COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION

This segment of the curriculum is organized to show students the impact that community-based groups can have on their environment and community. We used Costa Rica as a model to design many of the activities that relate this idea to students' own local situations. In addition to its natural resources, Costa Rica possesses an asset in its people. The population values education, health services and economic development. They also highly regard their environment, which is evident from the large public, and private natural reserves set aside. This unit begins with an activity that helps students see that cooperative groups share a common purpose; students identify cooperative groups in their own community. Students then sort their community-based organizations into two groups: those that pertain to environmental issues and those that pertain to other issues. In a simulated local activism project, students work as a cooperative group to improve or impact a small part of their local environment. Students learn about Costa Rican community-based organizations through first person case studies, which they then compare to their own community groups. This is followed by an activity in which students design a sustainable environment. The unit culminates with the student doing a community project.

Activity 1: Building Cooperation Activity 2: What's Local? Activity 3: What's The Effect? Activity 4: Costa Rican Case Studies Activity 5: Your Favorite Island Activity 6: You Can Do It

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Activity 1: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

BUILDING COOPERATION Subject: all subject areas Grade level: 6-9 Group size: small/large group Methods: discussion, cooperative groups, hands-on activity Skills: group cooperation, problem-solving Duration: 1 class period

Purpose: To familiarize students with the term and concepts of cooperative groups. Objective: Students will define a cooperative group. Materials: Chalkboard or overhead projector Each student needs a bag of “connectors” or a bag of “lengths”: Possible connectors: tape, clay, pipe cleaner pieces, string, marshmallows, gumdrops Possible lengths: spaghetti, toothpicks, straws, pretzel sticks Procedure: 1. Divide students into groups of four. Each student will be given a bag with either connectors or lengths. Make sure each group has at least one bag of connectors and one bag of lengths. 2. Directions to students: “You've all had the opportunity to work in groups. We'll do an activity that builds cooperation. Your group will have seven minutes to build the highest freestanding structure possible. You are responsible for use of the items in your bag only. You may not talk during this activity. You may not take items from another person's bag. You may give items from your bag to another person within your group. Begin.” 3. After seven minutes have passed, discuss this activity with students. Possible discussion questions: a. What did you like about this activity? b. What problems did you have with this activity? c. If you did this activity again, what would you do differently?

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d. What are the characteristics of a cooperative group? e. What was your common goal in this activity? Optional: Groups may be rewarded for the completion of the structure or you may reward the group with the highest structure. 4. Directions to students: “What things were said or done that hindered your group's progress? What things were said or done that helped your Activity 1: group succeed?” On the chalkboard or overhead list those items that led to success under the heading: ‘Things That Help a Group’. “In your cooperative group, list the things your group did that helped you accomplish your goal. Then your group should write a definition for ‘cooperative group’ to share with the class.” Closure: Have each group share their group's definition. Extension: Do the building activity again. Have students decide how they could work together to be more successful at the task. Have one person in each group observe and record the number of times someone does something on the list of 'Things That Help a Group'. You could also change the rules such as letting students talk during the activity.

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Activity 2: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

WHAT'S LOCAL? Subject: Social Studies, Language Arts Grade level: 6-9 Group size: small/large group Methods: discussion, brainstorming, research Skills: listing, formulating questions, reading for details, classifying Duration: 1-2 class periods

Purpose: To familiarize students with their own community-based organizations. Objectives: Students will: 1. Identify community-based organizations. 2. Select important details from given information. 3. Classify community-based organizations according to their purpose. Materials: Overhead projector/chalkboard Case studies of community-based organizations Procedure: Part 1: 1. Ask students to write a definition for cooperative groups. Have student(s) share definitions. (See Activity 1.) 2. Brainstorm as a class a list of organizations in the community that were formed for common goals or objectives (e.g. Bicycle Club, Ducks Unlimited, Friends of the Library, Skiing Club, Masons, 4-H Club, Spanish Club, PTO, Neighborhood Watch, Rotary, Urban Dreams, Sierra Club, Stamp Club, Canoe Club, Natural Heritage Foundation, Rails-to-Trails, Farm Cooperative, Prairie Endowment Fund). 3. Ask the class to think of questions they might ask to learn more about a communitybased organization. These will be put on a questionnaire to be used to finish the activity. Sample questions include: a. What is the name of the organization? b. Who is involved? c. How many people are involved? d. What is the common purpose / objective of the organization? e. Where do they work? 5

