Guide your students on a hike through the tropical rainforest ecosystem! From the Amazon in South America to the jungles of Southeast Asia, rainforests are full of unique and amazing species.
✨ Perfect for grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the rainforest. (Don't miss the spider monkeys and waterfall toads!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Deadly 60, Seven Worlds, One Planet, and Life.
- Free Printable: Use the Tropical Rainforest Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
The article "Japan in Spring: Top Wildlife Spectacles and Species to See" from BBC's Discover Wildlife explores the diverse wildlife of Japan during the cherry blossom season. From whooper swans and Japanese macaques to red-crowned cranes and cherry blossoms, Japan offers a rich array of species and natural spectacles across its various climatic zones.
Why did the various wildlife species cross the road? To test the new heathland bridge!
It may look like a bridge that’s just unfinished, but the dirt and grass butting up against the pavement is very intentional.
This heathland bridge separating two commons is the first of its kind to include a network of natural routes that encourage species to reunite for the first time in over 40 years. Man, we would not remember ANYONE’S names! The bridge is home to mosses and vegetative grounds, as well as sand that could be a habitat to species like sand lizards, adders, foxes, deer, and bugs. Lots of bugs.
The bridge connects the heathland on either side, which the Wildlife Trusts are working to restore, so the aim of the bridge is to let wildlife move from side to side, building up the population and their resilience. But, it wasn’t as simple as leaving the bridge half-paved. Crews had to create the heathland by distributing acidic sand before adding areas of ground taken directly from larger heathland sites.
In Kakadu National Park, Biodiversity Hot Spot, host Simon Reeve explores this large national park in Australia. The park is teeming with life, but it used to be home to even more species before an invasive species came in. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Australia With Simon Reeve, a show in which Reeves goes Down Under to learn all about the animals that make Australia amazing.
In Designing a Digital Campaign to Save Sumatran Tigers, tiger conservation is on display at a zoo’s tiger show and is the focus of a digital campaign designed to educate the public about why it’s important to save this magnificent species. This video is excerpted from BBC’s North America with Simon Reeve, in which the adventurer and environmentalist explores North America to learn all about the animals that make this continent amazing.
This Earth Day (or anytime this month), share this inspiring video playlist designed to spark curiosity and action in students ages 8–14. From incredible wildlife conservation stories to real-world environmental solutions, each clip invites students to explore the beauty of our planet — and the challenges it faces.
Get a closer look at how forests support life on Earth, discover innovative ideas like renewable energy, and meet the people working to protect endangered species and restore habitats. Along the way, students will see how small choices can make a big difference for our world.
Packed with powerful moments and meaningful learning, this playlist encourages students not just to learn about the Earth — but to think about how they can help protect it.
In Butterfly Tales, learn how butterflies bring joy and beauty to the world as they flutter into gardens and woods each spring. Dr. Bullman, a butterfly expert, shows how tracking butterflies helps scientists understand if the environment is healthy or not. She explains how to tell butterflies and moths apart — like how butterflies rest with their wings up, while moths rest with their wings flat. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Countryfile, which explores rural life and traditions of the countryside.
In The Call of the Rhinoceros, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces the elusive Sumatran rhinoceros, whose unique call echoes through the dense Indonesian forests. This fascinating creature is not only a rare sight but also plays a vital role in sustaining the forest ecosystem. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Most of our sub-par pictures just take up space on our phones and show off the insides of our pockets, but one blurry photo launched an almost two decades-long scientific endeavor.
A search that began with a picture of a tail in the trees eventually took researchers deep into Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a quest to find out exactly what kind of monkey they were dealing with. Using microphones, cameras and genetic testing, they gathered enough evidence to confirm that the animal is a distinct species, now named Colobus congoensis — the first time a monkey is being named after the Congo!
It belongs to a group of plant-eating primates that live high in trees and do not have thumbs, but the Colobus congoensis has some unique characteristics. It uses a roaring call that announces its presence through dense tropical forest and has distinctive pinkish-orange lips that researchers think could act as a visual signal, perhaps helping it attract a mate. It also gives you someone to blame if your sibling asks, “Who ate the last orange creamsicle?!”
