FAO International Day of the Forest March 21 2019 – Forests and Education: Learn to Love Forests
04 April 2019
Every 21 March the United Nations raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. This year the International Day of Forests promoted education to Learn to Love Forests. It underscores the importance of education at all levels in achieving sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. Healthy forests mean healthy, resilient communities and prosperous economies. For more information on the international campaign head to: https://www.un.org/en/observances/forests-and-trees-day
Australian schools and communities came together to celebrate – here’s a glimpse at some of those activities!
FAO International Day of the Forest – World Teacher Video Competition
Congratulation to Tom Linnell, Tenison Woods College for being Australia’s teacher representative in the FAO’s video competition! Although not the FAO’s winning entry, we are very proud and inspired by the work Tom does with his students and the forest industries near his school!
Mount Gambier, South Australia: OneFortyOne Plantations
OneFortyOne Plantations held a school competition to mark the day for students to produce a 1 minute video addressing the question “Why are our local forests important to you and your community?”. Entries are in, judges have sat and winners will be announced in the coming days.
OneFortyOne’s Industry Career Champion Green Triangle, Linda Cotterill said, “We’re inviting students and schools across the Limestone Coast to send us a short video about why our local forests are so important. We need their help to spread the word about just how great our forests and trees are!” Inspired by this year’s International Day of Forests theme ‘Forests and Education’, the team at OneFortyOne are passionate about continuing to raise awareness and understanding of forests and their benefits into young people’s lives from an early age. “We are committed to working with students and educators across the region, looking for innovative and interesting ways to help young people understand how important forestry is. We thought this competition would be a fun way to do it and to get people out into the forests”. With a team of professional foresters on hand, OneFortyOne is happy to come out to classrooms and talk to students, there are also free teaching resources available from ForestLearning, that have a focus on Australian forests and sustainable timber products. Students who entered, went into the running to win their choice of an iPad, Macbook Pro or Apple watch, plus one for their school. And while the competition was open to young school age people, OneFortyOne also encouraged schools to participate as either individuals, classes or as a whole school. |