f. When was it formed? g. Does it have any national connections? h. What are its accomplishments? i. Were there any difficulties that had to be overcome? Create and duplicate a questionnaire with these questions. 4. Practice using the questionnaire with the fictitious case studies attached to this activity. Present the case studies in one of the following ways: a. to the large group with the teacher or students reading it to the class. b. in small groups with the students reading it. c. to each individual and read silently. Using information from the letter, students may complete the questionnaire: a. as a whole group using the chalkboard or overhead projector. b. in small groups where each group shares how they completed the questionnaire. c. individually with a follow-up discussion. Part 2: 5. Directions for assignment: Gather information about a local organization by consulting community resources such as the library, school media center, phone book, local government agencies, parents, grandparents and neighbors. Complete a questionnaire for at least one organization. 6. Discuss with students what they found out about local organizations or have each give a short report about the organization they researched. 7. Classify the organizations into two groups: those involving environmental issues and those involving other issues. Closure: Ask each student to identify one thing they learned about the organization someone else reported on. Extensions: 1. Compile questionnaires of local organizations into a booklet. Use as a resource in your classroom or school media center. 2. Invite a representative of a local organization as a guest speaker. 3. Have students imagine the organization they would like to belong to or found. Direct students to write a letter to their classmates telling them about their organization.

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Case Study #1

Dear Students, As your teacher has asked, I'm writing to tell you about an organization I helped start in 1994. Stone.

My name is Jessica

I'm an eighth grader at Lincoln Middle School in

Crossroad, Iowa.

After a speaker talked to our science

classes about the fragile prairie and the business that hires people to grow and to harvest prairie grass seed, seven middle school students started a group called Prairies Forever.

We are concerned about the vanishing prairie.

After proving that we would be responsible enough to care for a part of the school grounds, we were allowed to turn a small portion of our school grounds into a prairie. Our group has now grown to thirty-six members who all take turns caring for our prairie plot. the seed.

We plan to harvest

The money we earn from the bake sales, prairie

seed sales and other activities we donate to a group that buys prairie land in our county. I feel good about contributing in this way to my community.

Sincerely, Jessica Stone

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Case Study #2

Dear Students, As your teacher has asked, I'm writing to tell you about an organization I helped start in 1993. Petersen.

My name is Paul

I'm a ninth grader at Podunk Middle School.

Our

group, the Podunk Pog Players, meets every other Monday in our school all-purpose room to improve our pog playing skills.

Five seventh grade and eighth grade students

started the club but membership soon grew to fifty students. At first the Podunk Middle School principal opposed our formation of the pog playing club because we were not an academic group.

He did support us after our successful

participation in the national competition held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. national pog-playing prize.

Last year our club won the We plan to compete

internationally this spring in Pakistan.

Our common purpose

has brought students of differing backgrounds together for a positive social experience.

Sincerely, Paul Petersen

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Activity 3: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

WHAT'S THE EFFECT? Subject: Social Studies, Science Grade level: 6-9 Group size: small groups of 3 Methods: mapping, simulation, research Skills: evaluation, analysis, action planning, problem-solving Duration: 1-2 class periods

Purpose: Students will write action plans for a local environment aimed at conserving natural resources and enhancing wildlife diversity. Objectives: Working in groups students will role play decision-making by writing an action plan for a local outdoor area. Materials: Students will need resource information about their community-based groups from the previous activity. The teacher may also provide copies of other real or fictitious groups for students' use in this activity. The teacher will need to identify a local area for students to develop their environmental action plan. Students will either need to make a map of the area or the teacher will need to prepare copies for the students in advance. Procedure: 1. Place students in groups; assign roles of recorder, spokesperson and researcher. The group recorder maintains a written record of all group discussion. The spokesperson makes the oral report to the large group. The researcher is responsible for gathering information about the particular community-based action group. 2. Either the students may choose or the teacher may assign each student group to a different community-based environmental action group. The teacher may need to provide extra examples so each student group can represent different interests. 3. The class will be introduced to the area of study. This environmental area should be a familiar area such as the local schoolyard, park, deserted city lot or other similar areas. Key Question: If you were representing your group's interests, how would you

