Objective: Students will be able to define the concept and value of a sustained-yield foresti. As a "capstone" activity, students also will be able to apply the unit's learnings in a community activity.

Learning Skills:
- critical reasoning
- ecology
- forestry

Lessons:
Part I: Distribute the Activity 5 worksheet (attachment below). Like renewable resources, the concept of a Sustained-yieldi forest is not widely familiar to students. Visit our sustained-yield forest page to learn more as well as this Forest Certification link to learn about other protective measures for the forests.

Part II: Explain that different trees grow at different rates just like people. Conditions realted to climate, soil quality and terrain all have an impact on growth rates just like diet and nutrition does for people.

PART III: Explain that some U.S. states are heavily forested (like those in the Pacific Northwest) while others are not (the Great Plain states). Despite the fact that we have been harvesting trees since before the American Revolution, 730 million acres of forests still remain. Ask them if they have visited forests themselves.

Tropical Rainforest Destruction: Expanding on the activity sheets, explain that barren desert-like areas are replacing tropical rainforests in certain countries. People in these countries clear the forests for many reasons, such as to build shelters, or to sell the raw wood logs to other countries. Explain that some of this tropical rainforest wood eventually makes its way to the U.S. in the form of pencils. Tell the students that they can make sure they are buying pencils made from sustained-yield wood grown in the U.S., and not tropical rainforest wood, by looking for the following logos: "Made from Sustained-Yield Wood," "Contains NO Tropical Rainforest Wood" or "Genuine Incense-Cedari -- A Renewable Resource."

Other kinds of tropical rainforest wood sold in the U.S. include mahogany, teak, and rosewood, woods primarily used in fine furniture or interior decoration. Although there are some sustained-yield plantations of these woods, most of it does not come from such sources. In recent years there has been some small improvement via voluntary participation in Forest Certification as well.

Optional Capstone Activity: Complete the unit by diving the class into collaborative learning groups. Instructing the class to draw upon everything it has learned about pencils, renewable resources and sustained-yield forests, have each group select its favorite format in which to communicate the broad concepts of the unit to other audiences. Possible mediums could include a skit, oral or videotaped presentation, computer generated newsletter or newspaper, art exhibit, collagei, sculpture, dance or song.

Encourage the groups to be as creative as possible, and to consider combining multiple mediums into a single presentation. Have the groups make their presentations to the class and, as possible, to other classes at your school. You may also want to arrange additional presentations for parents, school board members, the PTA or other relevant audiences.

Answers:

Part II: It takes four to five years for a coniferous tree liek the Redwood, Douglas Fir and Incense-Cedar to grow to 5 feet tall and 40-80 years for them to grow 50-100 feet high(tall enough to harvest).

Part III: The ten states with the largest areas of forested land are: Alaska, 129 million acres; California, 39.4 million acres; Oregon, 28.1 million acres; Georgia, 23.9 million acres; Montana, 21.9 million acres; Washington, 21.8 million acres; Alabama, 21.7 million acres; Colorado, 21.3 million acres; Arizona, 19.4 millions acres; and North Carolina, 18.9 million acres. The states with the smallest percentage of forested land are North Dakota and Nebraska, with less than 1%. Note: Delaware and Rhode Island, the two smallest states, have the smallest acreage.

WOODCHUCKS NOTE: This activity sheet and lesson plan was originally produced in 1993 and although some of the specific figures may vary somewhat today from what is shown here, the basic concepts and overall picture has not changed. In the case of jelutongi, a rainforst wood from Indonesia, the use of this species in pencil production in that country has already been replaced just 10-12 years later by another tropical rainforest species. This new species named pulaii is of similar, but lesser quality and is generally still referred to as jelutong, but is not teh same tree. Due to reduced forests in Indonesia now even Incense-cedar from California and Basswoodi from China are imported into Indonesia for pencil making needs.