In collaboration with the Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFI) team BIFoR have developed a number of teaching materials around the water and carbon cycles.
The resources are available, on our 'Virtual BIFoR' site. Visitors to the site can explore the BIFoR FACE facility at their own pace, clicking on the arrows to move forward, and on the numbered dots to find out more information. The current educational resources available are:
i) a resource to teach students about transpiration using sap flow information taken from instruments installed in the BIFoR FACE woodland
ii) a resource to teach students about plant cell organisation / photosynthetic reaction / how plants use glucose using measurements of tree growth from dendrometers installed in the BIFoR FACE woodland
iii) a resource to teach students about infection and response in particular the fungal disease Rose black spot using images of sycamore leaves collected from the leaf litter traps at the BIFoR FACE woodland.
It is an exciting opportunity to engage schools and other members of the public who may not be able to visit the FACE site. More and more datasets and teacher notes / lessons plans will be added.
A useful podcast recording regarding water and the carbon cycle is available and more resources are being worked on. Links to more podcasts and videos are available on our social media webpage.
The Geography Education Online website created by the Geographical Association (GA), for students studying for GCSE geography, A level geography or equivalent qualificationslevel Geography students hold regular online lectures. Dr Phil Jones gave a recent lecture entitled Rethinking nature in cities | Geography Education Online This lecture explores two case studies of how working with the natural environment can bring great benefits to those living in cities. The first example examines the role of sustainable drainage in flood mitigation. The second examines the health benefits created by exposure to green spaces.
We have previously also given tours of the BIFoR FACE facility to school groups who are able to make the journey to the facility in Staffordshire. If you would be interested in learning more about a visit or to book a visit please contact Deanne Brettle on d.brettle@bham.ac.uk
Our Chair in Tree Pathology, Prof Rob Jackson, has also contributed to a comic "Luna and the Microbes."
Further great teaching resources linked to forests are available on the Sylva Foundation website. BIFoR are part of the Forestry Skills Forum which, lead by the Sylva Foundation, helped to develop these resources. The Forum is dedicated to promoting education, skills, learning and development across the forestry sector in England and Wales. A further resource the Forum is proud of is a new forestry careers website. There are number of great videos to watch including interviews with a people involved in a variety of roles.
