Climate Heroes! The Power of Trees
Provided by: The Nature Conservancy|Published on: May 22, 2023|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology, Geography
Authors: Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy
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 Nature Lab lesson centers on the importance of trees through a virtual field trip, supporting activities, games, and reflections that explore how incredibly important trees are to human health, ecosystems, and the climate.
- Students will learn some of the many benefits trees provide, how trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, and what they can do to conserve, protect, and restore forests.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- There are two extension activities in which students can feel a sense of agency in planting and caring for their own tree.
- Students are able to test their knowledge after watching the video with the link to the provided Kahoot game!
Additional Prerequisites
- The two Vimeo videos do not have closed captioning or subtitles (but they can be downloaded), while all of the included YouTube videos have CC and subtitles (but cannot be downloaded).
- The tree identification key link will take you to a page that no longer exists on dec.ny.gov.
- Prior to this lesson, it would be beneficial to teach students about greenhouse gases, their impact on the environment, and how they get into the atmosphere.
Differentiation
- Students can extend this lesson by doing a study on different types of trees. Students can research how to care for that particular tree, and the unique benefits that type of tree can provide.
- Science classes can connect this lesson to units about photosynthesis, the carbon cycle, the water cycle, air pollution, heat and radiation, or ecosystems.
- English language arts classes can create persuasive writing to convince others to plant new or protect current trees.
- Students can do a project for further research on the movement to plant a billion trees and related movements, creating a brochure with information on the movement.
- This lesson can be used to supplement units in science classes on climate change, greenhouse gases, conservation, climate solutions, or habitats. Students can look at the importance of trees in all of these areas.
- Students who struggle with auditory processing and/or multilingual students may benefit from slowing the video's playback speed and/or using the closed captioning/subtitles functions on the video.
This lesson plan discusses the importance of trees for our climate, how trees are affected by climate change, and how trees can help mitigate climate change. In the main video for the lesson, students are shown how trees photosynthesize and why they are important in different regions of the world. This lesson plan focuses on caring for trees and respecting their value in our environment. The lesson plan has many resources linked for more information. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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