brought food and goods from
distant places to meet the demands of the tourists, and rubbish began piling up.
Lovely was growing all the time. Almost nothing seemed to have remained from
the small town — it had changed beyond recognition. People stopped thinking of
Lovely as a nice place for a holiday, and many stopped coming. The people who lived
in Lovely started to miss the town as it used to be.
One evening a stranger appeared in the central square, where most of the local people
gathered in the evening. He stayed there for a long time, listening to the people talk,
and in the end he told them the following story:
Once upon a time there was a special hen. Every single day it laid a golden egg, shining
like a little sun in a corner of the coop. The owner of the hen checked the weight of the
eggs daily. He kept complaining they were not bigger and said: “Maybe I should just kill
that hen. There must be a treasure in its body. If I take it out, then I will be the richest
man in the world.”
After hesitating for some time he finally made up his mind: he killed the bird
and can you imagine his shock to find out that the inside of the hen was just like any other!
He started pulling his hair in despair and crying bitterly, but everything was in vain.
The miser had lost both the eggs and the hen.
The stranger looked at the saddened townspeople and said,
“Those who rush to riches will often end with nothing.”
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Human Population
The Earth is gradually becoming overpopulated. At present, more than 6 billion people inhabit
the planet. If population growth remains the same, by the middle of the present century there
will be more than 10 billion people on Earth.
The main reason for this growth is the simple fact that there are more people being born
on Earth than people dying. Modern medicine has helped tremendously in the curing of
many diseases and helping people to live longer while the birth rate remains high, especially
in Asian and African countries.
Humans live in quite different fashion than all other living
creatures on the planet. They grow their food, process it, pack it
and transport it elsewhere. With the help of vehicles, people can
cover vast distances in a short amount of time. Various fuels are
used to accomplish this, as well as in heating and lighting. In
contrast with animals, humans attempt to adapt the environment
to their needs by consuming huge quantities of resources and
energy. This makes their lives much more comfortable but can
seriously damage the ecosystems in which they live.
Population growth raises the need to further utilise the Earth’s resources. The more people,
the more energy is consumed, and this in turn leads to problems such as global warming
(the greenhouse effect), acid rain, oil spills, and production of more radioactive waste.
A greater number of people also means a greater demand for food and drinking water,
thereby raising the need for more agricultural land. When agricultural area is already used,
people begin employing artificial fertilisers to increase crop yield. After an initial increase
in production, however, yield drops abruptly due to erosion and salinisation of soil.
The problem of overpopulation is very serious but not unsolvable. What is known today about
the relation between the number of people and the ability of ecosystems to provide the
necessary resources, materials, and suitable living conditions, has given many countries the
motivation to take measures to regulate this process. Some good examples are the successful
programmes operating in China and Thailand. Almost all European countries are considered
not likely to have this problem given the present zero population growth.
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Human Population
However, where such measures have not been taken, nature managed to control human
numbers in simple though cruel fashion. Typical examples are the African countries Ethiopia
and Somalia, in which population growth has led to the deforestation of enormous areas and
the destruction of fertile lands. This, in turn, has led to droughts and the starvation of many.
This is why reasonable population control is one of the main tasks of present-day
governments and international organisations. This problem is closely related to the need
for protection of the ecosystems we live in.
Lesson plan: What does population growth mean?
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
2-3 class periods
Any
The classroom, in the open
Chalk, a bench in the garden, student fact sheet
• To explain the meaning of the exponential growth of population
• To demonstrate that the resources of the Earth are limited
Game, discussion, brainstorming, dilemma solving
Part I: What is exponential growth?
1
Explain to the class that exponential growth of a system means increase through doubling
of numbers: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64...
2
Give the following illustration of exponential growth:
• An amoeba (a microorganism living in water) found itself in a puddle by chance.
• As you know, amoebas reproduce themselves by dividing in half each day
(one amoeba two new ones every day).
• On the 10th day, the puddle was half-filled with amoebas. When will the puddle be full?
(Some will answer “on the 20th day,” but the correct answer is “on the 11th day.”
3
Draw a chalk circle on the ground with a diameter of
about 2 metres. Ask a student to stand in the center
and ask him or her if there is enough room in the circle.
Have another volunteer join the first one, and ask them
the same questions. Have two more students enter the
circle. Ask the same questions. Have four more students
join, then eight, always asking the same questions?
Finally, ask the class, “Can this process go on forever?”
4
Present more information on population growth
and on threatened resources using the introduction
text of this chapter.
5
Organise a discussion on the theme, “What is the reason for population growth today?”
(Medicine development, better hygiene, more food, exponential growth, lack of awareness
of the dangers of overpopulation)
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Human Population
Part II: How many people can the bench hold?
1
Take the class to the park and stop by a bench.
2
Explain that, with population growth, the need for more resources and energy appears.
Changes in lifestyle toward greater consumption influence the situation in the same way.
