AI for Forest Health

WORKSHEET

1. Suggested Use

Environment, technology and science focus, followed by A2+-level vocabulary and grammar activities.

2. Suggested Activities 

A. Project-based learning
Students work in small groups to design their own AI for Nature project, inspired by the scientists in Kenya. They choose a problem to solve (e.g. forest fires, plastic waste, water pollution, endangered animals) and decide how technology could help the problem. They then write a short description in pairs. Encourage them to use phrases from the video, e.g. scientists are using technology to learn more about …

B. Mediation task: Relaying specific information (+ note taking)
Students imagine a friend or classmate missed the news report about the project. They take notes while listening/reading, then explain it simply by answering the following questions, e.g. where is the project? What are scientists studying? What do they listen to? What helps them? Why birds? Etc. 

C. Pronunciation task: - /ɜː/ vs /ɪ/ 
Have students identify the difference in the two sounds and words from the script that feature the sounds, e.g. bird, learn, earth, work, listen, identify, build, system etc. Model, practise and drill the sounds. Have students test each other on the sounds by reading the words aloud and having students point to the sound they hear. 

3. Vocabulary 

Environment 

• forest

• trees

• birds

• birdsong

• species

• ecosystem

• environment

• forest health

• climate

• nature

Science and technology 

• scientists

• researchers

• technology

• artificial intelligence (AI)

• device

• sound recorder

• solar power

• memory card

• data

• model

• system

• project

Adjectives

• special

• particular

• healthy

• damaged

• sensitive

• different

• great

4. Grammar

Present tenses:
(continuous) Scientists are using technology to learn more about the health of forests; They are listening to birdsong. (simple) Birds can tell us a lot about the environment; Birds are sensitive to change. (passive) The recordings are sent to an AI system.

Conditionals:
If the forest is damaged, some birds will leave.

Modal verbs:
Birds can tell us a lot about the environment; They can show how forests are affected by people; They will fly away when a place is not good for them.

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TRANSCRIPT
AI for Forest Health

NARRATOR:
Scientists in Kenya are using technology to learn more about the health of forests. They are listening to birdsong — with help from artificial intelligence. Birds can tell us a lot about the environment. If the forest is damaged or changed, some birds will leave. That’s why scientists study which birds are there, and which ones are not.

SOUNDBITE - Samuel Guchu: 
"Birds can fly. When a place is not conducive for them to either breed or feed in or even hold a territory, they will fly away. So, usually, presence or absence of particular species within a forest ecosystem can be a great measure for judging the health of that forest ecosystem."

NARRATOR:
To do this, researchers use a special sound recorder. It listens to the forest and records bird sounds. The device, which uses solar power, saves the sounds on a memory card. The recordings are sent to an AI system, which helps identify the birds in each area.

SOUNDBITE - David Warutumo:
"We take our data, feed it to the model we developed and then from that we get an output of what species are there."

NARRATOR:
Some birds are called indicator species. If they disappear, it can be a sign that the forest is not healthy. Birds are sensitive to change. They can show how forests are affected by people and by climate. This project helps scientists understand what is happening in the forest, and how to protect birds in the future.