Yin, aged 20, living on the edge of the** Mu Us Desert*, in northern China, decided, following being caught in a sandstorm, to try to reclaim the lost land taken by the desert. It was 1986. She had moved there the previous year to live with her husband, Bai Wanxiang. It was an arranged marriage. Her father’s best friend was dying and he agreed for her to marry his son. , She left behind her village Jinber Tang, which had green fields and wild flowers, for a dwelling in the desert, dug out of a slope, half buried in sand. Each day they had to shovel the sand from their front door to get outside. Climate change was making things worse. She started to plant trees when he left for work to overcome her loneliness. She was delighted they survived the winter. Bai sold his goat for 600 saplings but only 10 survived. They knew nothing about growing trees. They bought more trees and learned that Mongolian pine grew better in the desert. She learned to plant shrubs which held water before planting trees. She planted willows and lost them! Bai learned that the government had given the village 500, 000 saplings. The villagers were not interested. They had all of them. It was a round trip lasting 6 hours and took 20 days to collect all of them. It took months to plant them. Half of them survived thanks to the rain and grew into strong trees… They named them Yin’s Forest. As the forest grew neighbours, who originally laughed, started to plant saplings to control the sand… TV reporters came to see the forest, followed by government officials. Forest stratification has grown from 5.05 % in 1977 to 12.4 in 2012. Many attribute this feat to Yin. Nearly 40 years on Yin’s Forest is nolonger a desert but a flourishing village full of colour, fruit and other different variations of wildlife. Yin is now both a mother and grandmother but still continues to plant saplings . The trees she has planted feel like her children. She has been nominated by the Chinese Government for a Noble Prize. In 2020 her afforestation efforts were recognized by the Chinese Communist Party. Sources Wikipedia **Earth Heroes ** by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isobel, from Portugal, saw an advert for a competition that would benefit her country This got her thinking about the amount of food which is wasted becomes it does not come up to standard - it looks ugly. (30 % of all food crops grown in Portugal are trashed.) It might look ugly but it could taste the same. or even better! She came second in the competition and won 15,000 euros. She set up** Fruta Feia She asked farmers to sell her their imperfect fruit or vegetables. They were suspicious to begin with but eventually agreed. !0 agreed to sell their unwanted produce to Fruta Feia. Fruta Feia started on November 18th 2013. Today it has 16 delivery points, around 350 farmers and 9,000 customers. It prevents 24 tons of fruit and vegetables ending up in the trash EVERY DAY. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily dyu and Amy Blackwell

Doug’s love for wolves began when he was a child. He read books about them and puzzled why humans could wipe out an entire animal species. He had to wait until he was 18 to take a volunteer position to help raise wolf pups in Indiana. He went to university to study biology and spent his summers working with wolves. He finished his studies in 1994 and joined the Yellowstone Wolf Project, becoming project leader in 1997.killed In 1995, almost 60 years after the last native wolves were killed, 14 wolves from Canada were released into the park’ Doug until he retired in 2024, watched the positive influence the reintroduction of wolves had on the ecosystem of the park. The number of elk fell in the park - which they had expected. The wolves changed the eat habits of the elks- they now now grazed and browsed instead of staying in one place. With less elks the land had a chance to recover. Trees which had been stunted in their growth now grew into dense forests. The berries and the insects from the trees brought back the birds Beavers flourished, their dams created deep pools and caused the rivers to slow down and meander The new trees stabilised the riverbanks The wolves had changed the landscape itself. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

14 year old boy William from Malawi, with very little education picked up a library book Using Energy. He found a picture of a windmill and read the instructions on how to make electricty by using the wind . He already had collected together lots of junk .His friends thought he was ‘dirty’. His mother was horrified that he would hoard scrap in his bedroom. By following the instructions in a library book, using some of his junk and his friend Gilbert buying the extra pieces needed, he created a working windmill. His friends were impressed. The finished mill was nearly 3 metres wide. A 5 metre wooden tower was built to hold the windmill. The spinning windmill worked. His former primary teacher asked him to run a science club for the students. An education official, Dr. Hartford Mchazime, was impressed when he saw the mill when he visited the school. He helped William return to school. The news of the boy and his windmill spread across Malawi. Internet coverage followed. He was invited to join a TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania for young innovators. Ted Rielly paid for his education for the next 7 years. He studied at Dartmouth College in the USA. His dream to help his family and others has been turned into a film. He gave his family security against hunger. He has recently created online teaching material to help other developing countries find ways to solve problems for their communities. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroesby Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isatou initiated a recycling project called One Plastic Bag in Gambia. She noticed that the main streets of N’jau in Gambia were plagued with high piles of trash consisting of all forms from discarded plastics , tins, tyres, house waste and especially plastic bags were surrounded with puddles of water and malaria infected mosquitoes. Isatou brought to life the idea of recycling plastic bags to make purses that could be sold for money. Plastic bags were collected, dried out and then torn into small yam like threads called ‘plam’. These threads would be weaved together to make small hand held bags, It took 10 plastic bags to make a bag. Initially they were ridiculed but it worked. The money generated meant women living in poverty were now able to take care of their families. N’jau Recycling and Income Generation Group (NRIGG) was born. Today they recycle other waste to make jewelry, beads, armchairs, stools, even compost! Today Isatou works with more than 11,000 people and NRIGG is based in 4 separate communities across The Gambia She has travelled the world to share her story. Her village is now clean and tidy. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Chewang from Ladakh in India, who had a diploma in civil engineering (1960), noticed a small stream in his yard had frozen solid under the shade of a group of popular trees, though it flowed freely elsewhere in his yard. He realized that the flowing water was moving too fast to freeze while the sluggish water beneath the trees was slow enough to freeze. Seeking money for his idea villagers and officials thought he was pagal or crazy. Based on this he created an artificial glacier by diverting a river into a valley, slowing down the stream by constructing checks. The next spring the villagers were amazed to find it worked. The artificial glaciers increase the ground water recharge, rejuvenating the spring and providing water for irrigation By 2012 he had built 12 artificial glaciers (there are now15) The largest one is in Phuktsey village - 1000ft long, 150ft wide and 4 ft in depth. Source Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Rok Rozman, a former Olympic rower, who is concerned about climate change, has dedicated his life to protecting wild rivers. Too many rivers have had dams built on them.- Dams destroy the natural environment. To build a dam, hydroelectric dams especially, a valley is flooded to create a reservoir, destroying the plants and animals which live there, plus the homes and communities of the inhabitants would be lost… At a rivers conference, without stopping to think, he announced that he and his friends would paddle the affected rivers the following spring.It was to be called the Balkan Rivers Tour. The kayakers tour, which lasted 39 days, began in April 2016. Rok and his friends were joined by 500 kayakers and 1,500 activists from 18 countries- some for days , others fro weeks. TV , radio and newspaper reporters followed the tour - the stories of the local inhabitants were finally heard. On the last day Rok, in Tirana, Albaniia’s capital city gave a speech. The police stopped him from delivering his kayak to the Prime Minister. Source Earth Heroes by Lily dyu & Amy Blackwell

