Forests – an introduction

Geetha Iyer

Dictionaries define Forest as “a large area of land that’s covered in trees”. According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), forests are defined as land with an area of more than 0.5 hectares having a tree crown cover of more than 10%. In the minds of children, forests are places of fairies, princes and princesses, witches flying on their broomstick, and of tigers, foxes, birds and snakes. The vivid canvas, courtesy Jataka, Panchatantra and other tales, is the first step to knowing forests and seeding the feeling of love and attraction towards them. But then comes the school curriculum, which somehow fails to build on the magic of forests to sow the seeds of conservation, becoming reduced to mundane topics for tests and exams. How can the magical love for forests be nurtured in young children so that conservation becomes a natural part of their lives?

Definitions as the first step to learning a topic are the biggest stumbling block to building knowledge. They should be the last point of learning, where a child arrives at it from the knowledge built through learning. To begin learning about forests as a collection of trees in a given area of land is to rob a forest of both its magic and magnificence. They are a collection of ecosystems, a theatre of life, where every minute a new drama is enacted between those who live there. That forests are a habitat only for wild animals, not humans is yet another point of ignorance that needs to be removed. In fact, it is this very miscued learning that has led to both the destruction of and conflict in protecting forests. The idea that human beings cannot live in forests along with other wild animals is the result of years of learning about forests the wrong way.

The currently popular version of what a forest is, who the occupants of a forest should be, their relationships, etc., is the result of policies meant to conserve forests. However, more than conserving forests, these policies have successfully drivenout those human beings who lived within them. The people who lived in forests were dependent on them for their survival; if they did not take care of the forests, their survival would become difficult, hence their presence helped keep forests intact. This approach has not met favour with policymakers who felt that human presence resulted in declining animal biodiversity. The result is the formulation of laws to conserve forests where human beings are not considered as part of the forest ecosystems. These laws have been formulated by humans who have never lived in forests, but know and believe that forest resources can pave the way for amassing monetary wealth. Why did humans residing in forests turn from conservators to destroyers? We need to relook forests, their characteristics, their inmates, relationships, etc., with an open mind, if we want forests, wildlife and humanity to survive.

Textbooks from classes 1 to 12 carry more than enough information about forests. Alpine, broadleaf, coniferous, deciduous, evergreen, mixed, temperate or tropical are forest types that students are introduced to in course of their time in schools. The briefest descriptions of forest types with lists of animals and plants residing in them is the standard way of teaching about forests. Can it be taught differently?

Teaching about forests
Forests are complex biomes that contain within them a collection of diverse habitats. This fact is hardly evident in the definitions given. The bewildering biodiversity is the result of these habitats coexisting within the large area described as “forest”. The magical and mystical stories about forests are evidence of humans as integral part of the forest biodiversity, as these stories are born out of their observations and the close interactions between living and non-living. How can we teachers design learning experiences that will leave a long-lasting love for forests, create a bond that will ensure that there is scope for a holistic conservation about forests?

Games provide children with the opportunity to create knowledge by themselves and develop skills. It is one of the ways that can be used to teach about forests.

The Sign game
Aim: To introduce the living organisms within a forest in order to learn the characteristics of the chosen forest.

Objectives:
• Detect from various types of markings an idea of who lives in the forest.
• Infer from observation data, the role of each organism in the forest.
• Infer the type of forest from the observations and inferences made above.
• Discuss how humans should interact with forest resources in order to conserve.

Age group: 10-13 year-olds (Upper primary students)
Note: The text in italics gives tips on how to conduct the activity indoors, if outdoor is not possible. However, this activity is best done outdoors.

Tools required: For all students – Notebooks and writing materials including a pencil and eraser. A magnifying glass (optional). Teacher instruction manual (one to two pages).

It would be ideal if you can play this game in a wooded area, on a visit to a nearby reserve forest or on a patch of land with a number of trees. Start with an open forest, one where the tree cover is not dense. A dry deciduous forest could be helpful to begin the study.
[In case you are not able to take your students out, play this game indoors by creating at least 3 to 4 illustrations/photographs of wooded land or forest with signs of biodiversity which the students will have to discover, name and give reasons for its presence.]

