Climate change: Plant a fruit tree

CHALLENGE

Climate change: Plant a fruit tree

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Abstract

Addressing climate change requires dramatic changes to how we power our homes and factories and build our cities to how we feed our families and move around. Yet countries, businesses, states and cities have yet to make the deep structural economic and societal shifts that are required.

Human society and the global economy are inextricably linked to forests. More than 1 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. And forest ecosystems play a critical role in stabilizing the climate; providing food, water, wood products, and vital medicines; and supporting much of the world’s biodiversity.

There isn’t a silver bullet or a single pressure point to addressing the climate challenge. It will require an army of actors, a menu of options and an array of interventions in the right places, tailored to the unique opportunities at hand.    Source: World Resources Institute https://www.wri.org/

Climate change is an urgent threat to humanity that demands swift, decisive action.

Greta Thunberg speaks to us:

https://www.conservation.org/video/nature-now-video-with-greta-thunberg

In this activity, we learn more about the ability of trees to convert carbon dioxide and the importance of trees for biodiversity so we plant a tree.  This activity can be developed individually by learners or as a group activity that shall be focused on the importance of trees for the climate and for biodiversity.

Learning Outcomes

The learners will learn about climate change and trees are important for taking care of CO2 and also to plant a tree. It can be done in the schoolyard or at a park or in a garden.

  • Formulate the principle of climate change
  • Discuss the consequences
  • Conclude the consequences
  • List different fruit trees locally grown and possible to plant
  • List the steps to plant a fruit tree
  • Demonstrate the steps to plant a fruit tree
  • Explain and list why it is so important to plant trees.
  • Discuss what you can do

 

Author

WiTECSweden
WiTECSweden

Language

English

Difficulty

Basic

Main Topics

Arts, Science

Duration

2 – 4 hours

Keywords

biodiversity biology climate change Ecology environmental Health learn by doing plants trees

Preparation of the Activity

Planting

The activity shall be implemented in 2 stages

  • Theoretical background and the movie 1 hour 23 minutes ( Netflix )if you choose
  • https://www.netflix.com/se/title/80216393
  • Planting a fruit tree

Preparation of activity

The preparation of the activity shall be quite simple and focuses on the concrete advantages of planting a fruit tree.

  1. Ask them if they have planted a fruittree before.
  2. Explain the advantages and learning objectives of the activity.

Show them this 3 min long video of inspiration:

https://www.conservation.org/video/nature-now-video-with-greta-thunberg

  1. Give the theoretical background about climatchange, deforestation and the urgent need for planting trees.
  2. Distribute the handout and let them read through.
  3. Go through the steps with them
  4. Answer any doubts that can be raised by the learners and motivate them to share their ideas.
  5. Increase the level of difficult of this activity if you consider so.

 

Implementation

  1. Find a place to plant the tree or trees. If this is a group activity at a school you can find possibilities to plant at the schoolyard. You can also ask the local community for a place in a park. Individuals can plant at home.
  2. Tell them to follow the steps on the handout.
  3. Observe how they proceed
  4. Motivate the learners to search for creative solutions in order to face any unexpected difficulties.

Assessment/Evaluation

  • Ask them how they experienced the activity. Is it something they can and will do themselves?
  • Discuss the experience of the planting. Was it difficult? Can they list the steps how to plant?
  • Discuss what deforestation means for the climate change.
  • Ask them reasons why to plant trees

Follow Up

The follow up of this activity is a key part of the activity:

  • Connect the activity to other STEAM People activities.
  • Water the tree daily for a few weeks
  • Measure the heat
  • Inspire them to use it as a starting point to go into further investigations regarding climate change, forestry or biodiversity and sustainability.

Description and Required Material

PLANT  A FRUIT TREE

Watch this 1 minute’s video for inspiration from David Attenborough

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGxfcxcnjr8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Climate change is an urgent threat to humanity that demands swift, decisive action.

Watch Greta Thunberg inspire us:  3 minutes

https://www.conservation.org/video/nature-now-video-with-greta-thunberg

Addressing climate change requires dramatic changes to how we power our homes and factories and build our cities to how we feed our families and move around. Yet countries, businesses, states and cities have yet to make the deep structural economic and societal shifts that are required.

Human society and the global economy are inextricably linked to forests. More than 1 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. And forest ecosystems play a critical role in stabilizing the climate; providing food, water, wood products, and vital medicines; and supporting much of the world’s biodiversity.

There isn’t a silver bullet or a single pressure point to addressing the climate challenge. It will require an army of actors, a menu of options and an array of interventions in the right places, tailored to the unique opportunities at hand.    Source: World Resources Institute https://www.wri.org/

In this activity, we learn more about the ability of trees to convert carbon dioxide and the importance of trees for biodiversity so we plant a tree.This activity can be developed individually by learners or as a group activity that shall be focused on the importance of trees for the climate and for biodiversity.

