Introduction
The International Day of Forests 2025, observed on Friday, March 21, 2025, carries the theme 'Forests and Food' to highlight the vital connection between forests and Global Food Security.
Forests provide more than just wood; they offer fruits, nuts, seeds, edible plants and medicinal resources that support the nutrition and livelihoods of over a billion people, especially in rural and Indigenous communities. They also play a critical role in sustaining agriculture by preserving soil health, regulating water cycles and supporting pollinators. In times of crisis, forests often act as a natural safety net, supplying essential resources when other food systems fail.
Protecting and sustainably managing forests is therefore essential not only for environmental health and climate resilience, but also for ensuring access to diverse and nutritious food for current and future generations.
Task
By completing this Webquest, students will:
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Investigate the role of forests in food security by exploring how they provide resources and support agricultural systems.
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Express knowledge and personal experiences creatively through storytelling, research, or artistic productions.
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Engage in digital collaboration by sharing contributions on Padlet and responding thoughtfully to classmates’ posts.
Process
Step 1: Forests & Food Security
Explore how forests provide edible plants, fruits, nuts, medicinal resources and support agriculture through soil health, pollination, and water regulation.
Useful links:
https://forest.eea.europa.eu/resources/research-corner/research-highlights/forest-food
https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/how-forests-support-future-food
https://www.cifor-icraf.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BIUFRO1502.pdf
Step 2: Choose Your Focus
Select one of the following topics to explore:
a) Share a photo or short story from a walk, hike, picnic, or visit to a forest or nature park. Describe what you saw, felt or learned.
b) Post about a mushroom you know or like. Include a picture, drawing, or fun fact. Mention where it grows, whether it’s edible, and why it matters to the forest ecosystem.
c) Research or describe a food that comes from the forest (e.g., chestnuts, berries, pine nuts, herbs). Explain its use and importance.
d) Create a drawing, poem, video, or infographic celebrating forests and their gifts.
Step 3: Create Your Contribution
Prepare your chosen item (photo, story, research note, artwork, or creative piece).
Step 4: Share on Padlet
Upload your work to the Padlet: https://padlet.com/meddiet4health/international-day-of-forests-21-march-nu6o36w3r43u4wgw . View your peers’ posts and leave comments, questions or interesting connections.
Evaluation
Your work will be evaluated through the following rubric:
| Criteria | 5 - Excellent | 4 - Good | 3 - Satisfactory | 2 - Needs Improvement | 1 - Inadequate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding of Content | Demonstrates thorough understanding of how forests provide edible plants, fruits, nuts, medicinal resources, and support agriculture (soil health, pollination, water regulation). Provides clear, insightful connections. | Shows good understanding of forest contributions with mostly accurate and relevant information. | Shows basic understanding but some details are missing or unclear. | Shows limited understanding; several inaccuracies or missing key elements. | Shows little or no understanding of the forest-food security relationship. |
| Choice of Focus Topic | Topic is highly relevant to the assignment, well-chosen to showcase forest-food connections with creativity and depth. | Topic is relevant and clearly connected to forests and food security. | Topic is somewhat relevant but lacks clear connection or depth. | Topic is minimally related or only loosely connected to the assignment theme. | Topic is unrelated or inappropriate for the assignment. |
| Quality of Contribution | Contribution (photo, story, research, artwork, video, infographic) is original, engaging, well-developed, and communicates ideas clearly. | Contribution is clear, complete, and effectively communicates ideas with minor lapses. | Contribution is adequate but may lack detail, clarity, or completeness. | Contribution is unclear, underdeveloped, or lacks key components. | Contribution is incomplete, unclear, or off-topic. |
| Use of Supporting Resources | Effectively integrates and cites information from the provided resources to enhance the contribution’s quality and credibility. | Uses some information from resources appropriately with minor omissions or inaccuracies. | Uses limited or general information from resources; may lack proper citation. | Shows minimal use of resources; information used is often inaccurate or irrelevant. | Does not use or cite any supporting resources. |
| Engagement and Interaction | Actively engages with peers by leaving thoughtful comments, questions, or connections that deepen discussion. | Engages with peers with relevant comments or questions. | Some engagement with peers but comments lack depth or relevance. | Minimal peer interaction with superficial or off-topic comments. | No evidence of engagement with peers. |
Conclusion
Through this WebQuest, you explored how forests nourish people, protect ecosystems and support agriculture. By creating and sharing your own contribution, you connected these ideas to real experiences, foods or creative expressions and appreciated the many ways forests enrich our lives.
Credits
Teacher Page
This WebQuest was edited by two members of USGGED,Türkiye as part of the activities of the "Mediterranean Diet for Overall Health" (MedDiet4Health) Erasmus+ project (Project number: 2023-2-EL01-KA210-VET-000183592).
By engaging in this WebQuest, students strengthened their research skills by exploring how forests support food security and ecosystems. They developed creativity and communication skills by producing stories, photos or artistic pieces, they enhanced their digital literacy, collaboration and reflective thinking, while also building a stronger sense of environmental awareness and responsibility.
This WebQuest reflects only the author’s views. The European Commission’s support for the production of this WebQuest does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.