Forests give us loads of useful materials and resources!
Forests are the habitat of many animals and plants, but they are not the only living things who benefit. You may not know it, but many of the foods we eat and medicines we use come from forest plants!
Fond of chocolate? This is made from cocoa beans which grow on cacao trees. And where are these found? That’s right…forests! Specifically, the Amazon rainforest, the biggest in the world.
Other foods like bananas, tomatoes and nuts also originally came from forests.
Medicine is another gift that forests have given us. An example is the rosy periwinkle, used in medicines that treat certain kinds of cancer. Other forest plants produce medicines for heart disease, high blood pressure and stomach problems.
There are lots of materials we use every day that come from forests around the world. Wood comes from tree bark and is usually used to make furniture or houses. Many products such as tyres are made from rubber, but did you know that rubber comes from the sap of a tree found in forests?
These are just some of the things we take for granted every day that forests have given us. Isn’t it high time we returned the favour by protecting these precious ecosystems?