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best develop a plan which would help conserve an area's natural resources and/or increase wildlife diversity? 4. Students may either visit the area or think about the area in question. As a class they will make a list of physical features, natural resources and names of plants and animals present. 5. In small groups, students will identify the main interest of their community-based organization. They are to use this information to carefully design a plan of action, which will conserve natural resources and will increase plant and animal diversity. 6. Student groups will prepare maps and write short narratives to describe their planned action and the rationale for their choices. 7. Students will make large group presentations. Closure: Students will write a small narrative describing the effects of their plan on the local environment. Extensions: 1. Students will develop a master plan, which includes those actions that everyone can agree on. 2. Students will decide on an action idea and implement it in their local area.

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Activity 4: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

COSTA RICAN CASE STUDIES Subject: Social Studies, Science, Agriculture, Language Arts, Hispanic Culture, Spanish Grade level: 6-9 Group size: individual to large group Methods: research, discussion, lecture Skills: listening, analysis, comparison, writing Duration: 2-10 class periods

Purpose: To familiarize the student with existing community-based conservation programs in Costa Rica. Objectives: Students will: 1. Identify ways that individuals are living within the tropical forest zone in a sustainable fashion. 2. Compare and contrast U.S. community-based organizations with Costa Rican case studies. Materials: Costa Rican case studies Background Information Case Study Analysis Guide Procedure: Part One 1. Present background information on Costa Rican programs. 2. Either distribute copies of case studies to small groups (Each group receiving a different case study) or present the case studies to the entire class. These case studies are attached at the end of the lesson. *Note to teacher: Although the names are fictitious, the studies are based on actual working projects. The job description, products, crops, salaries, etc. are factual. 3. Pass out Case Study Analysis Guide to each student. 4. Discuss stories in small groups.

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5. Groups present their case study to the class or to other student groups. Questions to answer, discuss and present as case study analysis: a. How does the individual benefit from the activity presented in this case study? b. How does the community benefit? c. How can the environment benefit? d. Do you feel the person can maintain personal dignity through this activity? Why or why not? Part Two Teacher Option #1: Make comparisons of the Costa Rican case studies and the local case studies from Activity 3. Use the attached analysis grid and above questions for comparisons. Teacher Option #2: Each student will make the same type comparison as in option #1. In this option, the student would use the local organizations identified in Activity #2. Closure: Each student will choose the organization they feel is best and explain why. Extension: 1. Have students define ways that they could use local resources in a sustainable manner to make a living. 2. Conduct a fundraiser to support a local or tropical forest conservation project or organization. 3. Take a fieldtrip to an area conservation project. 4. Invite a guest speaker from an area conservation program such as Isaac Walton. 5. Start a school conservation project or club.

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Community Nursery, Costa Rican Case Study #1 Dear Students, My name is Jesús Aider Durán (Hay-SOOS Eye-DARE Dure-ON). I live with my family in the small Costa Rican village of Las Horquetas (Las Ore-KAY-tas). My family consists of my father, Jorge (HORE-hay); my mother, Laura; and my two sisters, María and Inez (EE-naze). My father is a farmer. We raise rice, corn, potatoes, chayote (chi-YO-tay). Chayote is a plant we use to make soup. We also have some cows and chickens. On some days I work with my father, my mother, and María at the tree nursery. Inez is too young to work so she plays with her friend while we work. My job is to put a mixture of soil and sand into the black pots. After we have the mixture in all the pots, we put a small tree into the pot to grow. This work takes a long time because we do hundreds of trees at a time. The trees that we plant are all native to Costa Rica. We plant palm trees, kapok trees, and guyara trees. When the trees are about one meter tall, they are transplanted to the forest to replace the trees that have been cut down. The kapok trees will grow to be over 100 feet tall and are sometimes 40 feet around at the base. It makes me feel very happy and proud that I am able to make some money for my family. I am paid 120 colones (coeLOAN-ace) per hour. That is about $.66 per hour. My father uses the money to buy food for us but sometimes I get to buy sodas and candy at a small store called a pulpería (pullpeh-REE-ah). Almost everyone buys Coca-Cola, but my favorite is Sprite. The other thing I like about my job is that I am helping to keep the rainforest alive which is home to many beautiful birds and animals that do not live anywhere else in the world. My favorite bird is the Scarlet Macaw. It is a big, bright red bird. My favorite mammal is the Tapir. It is a big animal that looks like a large pig. There are hundreds of birds and animals that cannot live without the rainforest. Sincerely, Jesús Aider Durán 13

