April, 2012”Friendship Tree” project
The project aims communicative and collaborative work on the topic of environmental protection on the Earth. It’s well known that planting a seed of friendship will reap a bouquet of happiness. The main aim of the project is to plant an evergreen tree, which will be the symbol of unity of 4 countries: Cyprus, Malta, Wales and Ukraine. Protection and caring of this tree will increase the understanding the importance of the protection the nature on the whole planet.
Project ”Friendship Tree” ( for 10- 16 years old)
Ukrainian School: Rivne Spesialized School #15
Coordinator: Olha Rodomazova, Tetiana Chuprynuyk, Svitlana Matviichuk
Topics Description
Summary and Objectives
” Friendship Tree” is the title of the project, which aims communicative and collaborative work
on the topic of environmental protection on the Earth. It’s well known that planting a seed of
friendship will reap a bouquet of happiness. The main aim of the project is to plant an evergreen
tree, which will be the symbol of unity of 4 countries: Cyprus, Malta, Wales and Ukraine.
Protection and caring of this tree will increase the understanding the importance of the protection
the nature on the whole planet.
The objectives of this project are:
- to get acquainted with the species of evergreen trees,
- to understand the importance of the protection of our nature and concentrate the forces to improve
the ecological situation around,
- to realize the importance of the meaning of ”Friendship”, its impact on human’s life.
The work on the project is divided into practical activities and into the theoretical part of the work.
Principal activities
- The excursion around school territory : to search the best place for planting
” Friendship Tree”- an evergreen tree /bush
- Collection the information about this kind of tree: its planting, caring, conditions of growing.
- Discussion the importance of this work to the partners of the project .
Collaborative work
- the students’ work will be placed in the student’s profile;
- the students have to collect the information about friendship: its impact on further cooperation
between 4 countries (Cyprus, Malta, Wales and Ukraine);
- writing the essays by students on the topic ”Friendship makes the world go round”;
- the materials after the excursion and the students’ essays will be used for making video clip or
PowerPoint Presentation, the impressions sent/exchanged via
e-twinning;
- all materials and activities related to the project will be recorded and shared with partners via e-
twinning;
- other visitors will vote for the best works produced;
- students validate their recommendations about choosing the right place for planting an evergreen
tree /bush.
Principal products
The most important task of this project is to plant an evergreen tree /bush, which will be the
symbol of unity and friendship of 4 countries- partners. Besides, everyone knows that more trees
give us more fresh air. All people want to breathe fresh air. That’s why this part of the project is
ecologically important.
Extension activities
- During the project development students care about the place where the tree will grow, look after
the tree and its vitality;
- spread the idea of planting young trees as they help our planet to breathe fresh air longer and
longer.
Resources
1) encyclopedias,
2) computers and internet access to research materials on the project,
3) seedlings for planting an evergreen tree.
Video clip should include:
1) information about thuja as a kind of evergreen tree;
2) the places which are the best for growing these trees;
3) video material about the excursion around school territory;
4) video material of the process of planting an evergreen tree.
Earth Day 2010 – April 22
By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day
What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved
over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the
state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November
1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the
political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility
to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal
with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President
began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour
did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of
the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.
I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states.
All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and
everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be
found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.
After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into
the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred
to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-
Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the
nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what
was happening to our environment?
I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse
the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that
would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.
At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would
be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to
participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It
took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the
country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening
to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four
months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day
affairs out of my Senate office.
Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a
lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:
"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity
that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day
of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…when a nationwide
environmental 'teach-in'…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned…."
It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious
that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep
up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth
Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C.
headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of
activities.
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the
time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local
communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
More information can be found at the following sites:
http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/0210.htmlhttp://www.america.gov/global/environ.htmlhttp://www.america.gov/climate_resources.html
