Objectives: Students will be able to read three articles about deforestation in Mexico due to demand for

Avocados. Students will be able to find evidence in the non-fiction articles to support their claim to

whether or not the demand for avocados is impacting the environment and biodiversity. Students will be able to identify at least one species which is impacted by these activities. Students will be able to propose a solution to this problem and support their chosen solution

with evidence taken from these articles. After discussing the problem within groups, students will be able to refine, change, and

evaluate their solution. Students will be able to write two paragraphs, one detailing the problem and one detailing their

solution, drawing from evidence within the non-fiction text.

Next Generation Science Standard: HS-LS2-7: Design, evaluate and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.

Materials: Students need access to these articles, whether online or printed out versions. Student need three print outs of the reading guide (as it is versatile for all three articles). Students need a pencil or pen and a piece of paper.

Background: Within this activity, students will determine the link between demand for avocados and deforestation in some Mexican forests. They will think about how this deforestation might impact species local to these forests. Students will use the reading guide, provided below, to pull out evidence from the non-fiction articles to support their claim. Students will then write two short paragraphs. The first will detail the problem and the environmental impact. Their second paragraph will detail their solution to the human impact on the environment and biodiversity and provide evidence from the articles as to why they support that solution.

Articles for the activity: https://www.forest-trends.org/ecosystem_marketplace/taking-the-deforestation-out-of-

avocados/ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/10/avocado-illegal-deforestation-mexico-

pine-forests https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/21/in-mexico-monarchs-versus-avocados/

The problem: International demand for avocados has led to an increase in the profitability of avocados, similar to what has happen to Quinoa. This increase in profitability has led to more farmers wanting to grow avocados. However, space is limited and many had their own fields already with other crops – so many farmers are now chopping down forests in central Mexico to plant more avocado trees. Many of these actions are illegal, and even if they do not cut down the forest, many are planting avocadoes underneath the pines – disrupting the natural habitat. Getting the farmers to stop is difficult, as farmers can earn up to $500,000 dollars every year from just a small plot of avocado trees. It is a very lucrative livelihood!

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?

The environmental and biodiversity impact: Growing avocados in pine forests or chopping down the forests have a lot of environmental impacts. These include, but are not limited to: the displacement of forests and loss of habitat for animals – such as the Monarch butterfly, decreases in water retention causing more flooding, increases of agricultural chemical run off, and the further destruction of habitats because farmers need to chopping down more trees for the wood needed to pack and ship avocados.

The potential solutions: The foret-trends.org article lists a variety of solutions that the students could choose to discuss. These include:

Demand side:1. American’s buying California avocados2. Substituting other foods instead of avocados3. Buying certified organic Mexican avocados (this doesn’t explicitly address deforestation)4. Suppliers developing a certification for “sustainable” avocados

Supply side:1. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+)2. Increasing enforcement efforts and law/policy purging3. Promote responsible agricultural supply chains4. Promote beneficial crop biodiversity, rather than monocultures – variety of ways that could

look like to implement5. Connect farmers, consumers, and distributers through initiatives that allow consumers to

support farmers who are sustainable

Procedure:1. Brainstorm with students some ways humans have impacted the environment and

biodiversity. A few examples are below, but these are by no means comprehensive: a. Overpopulation: Humans need spaces to live, work, and grow the food needed to

sustain our life. This space need to be cleared for human activities – generally damaging ecosystems

b. Pollution: Our waste and trash ends up in the environment – either physical trash or chemical; e.g., CO2 or aerosols in the air and agricultural runoff.

c. Climate change: Humans releasing CO2 into the environment is causing the climate to warm. This is changing habitats, melting arctic land ice and glaciers, and contributing to changes in animal and plant life.

d. Hunting of particular animal speciese. Deforestation of habitats for space, resources, or monetary gain f. Introduction of invasive species, particularly plants. A great examples is Buckthorn

2. Discuss with students how these human impacts can be mitigated through policy, behavior change, or entrepreneurial efforts and innovation.

3. Inform students that they will be exploring the connection between avocados they can find in their local supermarket and deforestation in Mexico.

4. Explain to students that they will be reading three articles and completing their reading guides to learn about this problem.

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?

5. Inform students that after their completion of these articles, they will be proposing a plan or solution to mitigate the environmental impact these activities have on Mexican forests. Their plan must include evidence from these articles in order to support their claim that this solution will help decrease the amount of deforestation that occurs.

6. Instruct students to read each article and fill out a reading guide for each article. 7. Instruct students to write a paragraph detailing their claim to whether or not the demand for

avocados is impacting the environment and biodiversity. They will highlight one species that is being affected.

8. Discuss with students the different article’s main themes and the problem and environmental impacts of deforestation.

9. Instruct students to write a second paragraph detailing their proposed solution to reduce the human impact on these forests and include at least one/two pieces of evidence to support this solution.

10.As students are completing these paragraphs, go around the room assisting students in selecting their lines of evidence.

11.Upon their completion, instruct students to form groups and discuss their solution and why they chose that way of solving the problem. Encourage them to provide feedback on one another’s proposal.

12.Provide a time for the students to refine their solutions if there are reasons, concerns, or insights that they learned about through talking with other students.

13.Have a select number of students share the solution that they chose, their evidence, and why they selected that plan of action.

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?

How are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests? Reading Guide Name:________________

Article Title:

Author:

Before You Read:1. What have you heard about this topic?

2. What do you think the demand is caused by?

3. Why do you think Mexican Forests are being cut down?

While You Read:

4. What are the article’s main themes?

5. Which environmental or biodiversity impacts of deforestation does this article note?

6. What potential solution(s) does this article mention?

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?

After You Read:7. What pieces of evidence did the author use to support their assertion that demand is driving

deforestation?

8. Which of the solution(s), that the article mentioned, do you think would help fix the problem?

9. What pieces of evidence support your assertion that this solution would fix it?

10.Are there any lines of evidence in the article that challenge your assertion that this solution would fix the problem?

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?

Written Portion Grading Rubric:

Task Exceeds Standard Meets Standard Nearing

Standard Below Standard

Describe how humans are impacting Mexican Forests

Describe the effect of human

impactUses evidence from the non-fiction text to

support human impact claimProposes a solution to mitigate the

problemDescribes how the solution will

achieve the desired resultUses evidence from the non-fiction text to

support solution

Well written argument with

proper grammar and spelling

Well-structured argument including:

claim, evidence, and rationale

Includes ecological

impact with at least one other

species

Planted Podcast Season 1: Ep.8 LessonHow are Avocados Impacting Mexican Forests?