Welcome to your presentation on the environment Make sure you print off the speaker notes so that you have all the prompts and answers to hand!

Honor Goodsite! Meet Name: Company: Job: Skills: Likes: Dislikes: Goodsite Engineering Structural Engineer Excellent at problem solving, a maths and science whiz! Art and promoting careers in construction Untidy looking sites, litter, unfair treatment or bullying

What is the Environment? The environment is the whole of the natural world – can you name any aspects of it? Answers: Animals Trees Mountains Rivers Plants

What problems is the environment currently facing? 1. Deforestation What is deforestation? What do you use trees for? Why is it an issue? What is deforestation? Deforestation is where large area’s of trees are cut down and are used for non-forest use. Like building houses or shops, or clearing space for new roads. What do we use tree’s for? We use trees for all sorts of furniture – sofa’s, cabinets, tables, chairs etc. We also use trees for paper and wrappers. Trees produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide that we breathe out. Sap – the thick oil-type liquid that comes from tree’s is used to make syrup, crayons, paint and soap. Roots of some trees are used to make medicine Why is it an issue? Each year millions of trees are cut down. We need trees to reduce global warming, they soak up carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Deforestation causes animal and plant habitats to be destroyed.

2. Pollution What is Pollution? Can you think of any examples of pollution? What damage is it doing? What is Pollution? Pollution is when something harmful gets into the environment when it should not be there. Can you think of the three types of pollution? Air pollution Water pollution Soil pollution What examples do you have of these types of pollution? Air pollution example: gases and fumes coming from the cars we all drive, they pollute the air we breathe and damage the atmosphere. Water pollution example: oil spilling into the ocean from energy company off-shore drilling. This destroys wildlife and habitats. Soil pollution example: hazardous chemicals spilling into the ground destroying all the plant life. These chemicals can also stop us from growing crops if they’re spilled in the wrong place!

3. Global Warming and Climate Change What is Global Warming and what has caused it? Global warming is caused by the ‘greenhouse effect’, where polluting gases released into the atmosphere trap heat, causing the planet to heat up. Increasing temperatures are making the weather more extreme, temperatures are continuing to rise and winters are getting colder. Global warming is drying up water sources like rivers and lakes. It is also melting the ice caps in the Arctic making it more and more difficult for animals like Polar Bears to survive. Scientists have predicted that the sea level will rise by 1-4 feet by 2050 because of the melting ice! As the temperature increases, things such as Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense.

What is being done to help? People are beginning to sources of energy that are much cleaner, greener and renewable. Examples of renewable energies are as follows: Wind Energy The wind causes the turbines to rotate – generating electricity. Solar Energy Solar panels catch the sunlight and use it to generate electricity. Water Energy Moving water drives the turbines round which generates electricity. What are these cleaner energies replacing? 1. Coal 2. Oil 3. Natural gas.

What are construction sites doing to help? Sites are separating their waste into recyclable and non-recyclable. They’re also recycling as much as possible! Sites are building habitats for local wildlife and making sure they have somewhere to live once the project is finished. Construction sites are doing a number of things to help limit their impact on the environment - some of these include… Sites are protecting trees in and around the site and are planting more if any need to be cut down. Site’s are reducing their carbon footprint by using renewable energy and environmentally friendly transport.

What can YOU do to help? You can remember to turn off the taps whilst brushing your teeth to save water! You can remember to turn off a light, television or computer when you leave a room to use less electricity! Remember to always put litter in rubbish bins! If you see some on the floor, pick it up! Be responsible when others choose not to! You can remember to recycle as much of your waste as possible. The less waste that goes to landfill, the better! If you think an animals habitat is in danger or an animal is – call the RSPCA – animals are part of the environment too! Instead of driving down the road, why not walk? This can lower your carbon footprint!

What have we learnt today? The environment is all around us – it needs our help! We have learnt about all the different things that are damaging the environment. We have learnt what is being done to lessen the damage to our environment. We have learnt what construction sites are doing to lessen their damage on the environment. Most importantly, we have learnt what we can do ourselves to lessen our impact on the environment.

Poster Competition Now I would like you to design a poster on something you have learnt from today’s presentation. Here are some ideas of what it could be about: Renewable Energy Our environment What we can do to help Construction sites helping the environment Pollution Deforestation Global warming Send your entries into enquiries@ivorgoodsite.org.uk and the best ones will be featured on Ivor’s Twitter and Instagram!

Thanks for listening!