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Year of Forests

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests. People depend on the world’s forests to regulate the water cycle, store carbon dioxide and support biological diversity. Forests provide crucial elements that maintain life and provide humans with fuel, food and shelter. They are able to influence daily weather and stabilize our climate. Our forests are nutrient reservoirs that sequester large amounts of carbon. Continue reading to find lesson plans, worksheets, and related articles on forest conservation.

Forest Overview

Learn more about the forests of the world and why they need our help.

Lesson Plans Focusing on Forests and the Wildlife that Live There

Below are lesson plans that focus on ways to help protect forests and the animals that live in these areas. The lesson plans are sorted by geographic region and are connected to the wildlife in those areas but could be adjusted for other animals.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Year of Forests Special Event

Disney’s Animal Kingdom celebrated the Year of Forests with a day-long celebration with forest-themed activities!

Africa

	Mangrove Forests This information and booklet explore mangrove trees and the animals that call this area home. To create the booklet, print those pages doubled-sided and fold the pages in half.
	Tropical Forests From this lesson, children learn how animals meet their needs of food, water, and shelter in different ways. The activity concludes by completing a puzzle comprised of positive conservation actions for the forests and wildlife.

Asia

	Bamboo Forests This fun activity teaches children why it is important to protect the natural habitats of giant pandas. While playing the game, the children also learn about pandas and ways to help this much-loved animal.
	Forests Tales These interactive activities include mask making, face painting, shadow puppets, songs, and poems related to Asian animals.

Australia

	Homes and Shelters This lesson plan designed for first to third graders introduces the term "habitat" and focuses on frogs, snakes, possums.
	Wetlands and Waterways Children learn about wetlands, waterways, and the animals that depend on these areas in this lesson aimed at third graders.
	Stewards for Sustainability In this holistic lesson, third through sixth graders learn how their sustainable practices can help to protect, enhance, and restore native biodiversity.
	The Endangered Challenge-Wipe for Wildlife In this innovative lesson plan for fourth and fifth grade, children learn about different types of animal dung. The takeaway message is to encourage the use of recycled paper.

Latin America

	Cotton-top Tamarins and their Forest Home Discover how adaptations allow cotton-top tamarins to move through the Colombian forest, jumping to find food and balancing on tree branches to live safely.
	All about Frogs! (in Spanish) Learn more about the life-cycle, habitat, and physical structure of frogs as well as ways to help frogs.
	Recycled Paper Activities (in Spanish) With these activities, you can teach children the importance of conserving natural resources, such as trees, to protect the habitat of animals.
	Recycling Guide for the Area Surrounding Fundacion Zoologico Santacruz (in Spanish) This is an in depth look at the recycling program of the community that boarders the Santa Cruz Zoo. The community education piece encourages recycling as good environmental stewardship.
	Responsible Water Use (in Spanish) These guidelines and activities raise awareness and educate the community on the responsible use and management of water resources.

North America

North American Forest Health
Building from Project Learning Tree, this collection of forests plans, aimed at students in 5th to 7th grades, focuses on forest health. These lessons are correlated to the Florida’s Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (SSS) and helps teachers address science, math, and social studies benchmarks.

Worksheets

	Awesome Ecosystems: Rainforests to Reefs This crossword puzzle teaches children about rainforest and reef ecosystems and includes information and messages related to the areas.
	Tropical Rain Forests (in Czech) This worksheet explores rainforest animals found in Dvur Kralove Zoo.