Deploy Silvopasture
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Articles/Websites
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering
Authors: Project Drawdown, Daniel Kane, Ruth Metzel; Senior Fellows: Mamta Mehra, Eric Toensmeier, Ariani Wartenberg; Senior Director: Chad Frischmann
Location: Earth
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This article introduces students to silvopasture as a means for farmers to sequester carbon while providing a more comfortable habitat for their farm animals.
- Students will learn about the benefit of incorporating trees into agriculture, thereby improving land health and increasing carbon sequestration.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Students can easily navigate the article since it is formatted with clear subheadings.
- The information provides a thorough description of the silvopasture process, along with its feasibility as a climate solution.
Prerequisites
- Teachers may wish to introduce the article by leading a class discussion about farming, gathering students' prior knowledge of farming terms and experiences.
- Students should understand climate change and how conventional agriculture practices contribute to climate change.
- Because the vocabulary is rigorous, a definition list would be appropriate.
- Students should understand "hectare" versus "acre" since the data is in hectares.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Students in language arts classes can work in small groups to create descriptive paragraphs about silvopastures.
- Probability and statistics connections can be made in math classes, as there are several data points to evaluate costs, benefits over time, and effects on the climate.
- Silvopasture is one of many solutions, and other solutions are presented at the bottom of the web page or can be found on the Table of Solutions, so teachers can assign different solutions to an entire class of students, allowing for further research and evidence-gathering.
This article introduces incorporating trees into agriculture to improve land health and increase carbon sequestration. The article explains reducing emissions by integrating trees and pasture into a single system for raising livestock. The methodology, scenarios, and models are provided, along with the results and a discussion about silvopastures and its ranking as the highest for mitigation impact. This reading would be a great addition to a lesson discussing alternative methods to reducing carbon emissions. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
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