MUSA, Costa Rican Case Study #2 Dear Students, Your teacher has asked me to tell you about the organization I helped start. My name is Sandra Ortega. The United Women of Sarapiqui, Mujeres Unidas de Sarapiqui (mooHAIR-ace oo-KNEE-das DAY sara-pea-KEY) or MUSA (MOO-sah) for short, was established in 1986. We are situated in the small rural community of El Tigre (L TEA-grey) in the northeast wet tropical forest of Costa Rica called La Selva. Several of us wanted to form a group to confront the serious problems of our community. Our idea was to raise medicinal plants because we needed an easier and cheaper way to treat and care for people's illnesses in the area. It is very expensive to take people to the doctor and clinic forty kilometers away in Puerto Viejo (pooh-WHERE-toe vee-A-hoe). There were many sick children whose families didn't have enough money for food let alone money for visiting a doctor. We realized we had an important resource to help families, our community and ourselves. That resource was our knowledge of medicinal plants, taught to us by our mothers and grandmothers. We fought to unite. ACECAN, an education center, helped us get rights to buy a hectare of land that was owned but not being used by a foreigner. We also received leadership training through the University of San José. After seven months there were nineteen women in MUSA. Problems arose because the community of sixty families did not accept us at first. Some people, especially some husbands, thought women should stay at home, cooking and cleaning, and not work outside of the home. Our group number was reduced to twelve. The project was almost abandoned when the community decided to build houses on the lot. From the beginning, our objectives were to defend the rights of women, teach women to survive on their own, and to set an example for other women by sharing our experiences. We wanted to provide effective and cheap alternative medicine for use by the community. Besides preserving natural medical remedies that were almost lost, we also wanted to teach and communicate to others the importance of medicinal plants. 14

Our work at MUSA involves cultivating more than twenty-five medicinal herbs such as linden, basil, spearmint, chamomile, and lemon verbena. We use only organic methods. Each member works in the demonstration garden, planting, weeding and caring for the plants. Some plants are cut and sold to the Mondaisa Tea Company. Other plants are cut, dried and sold at the MUSA store to the local community. We now have a dryer that was purchased by the Costa Rican government, a grinder and a building for processing. We continue to make money by giving tours to tourists at a fee of $1 per person. We have traveled throughout Central America to talk about our project with other women. My whole life has been changed. Before, I stayed at home caring for my children, cooking and cleaning. I didn't get any rest or any chance to share my experiences with anyone. Through this project I have freed myself, and therefore I can be myself. Sincerely, Sandra Ortega

