Rainforests are relevant – everywhere
Rainforests cover only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s surface, but they are one of the most important ecosystems we have, supporting more than half of all known plant and animal species.
Through photosynthesis, rainforests play a critical part in absorbing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and producing vast amounts of the oxygen that we all need to survive. Not only this, but they also contribute to the stability of global weather by regulating rainfall and the wider climate, as well as supporting local communities and millions of indigenous people who live within them.
With all these functions that contribute to the conditions human need for our very survival, vast areas of rainforest are lost every year to logging (legal and illegal), mining and agricultural expansion.
Understanding these benefits, behaviours and risks is essential learning for students as they begin to find their place and meaning in the world.
Raising awareness in schools
Themed lesson activities or an assembly can be great starting points to get students and staff thinking and talking about rainforests.
The campaign theme for 2026 is “The Forest Within You”. This is intended to students’ highlight personal connections to rainforests – through the food they eat, the air they breathe and the products they buy from the supermarket.
Other powerful ways to engage students could include:
- Accessing free resources from charities such as Rainforest Concern. It offers free downloadable worksheets, crosswords, word searches and rainforest facts.
- Encouraging creativity. Activities like writing a postcard to the planet, creating rainforest art or a rainforest song/music are all ways for students to research and engage with the topic and respond with different forms of expression.
- Inspiring action. Older students could perhaps research deforestation’s causes and effects, debate solutions, sponsor a tree or see what activities take place around the world to support and save the rainforests.
References
- World Rainforest Day. Available at: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-rainforest-day/ (Accessed 17 June 2026)
- World Rainforest Day 2026: The Forest Within You. Available at: https://www.worldrainforestday.org/ (Accessed 17 June 2026)
