11-13 yrs old
14-18 yrs old
Animals
Climate & Environment
Science
Learn about the value, threats, sustainable management of biodiversity before building an Orangutan reserve to benefit the people, profit and planet.
August 9, 2019
Lesson Plan
My Notes
Minecraft World File
Download the world and open with Minecraft: Education Edition. You'll find this resource in your Templates, under Create New.
Conservationist Jan’s Orangutan Challenge Video
Lesson introduction by Jan Vertefeuille.
Thirty Hills WWF website
Our goal is restore and protect 100,000 acres of former logging concessions and by doing so, save nature and benefit people and the planet.
Ecosystem Services
Learning the value of nature.
Wild Classroom - Biodiversity Toolkit
The activities in the biodiversity toolkit provide students with an understanding of the importance of nature and how all living things are connected.
This project was developed in partnership with World Wildlife Fund. Explore an exciting new Minecraft world created by Naturebytes as well as three new lessons designed to help you teach about biodiversity and its importance to our planet's past and future.
Introductory questions:
Introduction (watch as a class or individually) (3 mins)
Read out the lesson introduction above and ask the students to watch the Conservationist Jan’s Orangutan Challenge Video (see external resources) which will introduce them to the challenge.
Minecraft Orangutan Forest (individually) (10 mins)
Ask the students to find the deforested area and interact with the NPCs, farmers, scientists and local community, to investigate what has happened there and make notes on the threats to the biodiversity.
Once the students have had an opportunity to speak to all the characters, ask the students to think about how a sustainably managed orangutan jungle could provide for people, planet and profit.
In Class, Design A Sustainable Orangutan Reserve (as a class and groups) (10 mins)
In the classroom, ask students to work in groups to design a sustainable orangutan reserve and management. The newly designed reserve should transform the deforested area to secure a future for the orangutans and all the jungle biodiversity whilst providing ecosystem services and livelihoods for the local communities of the forest. They can use the Thirty Hills WWF website (see external resources) to help plan their sustainable reserve.
The design can be done on paper, a computer, whiteboard or similar. Encourage students to use what they have learned, be bold and use their creativity to design solutions. There are no wrong or right answers.
As a class, ask students to discuss their design and management plans and agree on the best design aspects and plans to incorporate into your minecraft sustainable reserve build.
Minecraft Build a Future for Orangutans (as a class and groups) (20 mins)
In minecraft, ask the groups to build as teams to create the sustainable orangutan reserve design in the Minecraft deforested area. Students can use any of the in-game resources they have available to them.
Once you’ve finished building the reserve ask the groups to decide what measures they could take to make it a reality and what personal changes they can make that can positively impact the sustainable management of the jungle and their local environment.
This lesson will enable students to:
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