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Community Nursery and Garden, Costa Rican Case Study #3 Dear Students, I have been asked to write you this letter to describe the new town we are building in the rainforest. Several years ago my family and I were working on someone else's coffee plantation in the central valley of Costa Rica. The work was hard and we did not own our house or any land. We earned barely enough to provide for our food and clothing needs. Often there were times when there was little work and little money. Several years ago we heard about a new government program. The Costa Rican government had purchased an abandoned cattle ranch that had been cut out of the tropical forest. They were looking for families who wanted to take over the land, help reforest it and protect the surrounding forests. What an opportunity for my family! If we stayed and worked ten years, we would be able to keep the seven hectares of land the government assigned to us. It sounded like a gift at the time, but it hasn't been all that easy. Of the thirty families that moved to this remote part of the country at the beginning of the project, only eighteen remain with the project today. We worked hard to build a road, a community hall, a school, and, of course, the soccer field. The government directed us to organize a local government and to start a community nursery to grow new trees. They didn't expect us to do all of this alone, and provided us with local consultants to help. They give us advice on how to make a living without destroying the rainforest. Their guidance has helped us in many ways. First, they helped us select and raise crops that grow well in this tropical climate. We grow yucca, chamol and ñame (two root vegetables), bananas, and other root crops. There is no need to cut more trees from the forest to earn money if we can become more self-sufficient and produce our own food. Second, the consultants helped us to select cash crops that we could plant among the trees in the rainforest. We are currently experimenting with the use of bananas, cacao and coffee. Finally, we are interested in having visitors come to experience the wide diversity of plants and animals in the 16

tropical forests. We can protect the forest and also make a living by serving meals to visitors and acting as guides to the beauties of this special place--our home. Sincerely, Ernesto Vargas

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Agouti Farm, Costa Rican Case Study #4 Dear Students, I wanted to write you this letter to share the new project my husband and I started. We lived as simple farmers in the northeast tropical wet forests of Costa Rica all our lives. As I grew up I saw many of our friends and neighbors cut and burn the lush green forest for new farmland. After the land was cleared of trees, it would sustain crops for two or three years and cattle for a few more years. Then the soil was exhausted and it would become useless for farming. Erosion and crops took away all the nutrients. Our project tries to find new ways of making a living in the tropical forest without destroying it. My husband and I own a small piece of farmland, about ten hectares. We use about one-half of it to raise livestock and a few crops, and the rest is forested. Several people from a local group, Fundación Neotrópica (Neotropical Foundation), asked us if we wanted to be a demonstration farm for raising agouti. Agoutis are in the rodent family and look like very small pigs. They are efficient foragers in the tropical forest, eating roots, tubers and fallen fruit. We found that they are easily domesticated and easy to care for. We provide them with homes to sleep, a nursery for them to raise their young and supplemental food. At night they leave and wander in the forest for food. We think they might be an easy animal to raise and to market for meat. It is still too early to know if they are marketable though. Our friends and neighbors are also interested in raising these friendly animals. If we can develop a market for the agouti, then we will have a new way for us to live with the tropical forest without needing to destroy it. I hope that the tropical forest will be here for your and my future generations. Sincerely, Constanza Gonzáles

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Woodcrafting on Osa Peninsula, Costa Rican Case Study #5 Dear Students, My name is Manuel Lara Ortega (Man-WELL La-ra Ore-TAYga). I live with my family in a small house in Southwestern Costa Rica on the Osa Peninsula. We have a pulpería (poolpear-EE-a) in one room of our house. This is a small store where we sell foods and household supplies, such as coca-cola, candy, light bulbs, bread, candles, sugar, and soap to our neighbors. I now also sell my woodcarvings at the pulpería. I carve animals and birds from wood that has fallen to the ground or is left over from construction sites. I use only this wood to prevent cutting more trees from the tropical forest. I carve quetzales (kayt-ZAH-lace), agoutis (a-GOO-tees), toucans and other tropical forest birds and mammals. My wife and her friends started carving and painting also. This gives the women in the community a job, an income, and a new source of pride in their work. With the help of BOSCOSA, a regional development project, the women received art lessons to improve their carvings and paintings. We sell the artwork to our neighbors and to tourists. My children walk only one kilometer to school. The school has one classroom and a separate room for the cafeteria. One teacher holds classes for all students in first through sixth grade. Grades 1-3 meet from 7:30 A.M. until lunchtime and grades 4-6 meet in the afternoon. The teacher often allows children from the same family, but in different grades, to receive classes at the same time so that they can walk together from their homes to the school. A public bus runs through the surrounding villages but not to the school. Some children must get on the bus at 5:30 A.M. to make it to school on time, and others do not get home until 6 or 7 at night. We have vacations in December and January and a two-week break in July. Most of the children will finish sixth grade and only some will go on to high school. Our educational motto is: Estudiamos aquí para mejorarnos--We study here in order to improve ourselves. Sincerely, Manuel Lara Ortega 19

