"Seeing the Forest and the Trees"
The Nepal Australia Community Forestry Project

Student activities

2 With a partner, select any two specific uses of forests in Nepal. Draw a futures wheel for each use, showing a range of possible consequences for life in Nepal if forest resources were no longer available. (An example is provided below)

Click here for Diagram 1

3 Imagine you are an Australian forester who has worked on Nepali programs since the early 1960s. Write a letter to a colleague in Australia explaining why the community forestry project of the 1980s-90s has been more successful than the original program.

4 Read the stories of Laxmi Kumar Newar and Dil Kumari Shreshta in the 'Focus article, "Seeing the Forest and the Trees". In what ways do the two women rely on forests, and in what ways has community forestry improved their lives and the lives of other women?

5 With a partner, select any two services and activities from the list of sixteen funded so far by the community forestry project. Draw a futures wheel for each service or activity showing a range of possible consequences for the community.

6 a) Look again at all services and activities. If you were a decision -maker in a Forest User Group, which ones do you think could offer the most benefits to your community if you were able to select them for funding?

b) With three other students, imagine you are able to fund and select nine services and activities. Diamond rank or prioritise the nine, from the one which your group believes would be of most benefit, to one you believe would be of least benefit.

Either: number each project and use pencil to write the number in a copy of a diamond,

or write the details of each project on a small pieces of paper, and arrange the papers in a diamond shape.

Place the project considered most important at the top of the diamond, and the project considered least important at the bottom. Place the two second- most important projects on the second level, the three third-most important projects on the third level, and so on.

Ensure that your group can justify its decisions.

d) Explain your recommendations to the class.

e) As a class, discuss:

i)the sorts of factors groups took in to account in making their decision

ii)how easy or difficult it was for groups to agree on selection of projects

click here for Diagram 2

7 Research accounts of other forest conservation projects where communities have worked together, for example the Green Belt Movement of Kenya, the Chipko and Appiko movements of India, the 'One Billion Trees Program' coordinated by Greening Australia.

8 Design and display posters informing your school or local community of the need to carefully manage forests in Australia and overseas.