Grade 6 have begun creating a little piece of rainforest in Provo Primary School.
We began by finding out where tropical rainforests are, then looked at the strata created by the plants and wildlife living there. Our rainforest has tall trees (as high as 80 metres in a real forest!) and waxy leaves with holes or drip tips for the water to run off. Soon we will add the parasitical plants – like the Strangler Fig – and epiphytes– like bromiliads and orchids – that live ligh in the canopy. We won’t forget the liannas that hang from the canopy to the ground allowing creatures (and tarzan!) to swing through the trees. We have created some of the creatures that live there using paint and clay and we are now creating factfiles on each so as we can understand how they have adapted perfectly to their part of this ecosystem.
The rainforest is home to not only vast numbers of species of mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish and insect; but also trees and plants that provide us with wonderful foods like vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, mangoes, papayas, bananas and even chocolate – we enjoyed savouring the tastes of some of these too. However, more important is the fact that the rainforest provides us (humans) with oxygen: trees use photosynthesis to absorb the carbon dioxide we create and produce oxygen – this is a reciprocal arrangement. Finally, scientists have discovered that many medicines we need for everyday ailments (paracetamol, aspirin) and for more serious conditions like cancers can be made from the roots, leaves, fruits, flowers and bark of many of the plants and trees of the rainforest.
This should mean that we should all want to protect these wonderful places, not allow their destruction. Please read our poems about how important we feel the rainforest is.
Glossary:
strata – the layers of the rainforest from water level to the emergent zone
parasitical – a plant that takes what it needs from another plant, eventually killing it
epiphytes – plants that live on another plant without harming it
lianna – creepers that wind themselves around the trunks of trees, helping them to support themselves better
ecosystem – a localised group of interdependent organisms and the environment that they live in
photosynthesis – a process that allows a plant to ‘feed’ using carbon dioxide and light
reciprocal – benefits both (humans need oxygen and produce carbon dioxide; green plants need carbon dioxide and produce oxygen)