Engineers Speak for the Trees
The Lorax, as drawn by a third-grade student.
Students begin by reading Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" as an example of how overdevelopment can cause long-lasting environmental destruction. Students discuss how to balance the needs of the environment with the needs of human industry. Student teams are asked to serve as natural resource engineers, city planning engineers and civil engineers with the task to replant the nearly destroyed forest and develop a sustainable community design that can co-exist with the re-established natural area.
Engineers are involved in both the creation of the human-built environment — through the design of factories, housing, roads and bridges, as well as the protection of the natural environment — through resource management, city planning and sustainable building practices.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how engineers protect the environment through reducing pollution, protecting natural resources, and creative city planning.
- Explain that city planning involves balancing human and environmental needs.
- Calculate the time it takes for a forest to re-grow and understand why it takes so long.