Announcing a new on-line education resource for primary school teachers and children learning about sustainable development: www.planetcork.org “Come and join me on Facebook“ says Corkie.

With real birdsong, colour posters of trees, birds and animals to download and mono versions for colouring too, the new Planetcork.org website has lots of useful information for teaching sustainability linked to one of nature’s most beneficial trees. This website explains the unique features of the cork oak tree: its history, the geography of where the cork oak trees grow, and pictures of the flora and fauna that inhabit the cork forests around the Western Mediterranean Sea. PlanetCork.org explains the importance of trees generally in absorbing carbon dioxide and providing us with a valuable source of oxygen. It also explains why Cork trees are unique, are never cut down and provide us with a truly sustainable and renewable resource that is recyclable and biodegradable and has been used for millennia because of its special properties.

The unique properties of cork stimulate children to think about its physical properties such as lightweight and buoyancy, compression and expansion and thermal absorption which is why this material has so many applications even today in buildings, car engines, spacecraft and of course cricket balls, badminton shuttlecocks and it can even be used to make fashion items such as handbags or I-phone cases. All is explained on the website and there are video films showing the cork harvest which can be viewed on Corkie’s Facebook and YouTube page too.

To stimulate children further, the Cork Federation is encouraging teachers to send in pictures of items made from used corks and is offering as teaching aids a sample of cork bark as it comes from the tree showing how bottle stoppers are produced. Just send in your request with the postal address to: info@cork-products.co.uk