Use additional information from the introduction part of the chapters “Resources”
and “Human Population.”
3
Ask students to imagine that the bench symbolises the
Earth’s resources — minerals, energy supply, water, etc.
Use the following game to visualise the problem with
resources and the number of people. Ask a student to sit
on the bench. Ask him if it is comfortable to him and if
the “resources” are sufficient. Let another student sit
beside the first one. Repeat the question for both of
them. Invite more and more students to join the first two,
always repeating the questions. Continue until there is no
room on the bench. Ask the class in what way they could
compare the opportunity to sit on the bench with the
Earth’s ability to supply people with resources. Ask students if there is a possibility to crush
the bench if people continue sitting on it, and what would be the equivalent in nature.
4
Organise a brainstorming session on what can be done. (Discussing the issue within the
family; raising public awareness; influencing governments and international institutions to
initiate programmes encouraging population control, etc.).
5
Ask students to think of and describe similar examples in order to visualise the problem
of population growth and limited resources. Read the most successful ones in class.
Encourage students to discuss the bench experiment at home.
Part III: The price of peas
1
Using the story The Price of Peas may explain the idea of the exponential growth to the
students in a more amusing way. Ask one or two volunteers to read the story aloud or
organise a small play with the participation of several students in the roles of the stranger,
the innkeeper and the guests at the inn.
Other activities
• Give the Population Growth test. Discuss the answers as a group.
• Work with the How Many Children? dilemma. Ask the students to discuss it in groups.
Give them the freedom to support various arguments in favour of what they think should
be done.
• Invite an expert form an ecology institution or a non-government organisation to give the
students additional information about problems associated with the growing population
and limited resources on Earth.
• Make copies of the picture on page 135 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
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Human Population
DILEMMA
How Many Children?
You love family very much and would like
to have many children. But you know that
population growth is a serious problem.
What would you do?
• plan a big family with many children
anyway;
• have no children;
• have no more than 1-2 children; or
• something else.
1At 2In 3People, 4In 5The 6The 7The 8Population TEST
Population Growth
TRUE
FALSE
present, the human population is over 6 billion.
■ ■
coming decades, the number of people in the world
will not increase.
■ ■
unlike animals, try much more to adapt
■ ■
the environment to their needs.
future, the Earth’s resources (farming land, food, water,
■ ■
raw materials, energy) will be enough for the growing
population of the planet.
problem of regulating the number of people is serious,
■ ■
but it is not impossible.
series of numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,... is an example
■ ■
of exponential growth.
problem of fast population growth is most serious
■ ■
in countries in Asia and Africa.
growth brings extra pressure to bear
■ ■
on the ecosystems.
Answer key: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. False 7. True 8. True
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Human Population
FACT SHEET
The Price of Peas
A crowd of people had gathered in an inn.
Everybody’s mood was at its height when they heard
the clatter of hoofs and saw a strange rider on a
beautiful white horse enter the yard. A minute later,
he entered the inn and sat at an empty table.
The innkeeper was very happy about the rich guest
and wanted to get a lot of money from him,
but the stranger only ordered a glass of beer.
“I’ll make you loosen your purse strings,” the greedy
innkeeper thought and sat at the stranger’s table.
He tried to find out the stranger’s name and where
he was from, but the man didn’t utter a word.
The innkeeper then started saying nice things
about the man’s horse.
“Yes,” the rider said, breaking his silence.
“It’s a wonderful horse. I crossed many lands riding it,
but now I have to part with it, because I bought
a ship and I’m going to continue my journey sailing
along the Rhein. Would you like to buy it?”
The innkeeper’s eyes sparkled, but he didn’t give
himself away. He calmly replied, “Why should I need a horse? I have four horses
in my stable. But … if you don’t want too much money, your horse could be the fifth.”
“We’ll agree to terms about the price!” said the stranger, smiling.
“I don’t want money — you can pay me in peas.”
“A horse for peas!” the innkeeper cried. “My cellar is full of peas. But you must be joking!”
He was all ears, anticipating the bargain.
“I’m not joking at all,” answered the rider calmly. “Let’s settle our deal like this…”
The visitors in the pub were curious about the unusual bargain, and so they came closer
as the rider named his conditions.
“My horse has four legs,” he said. “He has a hoof on each leg and a horseshoe on each
hoof. There are eight nails on each shoe. Remember this: four horseshoes with eight nails
each — that makes thirty-two nails. And you, my dear sir,” he said to the innkeeper,
“will only pay for the nails…”
“With peas?” the eager innkeeper hurriedly interrupted him.
“Only peas and only for the nails,” nodded the stranger. “I’ll give you the horse for free!”
Everybody gasped at the amazing offer, but the cautious innkeeper asked,
“And how many peas must I give you, my dear sir?”
“Not many. For the first nail, I want only one pea.”
“One!” The happy innkeeper clapped his hands.
