Fairtrade Brazil Nut Ecology

This resource is ideal for Fairtrade Fortnight, and can be used with all ages by varying the amount of depth you go into. It suits the curriculum for Geography, Biology and Environmental Studies. This resource explains the story of how a Brazil nut is gathered in the Amazon rain forest and sold in the UK. It follows the gatherers as they encounter many scary/ cute animals. Brazil nuts depend on certain animals for their pollination and seed dispersal, and how this means they cannot be farmed. It then explains how these animals interact others in the forest. The presentation ends with information about life in the Amazon as a Fairtrade farmer, and the benefits Fairtrade has brought local children. It also situates this trade within the context of agribusiness and deforestation. Related link: Article: http://www.fairandfunky.com/go-nuts-for-fairtrade-on-national-nut-day/ Activities: It is suggested in the presentation that a 16.5m length of string be used to demonstrate the width of a Brazil nut tree. I have also used Fairtrade nut packaging to create rainforest animal hats. Curriculum relevance: Key Stage 1 Geography: Forests, hot areas of the world, the equator Science: Follow up with identification of animals Key Stage 2 Geography: South America, the equator, the tropics, distribution of food and water Science: Follow up with: the life cycle of flowering plants, environmental change, food chains, the water cycle, photosynthesis, animal classification and adaptation Key Stage 3 Geography: Global ecosystems- rainforests, resource management and biodiversity, evidence and causes of climate change. Biology: Follow up with: reproduction in plants and photosynthesis, interdependence, how organisms affect and are affected by their environment. Chemistry: Follow up with: Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. Key Stage 4 Geography: Case study, floods - follow up people and the environment, biodiversity and sustainable management, biotic and abiotic interactions. Biology: Follow up with: photosynthesis, abiotic and biotic factors in a rainforest ecosystem, interdependence, biodiversity, positive and negative human interaction, and anthropogenic cause of climate change. A Level Geography: International trade, interdependence, inequities of global systems, food systems. Biology: Follow up with- Ecosystems- the human part in the ecological balance, effective management of conflict between human needs and conservation; Biodiversity- adaptations. Environmental Studies: Habitat destruction, species interdependence, forest production, deforestation.