Dustbowl Activities

The mission briefing comic shows you the future as it might turn out without your help! Find out what happens when Chrono-Bot R00T5 travels to a strange and dusty desert world…

Preview the comic online, one frame at a time (available to everyone, opens in a new window)

Download the mission briefing comic for printing as handouts or to put on the wall as a poster (registered users only). This download is 5Mb in size, so may take a while to download.

Download the Dustbowl Teacher’s Notes

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.

Download the Dustbowl Teacher’s Notes

This activity is all about looking at forests and woodlands and understanding how they affect Animals, People and the Environment.

The finalised activity will specifically designed as a ‘kick start’ for groups who are just starting out with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots and would like to try a bit of everything the programme has to offer. The activities are geared to using local forests/woodlands as a learning resource so that students can get out and about and interact with their local environment. Groups can try one, two, or all three of the main sections, and are also encouraged to extend the activity by comparing and contrasting their findings about their local environment with the experience of the Jane Goodall TACARE …

Read all of Forest Activity Ideas

This activity is about looking at the conditions that affect how well seeds grow in different types of soil. This activity can be run over different lengths of time, from as short as a week to as long as a month.

Download the “Science: Soil!” Activity

This activity is about looking at who live in dry, dusty environments. With low diversity of vegetation and wildlife, how do they cope with living in these environments? Find out who they are, and how they live. The main things your students should take away from this exercise are the differences between everyday aspects of life.

Download the “Which People Live in Dry and Dusty Environments?” Activity

This activity is about looking at what sort of animals live in dry, dusty environments, 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.

Download the Animals in Dry and Dusty Environments Activity

This activity is all about saving water. With proper management and regulated use of our reserves we can make sure that we will be able to cope with any shortages due to environmental changes.

Download the Water: Audits and Pledges Activity

The period of American history known as the Dustbowl took place during the 1930s. Exhaustive farming techniques with little or no crop rotation took its toll on the condition of soil in the American and Canadian prairie lands, in particular destroying the vast grasslands. When a period of severe drought occurred, the dry and exposed soil turned to dust and eroded easily, leading to a barren environment where the primarily farming communities of the time couldn’t grow any produce. The eroded soil dust turned the winds into great dust storms, and the farming communities had to migrate in huge numbers away from their homes and farms to find work and shelter so they could continue to support themselves.

A better …

Read all of History: The Dustbowl in America

Maintaining and protecting green spaces is vital. They provide shelter and refuge for bees and many other species in a world that is constantly being developed and exploited. Whether it’s a window box or corner of the sports field that’s not in use, by developing a wildlife friendly green space, pupils will be able to create a haven for animals and a great place to spot some beautiful native birds and insects.

Download the Plan and Plant a Wildlife Garden Activity

This document sets out eleven extra activity ideas that you could use that are linked in to the Dustbowl mission. Over time, we will be developing these ideas in to full activity sheets, but in the meantime we thought we would share them with you so you can use them straight away!

Download Dustbowl Extra Activity Ideas

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.

Download this Activity Sheet