“For the second nail, two peas.”
“Two peas!” whispered the people as they chuckled.
Continued on next page
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Human Population
FACT SHEET
The Price of Peas (continued)
“For the third nail, four peas,” the
stranger calmly went on. “For the fourth,
eight peas, and for the fifth, sixteen…
And so on, for every following nail twice
as many.”
The people couldn’t keep quiet any longer
and roared with laughter. “This freak will
give away his horse for a handful of peas!”
they cried. “He must be crazy!”
The innkeeper was at a loss with
surprise, when one of the men shouted
at him: “Why are you silent, innkeeper?
If you can’t make up your mind,
I’ll buy the horse!”
The innkeeper stopped hesitating.
“A handful of peas more or a handful less, who cares!” he exclaimed. “Let’s shake hands
and my guests will witness that this is a freely-made deal. But you watch out!”
He pointed his finger at the stranger and said, “Don’t back out in the end!”
They shook hands in front of all the witnesses. The guests closed the deal giving their word
of honour, and the happy innkeeper took out a keg of his best pilsner. When they emptied
the keg, he walked to the stranger, smiled and said, “Wasn’t that stupid of you, my dear sir?
Let’s check how many peas I owe you for the beautiful white horse.”
“Give me a piece of chalk,” the stranger answered, ignoring the innkeeper’s rude
comment. He pushed his glass aside and started writing on the table: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64...
“Look, 64 peas for the seventh nail,” laughed the men.
But the stranger didn’t seem to hear. He went on writing: 128, 256, 512, 1,024, 2,048,
4,096, 8,192, 16,384, 32,768 ... He got as far as the sixteenth nail when the innkeeper
drew a long face. At the twentieth nail he was as white as sheet, and when they reached
the thirty-second one they had to join five tables in a line, because the number was as long
as a snake and three tables couldn’t hold it.
“Wow!” exclaimed one guest. “If the horse had six legs, we’d have to open the door
and write the numbers all the way to the town hall!”
But the joke wasn’t funny for the innkeeper. There he sat, more dead than alive with
astonishment. Finishing his calculations, the stranger turned to him with a kind smile.
“My dear friend, could I buy two hundred sacks from you to take away my peas?
I think ten carts can take it to the port on ten trips.” The innkeeper jumped to his feet.
“This isn’t fair!” he shouted. “You’ve made a fool of me! I don’t agree with your conditions!”
“It’s too late!’ The stranger answered back calmly and the guests confirmed that it was
a freely-made deal. The innkeeper collapsed on the table, powerless, covering his face
in his hands while the guests laughed.
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Social Development
and the Environment
People do not live alone: we are all part of a society. Societies provide goods, a place to live,
jobs, entertainment, and many other things people want. However, these functions have
a serious impact on the environment. Things like electricity, gas, water, transport and agriculture
all harm the environment, as do mining, construction and the production of metals.
The environmental impact of increased production and consumption in Europe
is steadily growing. Food and beverages, private transport, and housing (including construction
and energy consumption) are those consumption categories that have the most impact over
the course of their life cycles.
Today, Europe generates ever more waste. The amount of municipal waste is increasing
by an average of 2 percent each year. In different countries, the volumes of waste range
from 0.5 tonnes to 18 tonnes per person. Up to 4 percent of this amount is hazardous waste,
which presents a distinctive risk to human health and environment. Proper waste collection
and safe landfill remain challenges facing many European countries.
Thus, the challenge before Europeans is to break the link between economic growth and
environmental impact from consumption, unsustainable use of resources and generation of
waste. Putting a computer in every home could hardly be considered an economic success if
we simultaneously continue wiping out plant and animal species, razing forests, grinding down
mountains, siphoning off our rivers, paving plains, modifying our climate, polluting the air
and tainting our blood.
Managing this increasingly stressed relationship between the European economy and European
ecosystems, whose capacities are essentially fixed, becomes ever more demanding.
The demands on political institutions to reverse this deterioration will intensify. The challenges
before our societies to reach sustainable development are climbing ever higher on the
international political agenda, at times preoccupying international diplomats almost as much
as arms control negotiations during the cold war.
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Lesson plan: Social development
Duration
Time of year
Place
Materials
Aims
Methods
4-5 class periods
Any
The classroom
2 drinking glasses of different sizes, coloured paper
• To demonstrate that there are limits in nature which cannot
be exceeded
• To analyse negative changes in the environment which lead
to conflict
• To demonstrate that through cooperation and tolerance,
difficulties may be overcome
• To raise awareness about the present society responsibility
before next generations
• To understand that everybody could contribute to the sustainable
development of the present society
Demonstration, discussion, brainstorming
Part I: Carrying capacity (for younger students)
1
Explain to the students that carrying capacity in nature means the number of organisms
which can exist in one place. The most important factors defining carrying capacity are the
availability of water, food, shelter and space. Carrying capacity is valid for all living creatures,
though humans can adapt more easily to dramatic changes in environmental conditions.
