Teacher: - Good afternoon, dear friends. Today we are going to have a talk and discuss the problem of environment protection. The epigraph of our party is the following:

“Wild Kingdom”

All woods are home for animals,

So we behaved like quests

We only looked and never touched,

The birds’ and rabbits’ nests.

Jeanne B. Hargell

Not only people can speak. Books can speak too. There is a kind of book which screams. It’s the Red Data Book. It’s a reference book on rare and disappearing animals. Why is it “Red”? The colour red is a danger signal understandable to all people in the world.

The red light means no passage. Stop! You have to think why many plants and animals disappear every day. You are to understand why human intelligence causes death of wildlife. That means man is in danger too.

The colour red is one of blood and life. You should hear the world around you. It calls for help.

You can find wonderful animals on our planet. In the oceans there are whales, albatrosses, sharks, polar bears, penguins. In tropical forests there are snakes, gorillas, jaguars, in rivers you can see different kinds of fish and crocodiles.

But many of these species are disappearing nowadays. What are they? Who knows?

Pupil₁: - Indian tigers are among them. Tigers are the biggest cats in the world. They are skilful hunters. Often they are dangerous. Some people are afraid of tigers and kill them to save their lives. But some people have hunted tigers for fun and for their beautiful skin. They sell the skin and get a lot of money. The result is sad. There are few Indian tigers on the Earth now.

The same about elephants. They are wonderful, aren’t they? Today many elephants in Africa are dying because they do not have enough to eat or to drink and because they do not have enough space to live in. Hunters kill thousands of elephants every year. Some kill them for meat. But most kill elephants for their tusks.

Most of the elephants have gone to national parks. As a result, the elephants do not have enough grass and leaves to eat. Specialists think that only two million elephants live on the planet today.

The next animal I would like to speak about is crocodile. Crocodiles appeared on the Earth 200 million years ago. There are 21 species of them. People have been hunting crocodiles for many years. The result is that 14 species are included into the Red Data Book. Nowadays people breed them in incubators.

Teacher: - We would like to hold this lesson as a press-conference. To the right we have some wildlife specialists. To the left there are mass media reporters. Now introduce yourselves.

Pupil₂: - My name is Marina. I’m an animal specialist. I work at the Institute of environmental research. I am interested in endangered animals.

Pupil₃: - My name is Oleg. I like animals and want to take care of them. So, I work for the Animal Protection Service. Very often I visit different Zoos and National Parks to see how animals are protected there.

Pupil₄: - My name is Alex. My duty is to monitor environment in our region.

Pupil₅: - My name is Mike. I’m a reporter for the magazine “Eco problems”. I’d like to know about ecological problems in our region.

Pupil₆: - My name is Peter. I’m a reporter from the organization called “Clean up the Countryside Society”. Its members take part in environmental projects in the country. These include protecting wildlife habitats, clearing away rubbish, tree planting and so on.

Pupil₇: - My name is Nick. I’m a reporter of Environmental Services. My responsibility is to educate the public, including children about environmental issues.

Teacher: - Now I see that our mass media reporters have a lot of questions. But first allow our specialists to speak and they will tell us about their work. After that you may ask them any questions you want.

Wildlife Specialist: - I’m going to speak about protecting animals in the USA. I recently visited Yellowstone National Park in the USA. It’s the oldest and the most famous park. It includes large areas of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. This territory is for animals, birds, fish but protected from danger.

Reporter: - What is Yellowstone National Park famous for?

Wildlife Specialist: - The park is famous for its various geysers, hot springs, super volcano and other geothermal features and is home to grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk. It is the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet. The world’s most famous geyser, The Old Faithful Geyser, is also located in Yellowstone National Park.

Wildlife Specialist: - I’d like to speak about our region. The Nizhniy Novgorod region is situated in the centre of Russia. Its territory is about 72.6 thousand square km. There are 28 towns in the region. It is rich in natural resources for building. Not long ago our region was clean and healthy but now we have the same eco problems as all over the world, although ecologists consider the ecological situation in the Nizhniy Novgorod region to be quite satisfactory. Here are some reasons why:

• Firstly, in our region there are a lot of woods and forests. They cover more than half of the territory.
• Secondly, there are no great plants and factories such as oil refineries or electric power stations.
• Thirdly, many of the factories are closed because of the economic crisis.