Farm Cooperative on Osa Peninsula, Costa Rican Case Study #6 Dear Students, I once farmed by myself on what is called a subsistence farm. I raised a few cattle, chickens, pigs, and turkeys with my family, as well as planted corn, rice and beans. We barely had enough to feed ourselves, and there was seldom anything left to sell. Then a local organization called BOSCOSA called a meeting of all the local campesinos (small farmers) (cam-pay-SEENohs). They showed us how we could organize into a cooperative and use our land to raise tubers. The tuber crops bring in enough income from one hectare to feed our families plus put some money in savings. We do not need to clear any more forestland. This crop also requires only one liter of herbicide (weed killer) per hectare compared to 20 liters/hectare for our rice crop. We now raise yucca, chamol, and tiquisque (tee-KEYS-kay). These tubers taste similar to squash or potatoes, and are used to make nutritious soups and stews. Our sales market includes all of Costa Rica, plus the United States, South America, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands. The business is developing in Europe and Asia now too! We received loans from some foreign investors, including the United Nations, to buy equipment such as tractors, discs and plows. For the first time in our lives we farm with equipment such as the Explorer II 4x4 tractor! BOSCOSA taught us how to operate and maintain our new equipment. Non-member farmers rent the tractor and a driver from us to do their fieldwork. At first we paid to have our products trucked to San José for processing and packing for shipment. Our cooperative decided to eliminate this expense by building our own processing and packing facility right here on the Peninsula. We employ local women and children to work there. The packing process includes making the boxes, along with cleaning and preserving the products. The plants are preserved by dipping them one at a time into paraffin. This wax coating keeps the food fresh for months. 20

Keeping this money in the cooperative has been good for our local families and our cooperative. The people in our cooperative feel very happy and proud of what we have accomplished. Sincerely, Luis Ramos

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Background Information The following provides some background on two of the organizations mentioned or referred to in the case studies that support community development in Costa Rica. BOSCOSA (Case Studies #5 and #6) This organization was started in 1989 on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. It was originally formed to support local parks by working with people who lived in and around them, and was funded by the United States. It is now under the direction of the Fundación Neotrópica (The Neotropical Foundation), funded by European and Canadian contributions. In addition to encouraging community-based groups that foster sustainable development, BOSCOSA supports environmental education through their “Tropical Youth Center.” They helped schools on the Osa Peninsula develop an environmental program. BOSCOSA personnel team-teach with teachers first, then they encourage the teachers to teach about the environment on their own. Teachers are trained and given tools to teach environmental education to students. Boscosa furnishes them with videos, materials, games, and books. Local, national and international environmental camps are held to bring conservation education to the children. For those people who do not finish school, environmental information is dispersed over the radio and through newspapers and other written materials. POCOTSI (Case Studies #1, #3 and #4) POCOTSI is another project administered by Fundación Neotrópica. It is a conservation support group based in Guápiles, Costa Rica. POCOTSI is the name of an indigenous group that once inhabited the surrounding areas. The program is funded through foundations, donations and grants primarily from three Danish conservationists with interests in rainforest preservation. The POCOTSI staff consists of foresters, biologists and agronomists who serve as technical advisors. POCOTSI has helped involve private landowners in projects to reforest some of their unused agricultural acres. The landowner receives technical assistance in the planning and planting processes. POCOTSI also hoped to provide a government tax break as an additional incentive, but this has yet to become a reality. Another venture POCOTSI has assisted in is a commercial tree nursery. The operation employs local workers including men, women and children who raise native tree seedlings for sale in reforestation projects. POCOTSI again supplies technical assistance in forestry. A similar project was established utilizing a community-based operation rather than the commercial set-up. A small rural community owns and operates a nursery employing local workers. Women have been included in the management process of the business. POCOTSI also works with small lumbering-sawmill operations, assisting with technical forestry information and the reforestation process. The goal of this program is to assure the sustainability of the forests while promoting jobs and income for local families.