Scientists still have a lot to learn about this monkey, but it seems rare and limited to a particular habitat in the central-eastern part of the country. Researchers hope that officially recognizing it as a separate species will help protect both the monkey and the environment it depends on.
In Seals, a Keystone Species, Ranger Hamza and the Ramblers are on a boat and they spot seals! Join them as they learn how the seals are a keystone species in this ecosystem, and how the seals help the environment around them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest, a nature exploration show in which Ranger Hamza and the Ramblers go on quests to discover nature’s wonders and the important role they play in our environment.
The article "American Crayfish Trapping Strategy Fails to Control Invasive Species" from BBC's Discover Wildlife relates the results of a study that shows trapping invasive American crayfish is ineffective at controlling their population and may even harm native species. Researchers urge a shift in focus to biosecurity measures rather than trapping.
It's not often you see people really excited about seaweed (unless it's wrapped around all-you-can-eat sushi), but a tiny seaweed growing off the coast of Cornwall — a rugged coastal region in southwest England — has got scientists buzzing.
Divers found a new type of seaweed growing on a larger, coral-like seaweed called maerl. Well, it's not really "new" in the sense of just appearing — Professor Christine Maggs had been using it to try to solve a scientific puzzle for about 40 years. Four decades! It took so long because the seaweed was so small that it was difficult to collect a large enough sample to gather molecular data and sequence its DNA, which was necessary to confirm exactly what it was.
Once the DNA work was finally complete, the seaweed was accepted into the collection at London's Natural History Museum — one of the world's leading scientific institutions, similar in scale to the Smithsonian in the U.S. — and officially recognized in scientific literature as an entirely new species. Professor Maggs probably took a long overdue celebratory nap.
But the discovery is about more than naming one tiny organism. Researchers say maerl beds support a lot of biodiversity, and seaweeds can provide nursery habitats for economically important fish. That means protecting these underwater ecosystems could also help protect the other species that depend on them. The best kind of two-for-one deal.
Guide your students on a hike through the tropical rainforest ecosystem! From the Amazon in South America to the jungles of Southeast Asia, rainforests are full of unique and amazing species.
✨ Perfect for grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the rainforest. (Don't miss the spider monkeys and waterfall toads!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Deadly 60, Seven Worlds, One Planet, and Life.
- Free Printable: Use the Tropical Rainforest Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
The article "Japan in Spring: Top Wildlife Spectacles and Species to See" from BBC's Discover Wildlife explores the diverse wildlife of Japan during the cherry blossom season. From whooper swans and Japanese macaques to red-crowned cranes and cherry blossoms, Japan offers a rich array of species and natural spectacles across its various climatic zones.
Why did the various wildlife species cross the road? To test the new heathland bridge!
It may look like a bridge that’s just unfinished, but the dirt and grass butting up against the pavement is very intentional.
This heathland bridge separating two commons is the first of its kind to include a network of natural routes that encourage species to reunite for the first time in over 40 years. Man, we would not remember ANYONE’S names! The bridge is home to mosses and vegetative grounds, as well as sand that could be a habitat to species like sand lizards, adders, foxes, deer, and bugs. Lots of bugs.
The bridge connects the heathland on either side, which the Wildlife Trusts are working to restore, so the aim of the bridge is to let wildlife move from side to side, building up the population and their resilience. But, it wasn’t as simple as leaving the bridge half-paved. Crews had to create the heathland by distributing acidic sand before adding areas of ground taken directly from larger heathland sites.
In Kakadu National Park, Biodiversity Hot Spot, host Simon Reeve explores this large national park in Australia. The park is teeming with life, but it used to be home to even more species before an invasive species came in. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Australia With Simon Reeve, a show in which Reeves goes Down Under to learn all about the animals that make Australia amazing.
In Designing a Digital Campaign to Save Sumatran Tigers, tiger conservation is on display at a zoo’s tiger show and is the focus of a digital campaign designed to educate the public about why it’s important to save this magnificent species. This video is excerpted from BBC’s North America with Simon Reeve, in which the adventurer and environmentalist explores North America to learn all about the animals that make this continent amazing.
