Emergent layer

Canopy

Creatures of the rainforest

Understory

Forest floor

WORKINGTOGETHER TOHELP SAVE1 BILLION TREES

Sky and WWF are working together to help protect 1 billion trees in the Amazon. We want to inspire others to do the same - and that’s what I Love Amazon for primary schools is all about.

Key facts

The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth.

As this poster shows, the rainforest has four layers:

• Emergent layer, where the tallest trees tower

over 60m in height.

• Canopy, where the tops of trees spread to form a

roof-like cover, hence the name canopy.

• Understory, a layer of smaller shrubs and plants

sandwiched between the rainforest

floor and the upper canopy.

• Forest floor, a dark and damp haven for

a multitude of insects and a myriad of

fungi and lichen which form the

staple diet of many of the

animals that live within

the forest.

Sky Rainforest Rescue

WORKINGTOGETHER TOHELP SAVE1 BILLION TREES

It is believed that 10% of the world’s species of plants and animals are found in the Amazon rainforest, including species that are found nowhere else on Earth. Each layer of the rain-forest is home to a different range of animals which, due to human activities, are either already threatened with extinction or could become threatened.

What’s more, of the 6-7% of the Earth’s total land surface covered by rainforests, the Amazon contains almost half. And it also has the largest river basin on Earth and one of the world’s lon-gest rivers - the Amazon river. Flowing east and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon river is second only to the Nile and is also by far the world’s largest river in terms of the volume of water it discharges into the sea.

In real terms, just two hours of its flow could meet the freshwater needs of London’s 8.3 mil-lion residents for a whole year.

You can make a difference by supporting your pupils to learn about the value of rainforests and how they can help protect them through their everyday actions.

Our Amazon themed activities will help you transform your classroom into a stimulating learning environment with a tropical rainforest twist.

Just log onto sky.com/amazonschools to awaken your pupils’ senses to a truly inspirational, educational walk on the wild side.

Who am I?Play this game to explore the animals of the Amazon rainforestwith your class. Photocopy the cards below, cut out and distribute to pupils who can display them on a headband, so the person wearing it has to ask questions to find out who they are/what type of animal they are, or the child can simply keep the card a secret for their partner to guess.

Either way pupils take turns to ask questions of their partner in an attempt to discover which animal they are. Questions can only be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and pupils should be encouraged to ask questions about the layers and the type of animals included on the poster. They could also ask questions about colour and key features.

As a result of the activity, pupils could then write questions that they would like to find the answers to during their Amazon topic and these could be displayed simply as post-its around the poster or as a structured ‘I wonder why?’ geographical/scientific enquiry wall.

Scarlet macaw

Sloth

Potoo

Agouti

Blue and yellow macaw

Pygmy marmoset

Ring-tailed coati

Poison dart frog

Harpy eagle

Tree boa

Spidermonkey

Bullet ant

Blue Morpho butterfly

Tree frog

Tarantula

Anaconda

Toucan

Fruit bats

Tapir

Leaf cutter ant

Howler monkey

Ocelot

Peccary

Jaguar

Woolly monkey

Kinkajou (hon-ey bear)

Capybara

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Where in the world?

The Amazon contains the planet’s largest remaining rainforest, which has an unparalleled diversity of species and habitats. With between 20 to 80 different species of tree per acre and a wide variety of animal life, many of which have special adaptations that allow them to live in the tropical conditions, they would not survive outside of this ecosystem.

The Amazon spans across 9 countries in South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

The temperature of tropical rainforests ranges from 18 to 35 degrees celsius, due to its close proximity to the equator.

The Amazon rainforest is at least four times larg-er than either of the next two largest tropical forest regions, Indonesia and the Congo Basin.

The Amazon rainforest is about 50% larger than the European Union. In Europe, 10,000m2 of woodland might have 20 species of trees compared to the same area of Amazon rainforest which can shelter as many as 220 different species of trees.

Amazon

UK

The UK would fit into the Amazon more than 27 times.

Deforestation worldwide accounts for as many emissions as all the world’s trains, planes, cars and ships put together. One of the keys to protecting the world’s rainforests is to create more sustainable opportunities for rainforest people to make a living without cutting down the trees.

Halving global deforestation by 2030 would save us more than $3.7 trillion in damages caused by climate change.

Climate change

What’s it to me? Bring the rainforest into your classroom with Sky Rainforest Rescue. Study the significance of the rainforest and the importance of the work we do to protect the forest for everyone.

Using the activity below, consider how the rainforest impacts on your lives.

Conduct a survey to see how many products you use/consume that have come from the rainforest. Below are some examples:

MoisturiserNext time you see your mum smooth on her face cream, take a look at the ingredients. Lots of Amazonian plants - like Brazil nut and coconut oil - help make skin soft and wrinkle free!

MedicineNot only do ingredients in Amazonian plants make us smell nice, they can save lives too. 70% of the plants that can help us fight against cancer are only found in tropical rainforests.

ShampooYou can thank the Amazon for your luscious locks! Lots of ingredients found in shampoo, like the passion fruit, are grown in rainforests.

NutsWe all love a healthy snack but did you know that your packet of dry roasted cashew nuts started out in a faraway tropical climate such as the Amazon? So did Brazil nuts.

Vanilla seed podsVanilla is used in lots of our favourite foods, soaps and shampoos because it tastes and smells so good! And you guessed it; the vanilla orchid, which produces these powerful little vanilla pods, grows in rainforests too.

CoffeeGrown-ups often drink coffee. Did you know that shade-grown coffee can help local people earn a living while keeping the rainforest standing?

Avocado and bananas Most of us won’t have visited a rainforest but a large part of our diet either comes from or is grown there - including foods such as avocados, coconuts, grapefruits, bananas, guavas and pineapples to name but a few.

SpicesNo matter what kind of food you enjoy, chances are it will be seasoned with spices found in rainforests, as they provide a wide range of spic-es such as cinnamon and pepper.

Acai berriesAcai is often called a ‘superfood’ because it is so rich in protein and minerals. The acai palm tree grows naturally in the Amazon rainforest and its berries can be harvested without harming the forest or the species that live there.

ChocolateDid you know that your favourite chocolate comes from the cacao plant? This grows wild in Central and South America and growing it can be a way for people who live in the Amazon to make a living without hurting the forest.

The Amazon might seem like a very far away place, but actually it’s closer to home than you think. Can you find out what other products the rainforest provides e.g. rubber, mahogany and kapok?