For animals and plants, adaptation is more difficult. An ecosystem’s carrying capacity
changes depending on seasonal variation or the effect of natural disasters (e.g. floods,
storms, frost, volcanoes). Human activities can strongly influence carrying capacity as well.
2
To illustrate carrying capacity, take a drinking glass,
fill it with water and tell the students that it is an ecosystem
populated with various plants and animals. This ecosystem
has a definite capacity for the creatures which inhabit it.
Then suggest that all of them should move to a smaller
ecosystem. Use a smaller glass for this purpose:
• Begin pouring the water from the larger to the
smaller glass. When half of the smaller glass is full,
ask the students if they think there is still room for
the animals and plants.
• Resume pouring the water until the small glass is full.
Ask if the ecosystem has reached its carrying capacity.
• Again resume pouring water into the smaller glass as it overflows.
Ask if the carrying capacity has been exceeded. What is happening with extra water?
How can this be related to processes happening in the natural ecosystem?
3
Ask additional questions and provide further examples explaining carrying capacity:
• Ask the students if any of them has an aquarium at home and if it is possible to add
new fish to it endlessly.
• How many people do the students have in their families? Are there cases in which the
number of people living together can be considerably increased? (large blocks of flats,
camps, the army) How do people feel when living in cramped space?
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4
Explain
• What happens to migrating birds in autumn?
Why do they fly south? What happens with grass
in winter and how do grazing animals react?
Why do some animals hibernate?
Ask the students if they can give similar examples.
• What happens to the inhabitants of a wet area
(e.g. a marsh, a puddle) after it has dried up?
Which of them leave in search of new habitat
and which of them die out?
• If the people living in a region with a river decide to
use up all of its water for their own purposes (e.g.
drinking, irrigating, industry), what will happen to the plants, animals and people living
further downstream? Can a situation like this create conflict?
to the students that animals either leave, die or experience a lower birth rate; plants
usually cannot adapt quickly enough and die. This situation is different for humans, as they
can adapt much more easily to new conditions and cope with various difficulties. Despite
this adaptability, exceeding carrying capacity very often brings about conflict, war and
mass suffering. Usually the use of force does not lead to the settling of an argument; it only
makes it worse. Even when temporarily abated, the problems can arise again in the future.
Part II: The river which flows downstream (for older students)
1
Explain to the class that enough food, water, clean air and shelter make a good living place.
If the threat of enemies, wild animals or the extremes of nature are not felt, this will be
a good reason to build a home; this is the way our ancestors thought when they decided
where to settle. Eventually, groups of homes became villages, and villages grew into towns.
The communities formed developed complex economic, social and political relations both
within themselves and with the neighbouring communities.
Today, in spite of development of modern civilisation and the amazing achievements of
technology, human well-being and safety still depends on preservation of the environment
and sustainable use of resources.
More often than not, tension and the conflict in various regions begin from ecological
problems. Detailed investigation and analysis, followed by straightforward dialogue to
reach fair and sustainable resolutions with all concerned sides participating can serve
as a bridge to mutual trust and cooperation in solving common problems.
2
Read the story Downstream in class.
3
Discuss the following questions with the students:
• What is the water of the river?
(A natural resource, which serves both environment
and people living in the two villages.)
• Why is the river happy to reach the sea? (Its balanced
use until the active human intrusion gave all and
everybody the chance to benefit from its water.)
• What is the reason the mayor in the upper village suggests building a dam?
(The desire for a better and richer life. There is nothing wrong with this desire,
since it is a natural desire of all people to develop and live well.)
• What mistake do the people in the upper village make?
(They made a decision to use almost all the water resources without considering the
needs of the people in the village downstream, leading to serious consequences.)
• What are the consequences? (Disappearance of animals and plants, diminishing of
crops, cutting down of the forest, impoverishment and migration of the people from the
lower village, conflicts between the two villages, loss of friendly relations and traditions.)
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Social Development and the Environment
4
Conclude
5
For
Organise student feedback following this example:
• Status – Water (natural resource); its use was balanced
• Change – Mayor (politician, businessman), deciding to build a dam
• Reasons – Desire for development and better living
• Mistakes – The needs of the environment and the people in the other village are not
considered
• Consequences – Loss of plants and animals, impoverishment of the people, migration
and conflicts
that when important decisions are made, it is possible to hurt various,
and quite often, opposing interests. The consequences cannot always be easily predicted
and can very often lead to serious conflict. To avoid complications and critical situations,
all economic, social and political factors should be considered in advance. This is not easy
and always takes time, patience, flexibility and mutual respect.
homework, assign the students to discuss Downstream with their parents. Hand out
copies of the story Who is Stronger? in advance. Ask students to find solutions to national
or regional conflicts, which can be based on the main idea of the story. In the next lesson,
ask the students to give their suggestions for resolutions to the conflicts.
