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VICTORIA – The Province and the
Council of Forest Industries have teamed up to develop education kits for
teaching secondary school students about the mountain pine beetle and how
British Columbia is responding to the epidemic.
“Students want to know what’s happening with the
mountain pine beetle,” said Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman. “These
kits provide the learning tools to teach them everything from how a beetle
attacks a tree to the economic impacts of the epidemic and how to mitigate
them.”
A teacher’s binder, classroom posters, video,
slide show, vials containing adult beetles and larvae, and bark and wood
samples are featured in the kits. The teacher’s binder includes a lesson plan,
curriculum connections, activities list, glossary of beetle-related
terminology, background notes, and links to other learning resources.
“Studies relating to the pine beetle are a
valuable addition to the high school curriculum,” said Education Minister
Shirley Bond. “It's important that students understand how the pine
beetle is impacting B.C.’s forests.”
Students will learn through suggested
activities such as research, written and oral reports, visual presentations,
class discussions, guest speakers directly involved in pine beetle management,
and field trips.
“The Council of
Forest Industries is pleased to have partnered with the BC Market Outreach
Network to develop this teaching resource for B.C. secondary schools,” said
Doug Routledge, vice-president, COFI northern operations. “This new resource
provides teachers the tools they need to teach their students about the
significance of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and its impacts to B.C.’s
forest industry as well as impacts to our forests, communities and economy.”
The mountain pine beetle education kits have
been distributed to more than 90 school districts across the province. A similar teacher resource was developed two
years ago for students in grades 4-7. The secondary school kits build on the
success of that project with more advanced curriculum and learning outcomes in
mind.
The provincial government’s BC Market Outreach Network partnered with
the Council of Forest Industries to develop the pine beetle educations kits.
The BC Market Outreach Network is a program of Forestry Innovation Investment
Ltd., a Crown corporation committed to promoting B.C. forest practices and
products internationally.
Raising awareness about the mountain pine
beetle epidemic and mitigating its impacts is a key objective of the provincial
Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan. For more information on the Action Plan, or to download a copy, visit www.gov.bc.ca/pinebeetle.
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contact: |
Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Education 250 356-5963 250 920-9040 (cell) |
Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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