Forest Health

Lesson Overview

Learning Outcomes

• Students will learn about factors that affect the health of a renewable resource - a forest.
• Students will gain an understanding of a tree’s defence mechanisms against diseases and pests.

Question

• What types of factors affect the health of a forest? (living and non-living?)
• How can we tell if a tree is unhealthy?

Setting the stage (approx. lesson time: 1+ hr)

• Part I: Brainstorm & Cluster – (allow 10 min.) Have the students brainstorm factors (living and non-living) that affect the health of a forest and discuss how you can tell if a forest is unhealthy.
• Part II: Lesson – (allow 50 min.) Go through the overheads and information on tree diseases and pests. Have the students fill out the forest health worksheet as you go along. Refer to the teacher background information for more details on each disease and pest.

Materials Needed

• Lesson Overview and Lesson Plan
• Chalkboard, or overhead
• Overheads:

  #1 – Tree Disease Chart (p. 105) • #7 – Defoliating Insects
  #2 – Needle Blights • #8 – Gall Adelgids
  #3 – Wood Decay • #9 – Bark Beetle Chart
  #4 – Mistletoe • #10 – Weevils
  #5 – Root Rot • #11 – Wood Borers
  #6 – Insect Biology

• Gallery and blue stain samples (from Mountain Pine Beetle Teacher Resource Package)
• Worksheets:

  #1 – Forest health worksheet
  #2 – Create your own forest pest

• Forest Health Glossary Sheet
• Teacher Background Information (TB)

Optional

Market Outreach Package “BC’s Mountain Pine Beetle Intermediate Resource Package” (MPB package)

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