Part III: Balance
1
Explain that people are part of nature and development of human society has always
depended on the environment.
2
Explain that you will try to follow the way interaction between people and nature
has changed through the use of a scale. Draw on the blackboard/flipchart the scale
as shown in the picture below. First write the relations between the people and nature
at the early stages of the history of human society:
Nature provides:
• Air, water soil
• Plants, animals
• Resources, energy
Human activities:
• ...
• ...
• ...
3
In
Equilibrium
• People gathered fruit and roots, grew plants, hunted and domesticated animals,
gathered firewood, and lived in homes of relatively simple construction.
Write this feedback in the right-hand scale.
• Talk about the population of the past and what technology the people had.
• Discuss whether past human society disturbed the balance between people and nature.
Conclude that, in the past, human activities could not disturb the balance of natural systems.
similar fashion, analyse natural resources and human activities in contemporary society.
Students will know from previous units that air, water, soil, plants and animals have not
changed much. People have, to some extent, developed their ability to use new raw
materials and energy. On the other hand, human activities (e.g. mining, development
of industry and transport, power and heating energy production, cutting down of forests,
draining of marshes, digging of canals, fishing and hunting on a large scale) have grown
immensely. Write this feedback in the right-hand scale. Discuss the way the human
population has changed in the last century, adding more information about new
technologies which have been introduced in modern society and the average standard
of living. Decide if we can still hope that the scales can be kept in balance.
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Social Development and the Environment
Part IV: How to pull out the turnip
1
Tell the class that rapid development of contemporary
society causes the rise of extremely serious problems
such as climate change, environment pollution
and extinction of a number of biological species.
Solving these problems is important, but is impossible
to achieve by a single country, institution or person.
2
Tell the students that you are going to play a game
which will illustrate a way to approach problems in
order to solve them. Ask a volunteer to read the story
The Enormous Turnip. An alternative is to organise a role
play by choosing six volunteers to take the roles of grandfather, grandmother,
granddaughter, dog, cat and mouse.
3
Ask the students how they felt while acting. What impressed them most?
4
Make an analogy between the story and the potential of contemporary society to solve
serious problems. Give each character in the story the role of an institutional
representative: the grandfather can be an international organisation; the grandmother,
the state; the granddaughter, the local authority; the dog, the business sector; the cat,
a non-governmental organisation; and the mouse, the individual person.
5
Having distributed the new roles in this way, act the new storyline again, in which
the “turnip” represents a particular global problem (e.g. climate change, water pollution).
6
Make conclusions about the importance of each participant and the need to unite efforts.
Note that common cause unites even “enemies” like dog and cat or cat and mouse.
Part V: Today we borrow nature from our children
1
Introduce the ancient saying from Kashmir, “We are borrowing nature from our children.”
Discuss the meaning.
2
In the context of the saying, discuss the responsibility of every generation toward the next.
Try to illustrate this by giving examples related to your town or village and the environment.
(change in landscape, the state of the water in the near river or lake, the threats to
particular animal and plant species, etc.)
3
Ask the students to draw pictures on the topic “Earth in 100 years,” in which to present
their expectations and ideas about life in the future. Organise an exhibition and talk
about the pictures.
Part VI: How can I help?
1
Remind the students that everyone is responsible for solving the problems facing
contemporary society. Draw on the blackboard/flipchart the Pyramid of Responsibilities.
International organisations
National governments
Regional/local administrations
Scientific/professional/citizen organisations/business companies
Citizens
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Social Development and the Environment
2
Draw
3
Tell
4
All
students’ attention to the fact that at the bottom
of the pyramid are the activities of common people.
In partaking of certain activities, citizens contribute to
the development of the community and at the same time
impact social health and the environment.
Without participation of the people no decision made
in the upper layers of the pyramid could be realised. Ask,
“What sort of pyramid would this be if it had no base?”
the students that it is of utmost importance that every
one of them should answer the question, “What could I do
to help the sustainable development of society?” For this
purpose, draw on the board/flipchart the trunk of a deciduous tree in winter bare of leaves,
and hand out five sheets of coloured paper which have previously been cut into the shapes
of leaves. Ask them to think a little and then write on each sheet the things they could do to
improve life in the community without harming human health or the environment by doing it.
Encourage the students to remember activities connected with their work in previous lessons
(e.g. plant a tree, take care of flowers and animals, save energy and water, walk, bicycle,
clean the schoolyard, sort and recycle waste).
students take turns presenting their ideas and stick their “leaves” on the tree branches.
At the end of this activity, the result will be a beautiful, colourful tree created through
the class’s joint efforts.
Other activities
• Talk about particular challenges related to the plans for development of your town or village
and the protection of people’s health and the environment. When establishing partnership
at local level, start with the information provided in the How to Involve Others fact sheet.