This Earth Day (or anytime this month), share this inspiring video playlist designed to spark curiosity and action in students ages 8–14. From incredible wildlife conservation stories to real-world environmental solutions, each clip invites students to explore the beauty of our planet — and the challenges it faces.
Get a closer look at how forests support life on Earth, discover innovative ideas like renewable energy, and meet the people working to protect endangered species and restore habitats. Along the way, students will see how small choices can make a big difference for our world.
Packed with powerful moments and meaningful learning, this playlist encourages students not just to learn about the Earth — but to think about how they can help protect it.
In Butterfly Tales, learn how butterflies bring joy and beauty to the world as they flutter into gardens and woods each spring. Dr. Bullman, a butterfly expert, shows how tracking butterflies helps scientists understand if the environment is healthy or not. She explains how to tell butterflies and moths apart — like how butterflies rest with their wings up, while moths rest with their wings flat. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Countryfile, which explores rural life and traditions of the countryside.
In The Call of the Rhinoceros, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces the elusive Sumatran rhinoceros, whose unique call echoes through the dense Indonesian forests. This fascinating creature is not only a rare sight but also plays a vital role in sustaining the forest ecosystem. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Most of our sub-par pictures just take up space on our phones and show off the insides of our pockets, but one blurry photo launched an almost two decades-long scientific endeavor.
A search that began with a picture of a tail in the trees eventually took researchers deep into Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a quest to find out exactly what kind of monkey they were dealing with. Using microphones, cameras and genetic testing, they gathered enough evidence to confirm that the animal is a distinct species, now named Colobus congoensis — the first time a monkey is being named after the Congo!
It belongs to a group of plant-eating primates that live high in trees and do not have thumbs, but the Colobus congoensis has some unique characteristics. It uses a roaring call that announces its presence through dense tropical forest and has distinctive pinkish-orange lips that researchers think could act as a visual signal, perhaps helping it attract a mate. It also gives you someone to blame if your sibling asks, “Who ate the last orange creamsicle?!”
Scientists still have a lot to learn about this monkey, but it seems rare and limited to a particular habitat in the central-eastern part of the country. Researchers hope that officially recognizing it as a separate species will help protect both the monkey and the environment it depends on.
In Seals, a Keystone Species, Ranger Hamza and the Ramblers are on a boat and they spot seals! Join them as they learn how the seals are a keystone species in this ecosystem, and how the seals help the environment around them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest, a nature exploration show in which Ranger Hamza and the Ramblers go on quests to discover nature’s wonders and the important role they play in our environment.
The article "American Crayfish Trapping Strategy Fails to Control Invasive Species" from BBC's Discover Wildlife relates the results of a study that shows trapping invasive American crayfish is ineffective at controlling their population and may even harm native species. Researchers urge a shift in focus to biosecurity measures rather than trapping.
It's not often you see people really excited about seaweed (unless it's wrapped around all-you-can-eat sushi), but a tiny seaweed growing off the coast of Cornwall — a rugged coastal region in southwest England — has got scientists buzzing.
Divers found a new type of seaweed growing on a larger, coral-like seaweed called maerl. Well, it's not really "new" in the sense of just appearing — Professor Christine Maggs had been using it to try to solve a scientific puzzle for about 40 years. Four decades! It took so long because the seaweed was so small that it was difficult to collect a large enough sample to gather molecular data and sequence its DNA, which was necessary to confirm exactly what it was.
Once the DNA work was finally complete, the seaweed was accepted into the collection at London's Natural History Museum — one of the world's leading scientific institutions, similar in scale to the Smithsonian in the U.S. — and officially recognized in scientific literature as an entirely new species. Professor Maggs probably took a long overdue celebratory nap.
But the discovery is about more than naming one tiny organism. Researchers say maerl beds support a lot of biodiversity, and seaweeds can provide nursery habitats for economically important fish. That means protecting these underwater ecosystems could also help protect the other species that depend on them. The best kind of two-for-one deal.