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May 27, 2009 - This spring, students in Mrs. Mesic’s sixth grade math classes took part in the Earth’s Birthday Project. The students worked in small groups to analyze different sets of actual data and research collected from the Amazon Rainforest. They recreated graphs of their data and presented all of their findings in an oral presentation to their class.

Some topics were Annual Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Causes of Deforestation in the Rainforest, and Threatened Mammals of Brazil. Each report included the presenting students leading a class discussion in answering a critical thinking question related to their topic.

The classes learned a great deal about the status of the world’s rainforests while practicing and learning numerous math skills and concepts. They worked cooperatively together and brainstormed ways they could help save the rainforests and the giant web of life they support. At the end of the project, each class was awarded a certificate commending their participation in helping to shape the future of the Amazon Rainforest.

For every class that completed this Rainforest Symposium, three organizations, The American Bird Conservancy, Nature and Culture International, and the World Land Trust-US, pledged a donation to purchase and protect one acre of South American rainforest. The three acres, along with acres protected by classes across the United States, adds up to a big gift to the earth! They will become part of the Podocarpus-El Condor Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador. This reserve protects a large area of the Amazon Rainforest that is home to thousands of plant and animal species.

This project was the sixth grade blue team’s way of commemorating Earth Day 2009. Happy Birthday Planet Earth!