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Name ______________________________

Case Study Analysis Guide Compare the six case studies by filling out the chart below. Use Y=Yes and N=No.

CASE STUDY

1

2

3

4

5

6

Is the project government assisted? Does the individual benefit from the program? Does the community benefit from the program? Does the environment benefit from the program? Does the individual maintain personal dignity? Can the individual make a living from this activity?

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Activity 5: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

YOUR FAVORITE ISLAND Subject: Social Studies, Geography, Science Grade level: 6-9 Group size: small groups Methods: simulation, discussion Skills: group cooperation, evaluating, problem-solving Duration: 1-3 class periods

Purpose: Students will construct their own vision of how people will integrate into their environment. Objectives: Students will complete an island map and describe how their towns will be placed on a deserted island. Materials: Island map (one per student) Overhead transparency of the map, grid to overlay Colored overhead pens Procedure: 1. Place students in groups of three. Assign students roles of: Group chairperson - a person who is responsible for keeping members on task; Group recorder - a person who will keep a written record of the proceedings; Group spokesperson - a student who will make the group's oral report. 2. The teacher will read the following narrative to the class: "You are responsible for establishing a new town of 5000 people on this island. The island has some natural resources as listed on the key to the map. You need to find and detail where and how you will build the following: housing, commercial and business section, public utilities (water, electricity, garbage, and waste water treatment), parks, wildlife reserves, and transportation systems. You will need to write a brief description of why you sited the various physical structures where you did and their impact on the environment."

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3.

Pass out the maps and review the key and physical make-up of the island.

4. Students complete their maps. Closure: 1. Students present their group plans for large group discussion. Make a transparency of the island and make a grid system on top of it. Students are to choose town locations on the grid, color-coding for each group. 2. In large group discussion, the class will decide on which location is best for the town. A list of positive and negative factors for each location will be brought together.

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Activity 6: Community Participation in Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Protection

YOU CAN DO IT Subject: all subjects Grade level: 6-9 Group size: large groups Methods: whole class discussion Skills: action planning Duration: several class periods

Purpose: To provide the students with an opportunity to be active participants in affecting our environment. Objectives: Students will discuss actions they can do to help protect the natural resources in the tropical forests. They will choose one plan and act on it as a group. Materials: Reading: International Children's Rainforest Procedure: 1. Share with the students the story about how the International Children's Rainforest was started. 2. Make a list of either fund-raising activities or direct action students want to do to help maintain and preserve existing tropical forests or other local preservation needs. 3. As a class, develop an action plan and implement it. Closure: Students should briefly write what they learned and how they felt about doing this project. Their work could be shared orally or collected by the teacher.

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International Children's Rainforest In the fall of 1986, Sharon Kinsman, a representative of the Monteverde Conservation League, traveled to Sweden from Costa Rica. While working at the University of Uppsala she also volunteered to speak about the rainforest to forty children, ages 7-9, at their small country school in a fir forest near Stockholm. Captivated by the frogs, flowers, snakes, birds, and mammals of the Monteverde Preserve and distressed that such rainforests elsewhere were disappearing, the children asked to help. The decisions and the plans to raise money were the children's. They sold paintings, Christmas cards, pony rides and stories; they volunteered “work days,” and wrote songs, poems and skits which they shared in performances.

Their efforts led to the formation of a nonprofit organization called Barnen Regnskog (Swedish for "Children's Rainforest"). Soon children, classes and entire schools from all over Sweden began to help. They made television and radio programs about these students' efforts and the project grew.

Within a year they raised $16,000 and the Swedish

International Development Agency also contributed $85,000 towards the purchase of undisturbed forest in the Peñas Blancas range. This was the beginning of the International Children's Rainforest (Bosque Eterno de Los Niños). Today there are over 17,000 hectares which have been purchased through the efforts of students in England, the United States, Germany, Japan, and others. If you desire to find out more, you may write to: Asociación Conservacionista de Monteverde, Apartado 10581-1000, San José, Costa Rica, Central America.

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