 

Required Material:

For movie : Netflix

  • A fruit tree
  • Somewhere to plant
  • A shovel
  • A sack of plant soil / compost
  • A bucket of water
  • A stable support stick ca 4-5 cm in diameter which reaches up to the crown of the tree
  • Tree tying straps
  • Gnawing protection nets for the trunk
  • A secateurs

Your Task

Get ready for the activity!

The first steps..

Read through the handout

Watch on Netflix before or after

“A life on the planet” with David Attenborough  1 hour 23 minutes

https://www.netflix.com/se/title/80216393

It shows how fast we have destroyed the Natural world but also that we can restore it to live sustainable for generations to come.

  • Reflect on what YOU can do!
  • Read through below WHY we should plant a tree.
  • Now plant a tree:
  • Decide the place for the planting.
  • Collect required materials

Consider..

Discuss the movie.

19 Reasons Why We Should Plant Trees

Where would we be without trees? They are a part of our natural global environment, are used to build the very buildings that we live in, and we even write with, eat food from, sit on, and read from products that are made from them.

1 Trees hold soil in place. Tree roots grow deep into the soil, holding it firmly in place, and help to prevent soil erosion,

2 Trees sequester carbon dioxide

3 Trees produce oxygen through photosynthesis, trees produce oxygen that humans and many other organisms depend on to live.

4 Some animals are dependent upon trees

5 Trees make cities more livable#

6 Trees increase property values

7 Trees help to save energy – block wind and create shade

8 Trees are important for physical and mental wellness.

9 Trees feed us, bees and insects

10 Trees create a sense of place and beauty

11 Trees are an investment for our communities and for future generations

13 Trees help to maintain local water cycles. Trees hold water, prevent flooding, recharge underground aquifers, and maintain water vapor in the atmosphere, increasing the opportunity for rainfall. When forests are cut down, the water vapor in the atmosphere disappears in an area, decreasing precipitation and increasing the risk of drought and desertification

14 Trees help to buffer storms along coastlines,

15 Trees produce products for our use: food, medicine, wood.

16 Trees are beautiful

17 Trees clean the soil

18 Trees help control noise

19 Trees clean the air Trees intercept air pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone,

Source: GREENTUMBLEENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATIONOCTOBER 31, 2015

 

Note: You can also give away as a present, for an organization to plant a tree somewhere in the world. Check the internet there are several choices.

Do it..

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Source: https://www.odla.nu/inspiration/odlingsrad-att-plantera-frukttrad

 

Steps for the construction

In 15 simple steps you will have your planted tree::

  1. Bring the materials needed
  2. Choose a sunny but preferably somewhat wind-protected place.
  3. Place the fruit tree in the bucket of water so that it can absorb water while you dig.
  4. Dig a planting pit that is about 50 centimeters in diameter and equal in depth. Make sure that there is no stiff clay in the pit and that the soil is well drained and rich in soil.  If the soil is too muddy or too sandy, you can balance it by mixing in peat, compost, bark soil, or planting soil to name a few soil-rich materials. The soil where the fruit trees are to take root should also be free from weeds as they steal nutrients and water from the trees.
  5. Remove the turf. If necessary, mix part of the existing soil with plant soil / compost.
  6. Pour a layer of plant soil on the bottom of the pit. Water a little.
  7. Fold the support rod into the ground so that it is straight and stable.
  8. Remove the pot or plastic around the roots of the fruit tree. Place the tree in the pit next to the stick and scoop on more soil.
  9. 9. Water thoroughly and wait until the water recedes. It must not be so densely surrounding soil that the drainage does not work!
  10. Fill with more soil and, if necessary, lift the fruit tree so that the top of the pot clumps is level with the surrounding ground. Check that the tree is straight.
  11. Remove any stem shoots that come under the actual crown, but do not prune the fruit tree now in connection with the planting. During the first year the tree takes root, during the second year you can start shaping the crown.
  12. Also remove the small support stick that the fruit tree had in the pot. It is not needed now that the tree has a stronger support cane.
  13. Attach the fruit tree to the support cane with a soft, wide rubber or jute tape binder. Do not pull it too hard around the trunk and loosen it later as the fruit tree grows.
  14. Put on the gnawing net around the trunk.
  15. Water through again. Clear!  Water daily for a few weeks.

Note that:

It is magical to plant any tree and to think that it might live long after you have left this planet.

The result..

In a few years

 

 

What to do with it?

Prune and shape the crown

Pruning apple trees during the first year of the tree is most important. This is when you build up the crown and form a healthy and sustainable fruit tree. The first year the tree takes root and then you do not have to prune as much. In the second year, you start to shape the crown.

Hopefully, this activity can serve to inspire more planting fruit trees and berry bushes to improve the health.