UP and DOWN Forests
Reading about trees brings me into forests. Just as trees come in a vast variety, so do forests. Here are books about two types of forests I’ve found to share with children ages 5-8 are: When Butterflies Cross the Sky by Sharon Cooper and Kelp (World’s Weirdest Plants Series) by Patricia Fletcher.
Up in the Mountains: In Mexico, between the states of Michoacán and Mexico, there is a mountain range where every November the forest of oyamel fir trees become the home to millions of monarch butterflies. The 139,000-acre Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (World Wildlife Fund and Mexican government) is home to migrating monarchs who have travelled some 3,000 miles. (I am impressed by penguin colonies traveling 60-100 miles to the same breeding sites, but this trek is incredible.) An “inner compass” is one explanation for how they find this forest. However, due to climate change and forest erosion in the US and Mexico, their numbers are being dramatically cut by as much as 50 percent. The damage to the fir trees caused by changing temperatures to the monarchs’ forests is causing researchers to seek higher altitudes and lower temperatures for oyamel fir trees to be planted so they will again attract the butterflies. Perhaps that will work, and the monarchs will find the new areas. The New Yorker (February 2021) has a short piece about the “Butterfly Forest” with beautiful photos. I want to trust the research going on now will help rescue these beautiful insects and halt the destruction we are heaping on them.
More Books:
Monarch Butterflies by Ann Hobbie (ages 7-10).
Butterflies on Carmen Street by Monica Brown (ages 4-8)
Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead by Judy Goldman. (ages 7+). Learn about the connection to the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico.
Life cycle sets for play are also available.
Down in the Underwater: A 2nd forest type is underwater Kelp Forest. Kelp – algae (plant-like seaweed) – grows in shallow parts of the world’s oceans, on reefs with the largest in waters below 60 degrees F. Kelp is rootless but has sticky blades that hold onto a rock or reef; kelp absorbs sunlight for nutrients; kelp provides a protected habitat for ocean animals (sponges, fish, etc.) who live in different layers of kelp. Kelp grows vertically and horizontally providing a food chain for animals and protecting shorelines from worse erosion. It is also a beneficial food source for humans – filled with antioxidants.
But now the kelp forests are becoming endangered from pollution, overfishing, and warm water.
More Books:
Secrets of Kelp Forests by Jean-Michel Cousteau Presents
The Biology and Ecology of Giant Kelp Forests by David Schiel
There are still more forests to explore and learn about. Rainforests cover approximately 1/20th of the world’s land surface but are home to 50% of the world’s plants and animals, while they also manage water cycles, provide medicines and building materials, etc. All vital to the world’s health while both absorbing carbon monoxide and emitting oxygen into the earth’s atmosphere.