What are Kew Gardens doing in Sumatra?

Putting GIS into tropical rainforests scheme of work

For a Year 9 SOW I was trying to think of different ways of using GIS (instead of just Google Earth or Scribble Maps) and came across a project by Kew Gardens in the rainforest of Sumatra.

http://www.kew.org/science-research-data/kew-in-depth/gis/vegetation-mapping/harapan/vegetation-maps/index.htm

This is a great example of how GIS is actually used by scientists and links to a news story about how Google Earth have also been mapping the rainforest. This way students can learn about the importance of GIS whilst also practising their own IT skills.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24934790

I created a worksheet for students to follow researching what Kew Gardens are trying to do in Sumatra whilst also plotting their findings on Scribble Maps. Through a series of tasks students focus on the conservation of tropical rainforests and the higher ability students are challenged to consider the benefits and problems of using GIS.