Examples

The following examples are only for inspiration to look into more examples and to generate interest in the topic amongst pupils.

1. The wolf

Large carnivores, such as the wolf, represent an important element of biological diversity, namely the ‘top predators’ of the food chain of inland ecosystems. Wolves regulate the prey populations (like deer) by always hunting the oldest or weakest animals, making the prey population healthier and more able to survive in the long run. These prey animals, on the other hand, feed on grass and other vegetation, and therefore at a population level are also regulated by the elements of the food chain.

By having this function in the ecosystem, the wolf becomes a competitor with humans only because its diet often includes the same items that are exploited for economic reasons by man. In search of food, new shelters or new partners, wolves leave their packs and wander around new areas that are unknown to them. In this journey of discovery they have to avoid humans as there are no other enemies out there for them. In order to provide the free movement of wolves strictly protected or remote forest patches have to be connected with each other.

For children: Wolf story

Imagine that Linox, a young single male wolf, who lives in the Round Forest, sang a song to the full moon on a summer night. He sang about being desperate to find his wolf girl and to start up a family. The sounds of his loneliness were heard by Aretha, a beautiful orphan wolf girl, who unfortunately lived in the Square Forest, a few miles away from the Round Forest. Aretha, whose family was hunted by man, was also very lonely, and hopeless, because in the Square Forest lived only the Bigger Deer that were impossible to hunt without the support of a pack. Linox’s song gave her hope that one day she would find a big family that she could belong to. Aretha gathered up her courage, and decided to go in search of the singer of the song. She got to the edge of the Square Forest, where she realised that people had built a wide highway between her Forest and the nearest other one, which she assumed was the home of Linox. Looking down from the hilltop she learned that the highway was to connect small nearby villages and towns, and that three small patches of sunflower farms were also separating her from her future.

She sat down sadly on a rock and cried. The Wise Blackbird of Wishes landed near to her.
“Why are you crying” she asked.
“How I could not cry, when I cannot cross the sunflower farms, where the Soft-skins wait for me with Guns. Even if I cross the sunflower farms, I could never avoid the towns where I cannot find food and peace. But even if I survive the sunflower farms and the towns, I cannot fly over that road. What can be done?” she asked.
“We have to ask the children” said the Wise Blackbird of Wishes.

2. The Stag beetle

The Stag beetle is one of the largest insects in Europe that is in danger of disappearing. These beetles are dependent upon dead wood, because their larvae need to spend 6-8 years in the dead wood trunks, feeding on the decaying parts of dead trees. The Stag beetle plays vital roles in the initial fragmentation and breakdown of dead woody debris. In natural forest ecosystems, dead wood is continuously created by a combination of small-scale gap dynamics and recurring catastrophic events, such as fires and storms. A burned area contains large volumes of dying and weakened trees that support the survival of the Stag beetle. Human forest management, however, has altered the age structure, tree species composition and dead wood availability of forests. As a consequence, many saproxylic (wood living) insect species have decreased in abundance and many species are threatened.

After all the years spent on dead wood, Stag beetles have a summer to enjoy the developed stage and to reproduce. In this imago stage, during daylight they suck the juices of oak trees around them and at night the females look for mates. Although females can fly, but only limited distances, it is necessary to ensure that the females can find a male in a relatively short distance. This means oak trees have to be close to each other so that they can find enough food or mates, or some form of corridors should be built up between the trees.

For children:

The Oldest Stag beetle sat down on the edge of the Dead Trunk and looked around. Tens of other Stag beetles were excited waiting for the story that the Oldest Stag beetle was about to read out loud. In his hands, the Memory book of Stag beetles opened up. Every year the current generation wrote a few more lines to help the next generation to survive and to remember. Silence accompanied the words of the Oldest Stag beetle as he started:

“A hundred years ago, the Old Stag beetle wrote: we have plenty of large dead stumps in the forest. The forest is not disturbed by anyone. This summer we had a fire that created a lot of new homes for us. It was a very good year.
Fifty years ago the Old Stag beetle wrote: Man entered the forest and started to cut down trees. In the beginning they only cut a few, then a few more. This year also fire avoided us. What a tragic year!
Ten years ago the Old Stag beetle wrote: Man has again cut down a few more trees. There are hardly any old trees around us any more. They even remove dead trees sometimes. My heart aches when I have to see that our women have trouble reaching the next tree where their handsome males are desperately waiting to court them. Trees are no longer close enough to climb or to fly. Many of our women have to return exhausted and lonely or cannot return at all. Our nation is in danger”.

The Oldest Stag beetle was silent for a moment and looked up from his glasses. Everyone was fighting to hold back tears. Then he spoke again:

“We all know the difficulties our ancestors described. But we have to concentrate on the solutions, not on self-pity” he concluded.

Everyone nodded. A young male raised his hands:
“But where do we start?”