February 2005

This Valentine’s Day, indulge yourself with the wonderful new resources and activities on the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site.  From fuzzy spectacled bears to sweet classroom stories this issue is packed with Valentine treats for teachers.

• An Un-bearably Cute Valentine
• Earthwatch Expeditions for Educators
• Ann Street Alive in the Rainforest

Photo by Art Wolfe

The spectacled bear -- named after the cream-colored fur circles or “spectacles” around its eyes -- is the only bear species found in Latin America.  And now you can find it on the Learning Site!  Kids can use our new spectacled bear coloring page to create a cuddly valentine for family and friends this month, while learning some interesting facts about this incredible animal.  You can combine the spectacled bear species profile and the accompanying coloring page to create a fun-filled activity for younger students.  All of these materials may be downloaded for free on our easy-to-navigate Resources for Teachers page.

  Click on the image below to instantly download the 

            new spectacled bear coloring page!

The Earthwatch Institute, which works to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment, offers opportunities for volunteers to work as research assistants on expeditions all over the world.  These learning vacations provide exciting opportunities for educators to network with Earthwatch team members and scientists while participating in on-the-ground conservation work.  Visit the Earthwatch Web site to learn about the expeditions offered in 2005, including the Manatees in Belize expedition, where participants can discover the elusive behavior of endangered manatees and explore their habitat.  Educators may be eligible for fellowships.

To learn more about manatees, be sure to check out the Rainforest Alliance original story “Manny the Manatee” in English, Spanish or Portuguese, the manatee species profile, and the brand-new manatee coloring page on the Learning Site.

Students at Ann Street School decorated the hallways with trees, vines and rainforest animals.

To celebrate its school-wide adoption of the Rainforest Alliance’s curriculum, on February 4th the Ann Street School in Newark, NJ held an “Ann Street Alive in the Rainforest Day.”  Students from kindergarten through eighth grade experienced the wonders of the rainforest with games, music, arts and crafts, rainforest foods and more.  With support from the Dodge Foundation, the Rainforest Alliance provided the resources needed for Ann Street teachers to bring this environmental curriculum into their classrooms.

During the last several weeks, kindergarten through sixth graders throughout Ann Street School have tapped into the resources on the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site to learn about tropical forests in Latin America and how their lives in Newark are connected to these rapidly vanishing ecosystems.  Students in older grades transformed the floors of the school into the layers of the rainforest, complete with paper vines,  jaguars and butterflies.  “The kids are so excited because they get to visit the layers of the rainforest. They notice all of the details and differences of each layer,” noted World Language teacher, Shirley Mourin,   who helped to implement the Rainforest Alliance curriculum at Ann Street.  “Everything you see here, the students did by themselves…It’s a beautiful thing.”

Read more anecdotes from teachers like Shirley Mourin, or email us at education@ra.org to share your story.

        Don't forget to check out the new spectacled bear and manatee coloring pages!

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