• Design a one-year plan to draw the local community’s attention to environmental problems
and societal development using the Environmental Calendar.
• Make copies of the picture on page 142 and hand them out to the students to colour in.
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Social Development and the Environment
DILEMMA
Forest Pillage
You are walking in the forest when you see
someone you know cutting down trees illegally
for fire wood. An hour later, when you are
leaving the forest, you meet a forest ranger
who asks if you have seen anyone cutting
down trees. What would you do?
• say that you don’t know anything and you
haven’t seen anyone;
• admit that you know who did it;
• tell the ranger that you heard someone in
the other direction;
• tell him nothing, but then call him later with
information without giving your name;
• tell the ranger nothing, and but tell your
friend you are angry at him;
• something else.
1The 2Carrying 3Animals 4Human 5Today, 6To 7When 8Children TEST
Sustainable Development
TRUE
FALSE
most important factors that make up the carrying
■ ■
capacity are water, food, shelter and sufficient space.
capacity is valid for all leaving creatures
■ ■
except human beings.
and plants have a harder time adapting
■ ■
to big changes in the environment than people do.
activities do not influence the carrying capacity
■ ■
of ecosystems.
very often tension and conflict come with
■ ■
environmental problems.
avoid complications and critical situations all economic,
■ ■
social and political factors should be considered in advance.
people say “We are borrowing nature from our children,”
■ ■
they mean that children should do more work in the garden.
should not worry about the environment.
■ ■
Adults are taking care of everything.
Answer key: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. False 8. False
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FACT SHEET
Downstream
Once upon a time there was a deep turbulent
river, which started its life high in the mountain as
a small brook. The brook flowed across the alpine
pastures, enjoying the sight of huge flocks of
sheep, goats and cows. After that the brook went
through a large forest, giving its water to the trees,
plants and animals on the way. Other brooks and
streams joined it and finally it emerged from the
forest as a large and deep river, which reached the
valley quite calmly. It went on across fields and
meadows and its waters were the home of many
fish and other river creatures. In the end, the river
met the sea and flowed happily into it, having
done so many good deeds on its long journey.
There was a village in the upper reaches of the
river whose happy inhabitants grazed their cattle,
hunted, or gathered fruit and berries. There was
another village in the valley, whose inhabitants
sowed and reaped their fields, raised cattle and
fished in the river. They sometimes went hunting
in the forest. These villagers were also happy.
Once in a while, people from the villages traded
among themselves, visited one another, feasted
together, and married their sons and daughters
to those of the other village.
Thus the two villages lived in peace and happiness,
until the day when the mayor of the upper village
proposed damming the river. “If we store more
water from the river,” he told the people,
“we’ll be able to raise more cattle. We’ll build
a small power plant, which will drive our lumber
mills. We’ll live better and be prosperous.”
The villagers agreed and dammed up the river, leaving a small part of its water to continue
downstream. They increased the number of their flocks and soon more trees were needed
for processing in the lumber mills.
The changes were quickly noticed in the lower village. The water which reached their fields
and pastures was too little. Crops diminished and the fish grew less and less. Fewer animals
and berries could be found in the forest. People began to become poorer.
Communication between the people from the two villages stopped and common feasts
were no longer organised. Some young people from the lower village left, moving
elsewhere in search of a better life. Among those who remained, some became involved
in quarrels with the people from the upper village. Thus happiness and peace were
banished from both villages.
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FACT SHEET
Who is Stronger?
Once upon a time, Sun and Wind were best friends. They played together happily but were
also very proud.
Once they argued over who was stronger. “When I start blowing in the forest,” said Wind,
“I bend the trees and shake off their leaves. I am stronger.”
“When I heat the earth,” argued Sun, “I melt the snow and turn the water of the lakes
and rivers into vapour.”
They argued on and on, but neither would agree that the other was stronger.
Suddenly they spotted a man in the field, who was hurrying on his way.
The man was wearing a thick leather coat.
“Let’s match our strength!” suggested Wind. “The one who manages to strip the man
of his coat is stronger.”
“You’re on!” agreed Sun.
Wind was the first to try his strength. He threw himself on the man, blowing fiercely,
trying to get under the man’s coat to blow it off him. The man held his coat around himself
tightly, bent his head and went on walking across the field. The wind blew and blew,
but he couldn’t get the man’s coat off. Wind soon grew tired and stepped aside in shame.
It was now Sun’s turn. He started to smile, which sent his warm rays over the man.
The man went on walking until he was dripping with sweat. He then wiped his brow
and slowly took off his coat. He flung it over his arm and walked on.
Thus Sun and Wind settled their argument. Wind now understood that a warm smile
was stronger than all the blowing in the world.
This can also happen in life:
A warm smile and a kind word can achieve more than strength.
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FACT SHEET
The Enormous Turnip
Grandfather planted some turnip seeds. The turnip seeds grew, and one turnip
grew enormous.