But there are still some eco problems in Nizhegorodskaya region. The main ones are:

• Litter is not reused or recycled
• The air is poisoned by cars
• There is less pure water

Reporter: - What should we do to clean up our town?

Wildlife Specialist: - I suggest some important rules to clean up our town. Here they are:

1. To walk or use a bicycle instead of going by car.
2. Not to litter the ground with paper, cans or bottles.
3. To plant more trees.
4. To clear rubbish from lakes and rivers.
5. To recycle used materials such as metal, bottles and paper.

Teacher: - Now a group of students will perform a short play. Let us see it.

(Выступают учащиеся 5 класса).

Прогулка

С. Михалков

Рupil₁: - Мы приехали на речку

Воскресенье провести,

А свободного местечка

Возле речки не найти!

Тут сидят и там сидят,

Загорают и едят.

Отдыхают как хотят

Сотни взрослых и ребят.

Рupil₂: - Мы по бережку прошли

И поляночку нашли.

Тут и там – пустые банки,

И, как будто нам назло, Даже битое стекло!

Рupil₃: - Мы по бережку прошли,

Место новое нашли.

Но и здесь до нас сидели:

Жгли костер, бумагу жгли-

Тоже пили, тоже ели,

Насорили и ушли!

Мы прошли, конечно, мимо…

Рupil₄: - Эй, ребята! – крикнул Дима –

Вот местечко хоть куда!

Родниковая вода!

Чудный вид!

Прекрасный пляж!

Распаковывай багаж!

Рupil₅: - Мы купались, загорали,

Жгли костер, в футбол играли –

Веселились, как могли!

Пили квас, консервы ели,

Хоровые песни пели…

Отдохнули и ушли!

Рupil₆: - И остались на полянке

У потухшего костра:

Две разбитых нами склянки,

Две размокшие баранки –

Словом, мусора гора!

Мы приехали на речку

Понедельник провести,

Только чистого местечка

Возле речки не найти!

Выходит группа учащихся «Друзья Планеты».

Рupil₁: - Чтобы не было на свете вот таких ребят,

как эти,

Чтобы берегли природу все:

и взрослые, и дети,

Надо просто стать добрее,

Надо вспоминать, что мы люди,

И тогда природа наша тоже

Нас с тобой полюбит!

Рupil₂: - Сколько будет природа мучиться?

Ждать, когда человек научиться

Уважать ее и заботиться,

А не то это плохо кончится!

Рupil₃: - Мы не зря здесь на сцене,

Мы хотим в самом деле,

Чтоб совсем от народа

Не страдала природа,

Чтоб бутылок на пляже

Близко не было даже,

А в лесу на поляне

Банки чтоб не лежали.

Рupil₄: - Мы не зря здесь на сцене,

Мы хотим в само деле,

Чтоб совсем от народа

Не страдала природа,

Чтоб металл и бумаги

Там, где надо, лежали,

Чтобы звери и птицы

Могли наши гордиться.

Стихотворение «Берегите землю!»

М. Дудин

Берегите землю! Берегите!

Жаворонка в голубом зените,

Бабочку на листьях повилики,

На тропинке солнечные блики..

Ястреба, парящего над полем,

Ясный месяц над речным покоем,

Ласточку, мелькающую в жите.

Берегите землю! Берегите!

Teacher: - The problem of environment is widely covered by TV, radio and the press. What pollutes the air we breathe?

Wildlife Specialist: - With the development of civilization man’s interference in nature began to increase. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on.

Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire.

Reporter: - What is the result of the pollution the atmosphere?

Wildlife Specialists: - The disappearance of vast forests upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up. The pollution of air and the world’s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man’s careless interaction with nature, a sigh of the ecological crises. 

Wildlife Specialist: - I’d like to add some more to the theme of air pollution. I have been researching the problem of nuclear pollution for several years. Nuclear power stations can go wrong and cause nuclear pollution. This happened in Windscale in Britain, in the USA and Chernobyl. Nuclear pollution cannot be seen, but its effects can be terrible.

The Chernobyl tragedy happened in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Byelorussia was also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture forests and people’s health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other nations. 

Reporter: - What steps have been made in this direction?

Wildlife Specialist: - Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

Some progress has been already made in this direction. 159 countries have set up environmental protection agencies. Many conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss ecological problems. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

Teacher: - People nowadays understand how important it is to solve environmental problems. One of them is pollution in its many forms: air pollution, nuclear pollution. And what about water pollution? When does water pollution occur?

