Caring for the Environment – trees

DNA

What do you know about plants?

How are they important to the world?

CHALLENGE:Who is responsible for caring for the environment? Why?

Look at any flowers you can see outside, or think about what you would see at a park…

How did they grow?

Think back to your SCIENCE learning too!

What happens once it’s picked?

How does a seed become a flower?

How are trees and plants important?

We now know how important trees are to the climate of the planet, but for thousands of years, trees were just seen as very useful and were chopped down to use for building and for burning.

But – even thousands of years ago - believers of some faiths treated trees as sacred, believing they were special and important.Some of the world’s smaller faiths also treat trees with respect.

Why do you think they thought this?

We are going to look at two stories, from two faiths….

As you read, have a think:

- How are they similar?- How are they different?

- What could we learn from both stories?

The Bishnoi – a Hindu story

Tu B’Shevat – a Jewish story

In Northern India, in the district of Rajasthan, live the Bishnoi. The Bishnoi are people who have taken the Hindu belief of all life being sacred and built their lives upon it. They eat no meat, only fruit and vegetables and some diary products from their cows. When they collect wood for their fires, they use only dead wood and they check it carefully to make sure it has not become a home to insects or other minibeasts. They believe that all life should be protected, even if it means they lose their own lives to do so.

A few hundred years ago, their beliefs cost many Bishnoi people their lives. A rich ruler was building factories and needed more and more wood to fuel the fires. He sent woodcutters into the Bishnoi forests to chop the trees down. The Bishnoi were horrified at this. Every time someone went towards a tree to chop it down, Bishnoi people would hug the tree to protect it. The ruler got annoyed and ordered the woodcutters to kill the people to get to the trees.

Many people died protecting their forest. Eventually, the ruler, hearing of the courage of the Bishnoi people, ordered the woodcutters to stop. The Bishnoi still live in India and their land is easy to find. They live in the forest they protected, which is now surrounded by desert.

The Bishnoi

There is an old Jewish story of a man who was growing old.Instead of resting and taking it easy, he spent his days planting lots and lots of trees. One day a passer-by said to him, “Old man, have a rest! There’s no point planting all these fruit trees, you’ll be dead before any of them give you any fruit!”

The old man just carried on. “When I was born,” he said, “the world was full of fruit growing on trees planted long ago. I want to leave the same kind of world for my grandchildren.”

In January, Jewish believers have a festival that celebrates trees. Tu B’Shevatis like a New Year for trees, when many Jewish believers try to plant a tree. In Israel acres of desert have been turned back into forest by planting thousands of trees over many years and looking after them.

Tu B’Shevat

- Think about your hopes for the future – for the world!- take some paper to cut leaf shapes out of- Decorate one side, and on the other side think of a hope for the world which could help to make this happen. - You may wish to discuss issues of waste, litter, recycling, etc. and come up with some practical steps that people in the class can take.

Side 1 decorate

Side 2 writing

Can you make a tree collage with lots of different leaves?

YOUR TASK

EXIT TICKET

Think back to the stories….

Why do you think the tree makes a good symbol of hope for the future?