“I want that enormous turnip on my table,” said Grandfather. He yanked and tugged,
but he couldn’t pull it up.
Grandfather called to Grandmother, “Help me pull up this enormous turnip.”
Together, they yanked and tugged, but couldn’t pull it up.
Grandmother called to Granddaughter, “Help us pull up this enormous turnip.”
And all three yanked and tugged, but couldn’t pull it up.
Granddaughter called the dog, “Help us pull up this enormous turnip.”
The four of them yanked and tugged, but couldn’t pull it up.
The dog called to the cat, “Help us pull up this enormous turnip.”
The five of them yanked and tugged, but couldn’t pull it up.
The cat called to the mouse, “Help us pull up this enormous turnip,” she said.
Now all six yanked and tugged and yanked and … up popped the enormous turnip!
And they all enjoyed turnip on the table…
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FACT SHEET
How to Involve Others
We do not live alone: We are part of a society. Societies are set up to provide goods,
living space, jobs, entertainment, and all sorts of services for people’s needs.
These activities are performed by different people — architects, builders, drivers, librarians,
teachers, policemen, and doctors, to name a few. Though with different professions,
customs and culture, the people that surround us can work together on nature protection
activities held by teachers and students. Why?
• Everyone benefits from a beautiful and clean environment.
• Through families, the influence of teachers and students can reach an incredibly
large group of people.
• Don’t forget that even the worst bureaucrat and toughest businessman were once
children. Very often, students can find quite successful approaches to adults seemingly
indifferent to your efforts.
Getting them involved
The municipality
Find out if there is an officer in your municipal administration who
is responsible for nature protection. Find his/her telephone number.
Call him/her and ask for a meeting but make sure to be well
prepared. Go to the meeting together with some of your students
and present your activities and your future plans. The discussion with
this officer can lead to interesting ideas which could later grow into
joint projects of mutual interest. Don’t forget to invite representatives
of the municipality to the events you organise. Don’t count only on the mayor:
He is usually quite busy and very rarely will be able to attend your events.
Do invite the public relations officer and those you have already contacted.
The regional environment protection agency
Find out where the regional agency offices are for your region.
Organise a meeting with their representatives. Ask for information
about the biggest problems in the region. Introduce them to your
activities, and search for opportunities for joint actions. The agencies
can help you with contacts for state environmental funds which,
although quite insufficient at present, could support some of
your activities.
Religious communities
Meet the local spiritual leaders. Tell them about your activities and plans.
After a short conversation with them, you will be surprised to find out
what interesting stories are in holy books such as the Bible or the Koran.
These stories often present examples of responsible and reasonable
human attitudes towards all living creatures and the environment. Talk to
them and think about how you could use the experience and wisdom
accumulated through the centuries, and the moral messages of these sacred books for your
environmental activities. Explore other value systems, such as those of the American Indians or
the ancient Thracians and Hellenes. This will add new aspects to your attitude to nature.
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Social Development and the Environment
FACT SHEET
How to Involve Others (continued)
Local businesses
Make a list of the larger industrial, agricultural or forestry enterprises
in your region, town or village. Don’t omit large tourist
establishments, petrol stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and others.
Try to find out if any of them have a negative environmental impact.
Are there members of your family working for them? Find out
who the PR officer is and make an appointment with him/her.
Prepare well for this meeting. Don’t forget that the representatives
of big polluters have many arguments up their sleeves with which to defend a careless
approach to the environment. You must be ready to oppose them with your studies on
pollution and ways to solve the problems. Emphasise that you come as partners willing
to help solving those problems. Ask them to fund your activities which will be of mutual
benefit. Invite them to your activities. Inform them about everything you do. It is quite
possible that after a few meetings you will find a permanent assistant (or founder) within
the local business community. It is not obligatory to receive support “in cash,” and in many
cases the materials or transport provided by local businessmen will be quite sufficient.
Local journalists
Involvement of journalists in the preparation, organisation
and promotion of environmental action is of high importance.
Don’t forget to invite journalists to any of your public events. Keep
them informed. Try to win space or time in their newspapers, radio
programmes or local cable TV. Present them with your materials
or other interesting information you have come upon in connection
with your environmental activities.
The health inspectorate
Meet with a representative of the health inspectorate for your
region. Find out which environmental components (drinking water,
food safety, toxic waste, etc.) the inspectorate is responsible for.
Request literature or information which might be useful
to your activity.
Use public meeting places
These may be cafes, restaurants, big shops, the cinema, or a
municipal building. Try to arrange a place of your own where an
eco-stand may be organised. There you can exhibit photos and other
materials connected with your activity, thereby allowing more to read,
see and know about you and the tasks you have set for yourselves.