Wildlife Specialist: - Water pollution occurs mostly, when people overload the water environment such as streams, lakes, underground water, bays or seas with wastes or substances harmful to living beings Factories and plants produce a lot of waste and pour it into the rivers. Water is necessary for life. All organisms contain it, some drink it and some live in it. 

Reporter: - Why do plants and animals require pure water?

Wildlife Specialist: - Plants and animals require water that is moderately pure, and they cannot survive, if water contains toxic chemicals or harmful microorganisms. Water pollution kills large quantity of fish, birds, and other animals, in some cases killing everything in an affected area.

Pollution makes streams, lakes unpleasant to swim in or to have a rest. Fish and shellfish harvested from polluted waters may be unsafe to eat. People who polluted water can become ill, if they drink polluted water for a long time, it may develop cancer or hurt their future children.

Teacher: - All these problems are very serious and important. What should we do to help our planet? What advice can you give?

Учащийся: - A group of students has designed posters telling people about ecological problems. You are welcome.

(Выходит группа учащихся с постерами). 

Pupil₁: - Everybody knows that paper comes from trees. If we don’t recycle paper, a lot of trees are destroyed. The countryside is spoiled. People cut down trees. Fires are started. We like flowers very much, but people shouldn’t pick wild flowers. Without trees flowers and grass birds and animals may become extinct.

People, don’t harm plants!

Pupil₂: - We throw away too much and in the wrong place. We leave litter near the river. The water is polluted and the fish in the river die. The cleaning structures don’t work well.

People, help to keep all water clean!

Pupil₃: - You can see different kinds of trees and flowers in the meadows near our town. But today they are disappearing. Each of us must do everything possible to protect nature.

People, plant trees and flowers!

Pupil₄: - There are many animals and birds in our district. We should not make unnecessary noise. If we don’t keep to public paths in the countryside, birds and animals are frightened.

People, take care of birds and animals!

Pupil₅: - Every spring I see rubbish in the streets of our town. I think that our citizens do it. They throw away old things, paper, clothes, toys, bottles and plastic bags. Maybe they don’t know the 3R rules: reduce, re-use, recycle. It’s a pity!

People, take litter home!

Pupil₆: - People used to fish a lot. Today they like fishing too. But some things that they use for fishing kill animals.

People, protect animals and fish!

Teacher: - At the end of our party I’d like some students to recite an extract from the famous poem “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Longfellow. Henry Longfellow was an outstanding American poet of the last century. He wrote about American Indians. The poem “The Song of Hiawatha” was translated by the great Russian writer Ivan Bunin.

(Учащиеся читают отрывок из поэмы «Песнь о Гайавате»).

Pupil₁: By the shores of Gitchie Gumee,

By the shining Big-Sea Water,

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,

Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.

Dark behind it rose the forest,

Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,

Rose the firs with cones upon them;

Bright before it beat the water,

Beat the clear and sunny water,

Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

(С юных дней жила Нокомис,

Дочь ночных светил, Нокомис.

Позади ее вигвама

Темный лес стоял стеною –

Чащи темных, мрачных сосен,

А пред ним прозрачной влагой

На песок плескались волны,

Блеском солнца зыбь сверкала

Светлых вод Большого Моря.)

Pupil₂: At the door on summer evenings

Sat the little Hiawatha:

Heard the whispering of the pine-trees?

Heard the lapping of the waters,

Sounds of music, words of wonder.

(Вечерами, теплым летом,

У дверей сидел малютка,

Слушал тихий ропот сосен,

Слушал тихий плеск прибоя,

Звуки дивных слов и песен.)

Pupil₃: Then the little Hiawatha

Learned of every bird its language,

Learned their names and all their secrets.

How they built their nests in Summer,

Where they hid themselves in Winter,

Talked with them where’re he met them,

Called them “Hiawatha’s Chickens”.

(Так малютка, внук Нокомис,

Изучил весь птичий говор, Имена их, все их тайны:

Как они вьют гнезда летом,

Где живут они зимою:

Часто с ними вел беседы,

Звал их всех: «мои цыплята».)

Teacher: - Our short discussion is over. But I’m sure that you are real friends of our fragile planet. We all must do what we can to keep the air, water and land clean.

Презентация к открытому мероприятию на тему "Экологические проблемы"