Archive for August, 2008

St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School in Brighton, East Sussex joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

Phenology is the study of Spring. In particular, it’s the recording and study of the first appearance of birds, animals, insects and plants in the spring. When things appear is affected by the climate, and so by studying if/how the first appearances have changed over time, we can see if current climate change is having an effect on wildlife. When things appear is important; lots of organisms are interdependent. For example, if warmer temperatures mean that birds appear earlier, but their food source hasn’t emerged, then they may not find food. These changes can affect lots of different organisms.

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The Dustbowl Teacher’s Notes gives full background on how Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible works, what has happened to make the future Dustbowl happen, and how best to use the activities.

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The Iceworld Teacher’s Notes gives full background on how Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible works, what has happened to make the future Iceworld happen, and how best to use the activities.

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Do people live in cold places in the world today? Who are they, and how do they cope with these extreme environments? Find out who they are, think about what a day in their life would be like, and imagine what they look like.

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Thousands of years ago, large parts of the world, including much of the UK, was covered by huge ice sheets. But despite these harsh conditions, many animals still survived. In this activity, students will find out what animals lived during the Ice Ages, how we know, and investigate how they coped with the cold climate.

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This activity looks at the amount of waste we generate and where we can decrease this to save energy. This activity is in two parts and aims to increase awareness amongst students of how much less waste they can generate by making small efforts to restrict it. They should also be able to promote the principles they learn about to friends and family based on the work they carry out for the activity.

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This activity is about the impact of climate change as previously seen in history. In this activity you and your students will be looking at the period referred to as the ‘Little Ice Age’, and the conditions people of the time lived in.

The main thing that students should take away from this activity is that climate change is not just something that might happen, but something that HAS happened in the past!

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This activity is about looking at what sort of animals live in cold, icy conditions, and what special adaptations or features they have that allow them to do so.

The main things that students should take away from this activity are the differences between these animals and the ones that are native to their own local environments.

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This activity is about identifying the difficulties wildlife can face during cold weather, and how students might be able to help them through these.

The main thing that students should take away from this activity is that it is relatively easy to have a beneficial impact on local wildlife when they need a bit of help!

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