Try to persuade at least one cafe owner to convert his place into an
eco-cafe. Provide him with advice on cups and cutlery to be used,
and how to deal with waste. Offer to decorate his place. As a reward, promise him that
some students, teachers and parents will become permanent clients of his. If you publish
leaflets or a newspaper, always make sure to provide the eco-cafe with copies.
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FACT SHEET
Environmental Calendar
February 2 • World Wetlands Day
This day is celebrated by local communities around the world who
are promoting public awareness of the value and functions of wetlands,
both for the environment and for people.
March 21 • World Forestry Day
Activities are held such as the planting of trees and highlighting the urgency
to increase the green cover.
March 22 • World Water Day
The decision to celebrate this day has been taken recently, as drinking water
sources are fast depleting. The world must wake up to the problem and
begin conserving it.
April 7 • World Health Day
The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded on this day in 1948.
In the changing environment around us, health is becoming an important
issue.
April 22 • Earth Day
In 1970, a group of people in the United States got together to draw
the world’s attention to the problems caused by modernisation.
Since then, this day has been celebrated worldwide as Earth Day.
2nd Saturday in May • International Migratory Bird Day
This day encourages bird conservation and increases awareness of birds
through hikes, bird watching, information about birds and migration,
public events, and a variety of other educational programmes.
May 15 • Climate Action Day
Since 1992, environmental groups all over the world have used this day
to focus on climate change.
May 22 • International Biodiversity Day
International Biological Diversity Day was proclaimed by the United Nations
to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
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FACT SHEET
Environmental Calendar (continued)
June 5 • World Environment Day
On this day in 1972, the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment
was held in Sweden. There was a large gathering from all over the world and
people expressed their concerns about increasing environmental problems.
June 17 • World Day to Combat Desertification
This is celebrated globally each year and aims to emphasise the urgent
need to curb the process of desertification and to strengthen the visibility
of the serious dry lands issue on the international environmental agenda.
September 16 • World Ozone Day
The United Nations declared this day as the International Day for
the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. It is the day the Montreal Protocol
was signed.
September 27 • World Tourism Day
Celebrated since 1980, the purpose of World Tourism Day is to display
awareness that tourism is vital to the international community and to show
how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
September 28 • Green Consumer Day
The problems of consumerism and its impact on the environment is an area
of major concern in today’s world. Awareness building on the importance
of recycling-reusing-reducing should be taken seriously.
1st Monday of October • World Habitat Day
The first Monday in October is World Habitat Day to reflect on the state
of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all.
Humans share the world with all living creatures, so our world is their world.
October 4 • World Animal Day
On this day, animal welfare groups, sanctuaries and individuals throughout
the world hold special events to heighten public awareness of animal issues
and to encourage people to think about how we as humans relate to animals.
December 11 • International Mountain Day
Mountains are important to life. On this day we emphasise the opportunities
and constraints in mountain development and build partnerships that will
bring positive change to the world’s mountains and highlands.
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Colouring Section
Green Pack Junior 127

Connections
Everything around us is connected
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Atmosphere
We can’t do without clean air
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Water
Protect water from pollution
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Soil
Soil supports life on the Earth — take care of it
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Energy
Everything needs the sun
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Biodiversity
Without animals and plants the Earth would be a desert
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Resources
The overuse of natural resources destroys our environment
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Human population
Earth is gradually becoming overpopulated
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Consumption and Waste
Reuse and recycle paper products
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Consumption and Waste
We can save a lot of energy by recycling glass
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Consumption and Waste
By recycling plastics, we create a cleaner environment
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Consumption and Waste
Composting helps our gardens
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Consumption and Waste
By recycling metals, we can save a lot of needed energy
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Consumption and Waste
Rubbish won’t throw itself away
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Social Development and the Environment
A warm smile and a kind word can achieve more than strength
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About the REC
■ The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) is a non-partisan, nonadvocacy,
not-for-profit international organisation with a mission to assist in solving environmental
problems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The center fulfils this mission by promoting
cooperation among non-governmental organisations, governments, businesses and other
environmental stakeholders, and by supporting the free exchange of information and public
participation in environmental decision making.
The REC was established in 1990 by the United States, the European Commission and Hungary.
Today, the REC is legally based on a charter signed by the governments of 29 countries and
the European Commission, and on an international agreement with the government of Hungary.
The REC has its head office in Szentendre, Hungary, and country offices and field offices in
17 beneficiary countries, which are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.
Recent donors are the European Commission and the governments of Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary,
Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as other inter-governmental
and private institutions.
Toyota Motor Europe supported the REC through the Toyota Fund for Europe in producing the
Green Pack Junior for use by teachers and students.
This free product is part of the REC’s work on education for sustainable development under the
Education and Capacity Building Department. The REC aims to increase the individual capacity of
present and future educators and teachers in their mission to develop new values in students, and to
set up a new model of behaviour at school, at home and in society. Via the educators and their pupils,
the main messages of the Green Pack Junior are addressed to other members of the family and society.