Operation: Restoration
Making the link between human well-being and biodiversity…

What is Operation: Restoration?
Operation: Restoration is a classroom workshop that challenges grades 7 and 8 students to draw a practical link between what they’re learning in both their Science and Social Studies classes. The FBC education team is excited about doing away with the divisions between life sciences and social sciences, and making nature stewardship relevant to our day-to-day lives as human beings. What better way to do this than an interactive, fun, hands-on workshop that puts students in charge of restoring their own imaginary island?

What happens during a classroom workshop?
Through the use of basic mapping, species descriptions, and reading exercises, students will learn about the trials and tribulations faced by real life forest restoration technicians who work with Falls Brook Centre’s partners in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Besides collecting tree cards and “planting” them on their island, students will have to make tough team decisions, ultimately having to find a balance between earning money and protecting natural biodiversity. They will explore the concept of ‘cash crops’ and will learn about the alternative forms of agriculture and forestry that farmers around the world are starting to use to restore and sustain biological diversity in their countries.

How does it work?
This 50- or 100- minute workshop is facilitated by experienced FBC Education staff. Teachers may choose to run the workshop over the course of 1 or 2 class periods. We supply all workshop materials, as well as pre-workshop reading assignments and a follow-up quiz.

This workshop is FREE for classrooms in Districts 14, 18 and 3.

Do I have to prepare for the workshop?

You can download the Biodiversity Toolkit here - it is a great resource for both teachers and students addressing biodiveristy and its interaction with human cultures and economies.

Here is a Pre-Workshop Reading and Assignment that students can complete in class or as homework before the in-class workshop.

After the workshop is complete, teachers can have students log on to our site to download and complete this Follow-up Quiz.

Students can visit the Eco Action Heroes page to complete the quiz and check out other great learning tools

How does this workshop link to my curriculum and learning outcomes?

Grade 7 Life Sciences:

306-1 Describe how energy is supplied to, and how it flows through a food web
306-2 Describe how matter is recycled in an ecosystem through interactions among plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms
304-3 Describe conditions essential to growth and reproduction of plants and microorganisms in an ecosystem, and relate these conditions to various aspects of the human food supply
306-4 identify signs of ecological succession in a local ecosystem

Grade 7 Social Studies:

Unit 2 – “Economic Empowerment”
7.2.2- analyze how commodities that lead to economic empowerment have changed
7.2.3- identify and analyze trends that could impact future economic empowerment

Grade 8 Social Studies: Atlantic Canada in the Global Community:

Unit 3 - “Economics”
3.6 identify and demonstrate an understanding of trade and other economic linkages among Atlantic Canada and the national and global communities

Unit 5 - “Interdependence”
5.2 examine and analyse how Atlantic Canadians are members of the global community through different interconnected systems
5.3 assess the individual qualities and attributes Atlantic Canadians need to become contributing members of the global community
5.4 demonstrate an understanding that the future well-being of Atlantic Canada involves co-operation with the national and global community

The workshop will be facilitated by qualified FBC staff. We provide all of the workshop materials. Follow-up activities and quizzes to evaluate learning will be made available on the FBC website.

Program Objectives
Students will…

• Learn about interactions within ecosystems
• Analyse interactions between human communities and ecosystems
• Construct their own imaginary ‘forest garden’, an ecosystem that can support human well-being and needs while re-generating natural systems
• Work in teams to solve problems and make decisions
• Observe and role play in economic interactions between imaginary island nations
• Make links between local actions and global impacts
• HAVE FUN and LEARN!

This program made possible with the support of