Preparation: The teacher must visit the place she/he intends to take students to assess if its suitable for the activity.
[If there is no outdoor work, then he/she must prepare two or three handouts that show forests with footprints of different creatures (include apes and humans), nests of birds, insects, molted snake skin and a feather or two in your handout].

How to play the game

1. In a chosen patch of wooded area/land with trees and shrubs/forest (ecotourism area) ask students to look out for signs of presence of living creatures. [If being played indoors, divide students into groups; each group will carefully study the handout to look for the signs.] Give them not more than 20 minutes to do this.
2. Places to look: the ground, trunks of trees, above and below leaves, branches of trees, among grasses. Depending on the time available you could limit the observations to what is seen on the ground only, or expand it to look at trees, leaves, flowers, etc.
3. What to look for: pug marks and footprints of creatures, dung and other droppings such as feathers, seeds, empty shells, claws, bark markings, eggs – big, small to minute, nests.
4. Students will have to produce evidence of what they have seen through a series of rough sketches. Encourage them to include a rough estimate of the size of whatever they have seen or measure the length and breadth using the ruler.
   [Some of these steps may not work, if you are carrying out the activity indoors. In such cases, you must ask each group, after the discussion is over to list the discoveries from the signs, and share it with the class. Time permitting you may even allow the groups to challenge the discoveries and ask for explanations.]
5. Gather your students in a circle and ask each group/individual to report their findings.

Discuss the signs, helping them discover whether it was a bird, reptile, mammal, human, invertebrate that they observed¹. At the end of the discussion, the students prepare a list of the creatures found in that forest.

Followup work: Two types of follow up work will be useful.

1. Show them a video of the type of forest in which this activity took place.
2. Give students a day or two to come up with a story about the forest they visited. Ensure that they are allowed to be as imaginative as they wish.

Conclude your lesson by giving them a home assignment where they answer questions related to the characteristics of the forest, the biodiversity seen, the diversity of relationships that exist (e.g. competition, prey-predator, decomposers, etc.)

Interview
Once the first activity is over, the second one could be an interview with a person or persons who are involved with forests – they could be the conservators of forests, rangers, forest guards or watchers, adivasi communities who reside in or close to forests.

Aim of the activity: To understand the various characteristics of a forest.

Objectives:
• To explore the role of abiotic factors in creating forest types (dry or moist deciduous, evergreen, mixed forests, etc.).
• To understand the connection between abiotic factors and animal diversity.
• To learn about cycles in nature and their effect on maintaining forest types.

Note: This activity has to be designed in a manner that is suitable for the age group that studies it. Simpler facts about forests for 10-12 year-olds, whereas 13-16 year-olds can be presented with more complex factors.

Preparation: Sample questionnaires could be given to students (10-13 year-olds) in order to give them an example of how to frame questions for interviews.

Prior discussion of questions to be asked should be held in class, in order to prepare students for an interview.

Go through the questionnaire prepared by students to ensure that questions are framed meaningfully and asked in a sensitive manner.

A mock interview could be held in class, in order to ensure that the interview is conducted in an orderly manner.

Ensure that more than one person is interviewed in order to get a broad understanding of the forest.

After the interview, students will prepare a summary of what they have learned about forests from their interviews. Follow this up by giving students a set of questions, the answers to which will result in further building knowledge of the forest they visited/talked about.

This is experiential learning, the impact of this process will likely leave a long lasting memory of forests and a wider understanding of the factors that sustain forests. It will lay a foundation upon which more complex aspects of forests could be taught. A personal experience of this kind has a better opportunity for conservation of forests than mere textbook learning.

References

1. https://wildtrails.in/on-a-jungle-safari-learn-to-recognize-the-tiger-pugmarks/
2. https://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forest-habitat
3. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/indepth/forest-conservation-is-too-complex-an-issue-to-be-resolved-by-executive-fiat-13145
4. https://tribal.nic.in/FRA.aspx

The author is a consultant for science and environment education. She can be reached at scopsowl@gmail.com.