Andrew and Pete, both surfers, came up with an idea to collect rubbish out of the sea. They invented/created a ’ seabin’ a rubbbish bin designed to clean up litter from open water. The team hope that in the future seabins will be able to trap microfibres. They hope to recycles the plastic waste to make future seabins. They hope to have them in the open ocean by 2027. Sources wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Mohammed is the Founding Executive Director of Ahidhula Swanirvar Sangstha. He lives in Bangladesh which lies on a huge river delta where 3 rivers meet the sea. The country is low lying and flooding is now more frequent and severe due to climate change. It is estimated the country will permanently lose one fifth of its land under water. In the monsoon season children could not get to school. He had a dream to build floating schools. He studied Architecture. Once he had finished his studies he set about creating a charity. No money came forward so he collected waste - like plastic and glass. It took 4 years, by recycling waste, to buy 4 traditional boat hulls. In 2002 his first floating school was launched.In 2004 he received his first international funding. He now has 26 floating schools 8 other countries now have floating schools Source Earth Heroes

Tom Pidcock and Bethany Shriever have just been named. 3.2.2024 Included:- Official sheet 6 Phrase and Voc. sheets ( all slightly different) Sheet on Mountain Biking Poetry Aid 2 ‘blanks’ for best copy 2. Word searches -with answers) 2 profiles from Wikipedia for Tom Pidock and Betn Shriever Hope ,these sheets prove useful. The official sheet will be lengthened and more profiles added as more competitors are revealed in the coming days/weeks.

I have put together phrases and vocabularies to encourage children) to write about the up and coming major Summer Olympic Sports in Paris, France. I have included :- Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics Diary idea The day of the event Dream and an example Poetry Aid 2 versions - differentiated -plus 2 liners Sports Words Thesaurus of useful words Thesaurus relating to Feelings Positive and negative thoughts -from the competitor & spectator’s point of view Record breaker ideas plus eg. Usain Bolt Parade of Champions voc. 4 blank comic strips Clip Art Plus 5 word searches

I have included:- Phrase and Vocabulary sheet. Tennis word list A Poetry Aid 7 GB tennis profiles from Wikipedia Plus some clip art ideas

Sport climbing only became an Olympic event in 2020 in Tokyo. I have included: - Pictogram Background notes Phrase and Vocabulary list Poetry Aid Climbing vocabulary Climbing gear voc. Word Search for Climbing Gear (answers included) Clip Art images I hope these pieces prove useful.

I have included ;- Definition Result sheet to fill in Phrase and Vocabulary sheet Poetry Aid Picture Blank comic strip Terminology 5 sheets Information about our 4 competitors Bradly Sinden, Caden Cunningham, Jade Jones and Rebecca McGowen. Jade is obviously our most successful competitor having been Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016. Information about GB s 3 Paralympic competitors Amy, Beth and Matts ’ Note kicks to the head are not allowed.

I have included:- Official result sheet to fill in Archery- meaning Phrase and Vocabulary sheet Basic guide to equipment Poetry Aid 2 Word searches of Archery vocabulary/equipment (answer sheets provided) Profiles on all 6 competitors Information on shooting jackets I hope this information proves useful

GB have 3 boxers competing at the Summer Olympics in Paris - Delicious One, Charley Davison and Rosie Eccles. I have included:- the result sheet to fill in Phrases and Vocabulary sheet Poetry Aid Word search on boxing terms (answer sheet included) Information about the 3 boxers but no pictures. 3 free clip art examples relating to boxing. I hope there is something which will prove useful.

I have included:- the form sheet to fill in Phrase and Vocab. sheet Poetry Aid ‘comic strips’ -4 Information about the modern Pentathlon profiles about the 3 competitors mentioned so far Joe Choong Olivia Green Kerenza Bryson

I have put together some information about the Olympic Sailing in Paris 2024. The event form to fill in Phrase and Vocab sheet Poetry Aid Brief info about the 10 sailors Brief word search Profiles on 5 of the sailors Info about the 49er and the Nacra17 Art idea Hope there is something useful there to use. Word search added

I have put together some information about the triathlon in Paris. Official entry form Phrase and Voc. sheet ‘Comic’ blank Information about Alex , Beth, Georgia, Kate and Sam. Information about the Triathlon Medal table showing GB at top

I have downloaded the Canoeing sheet for Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross’ There is a Phrase/ Vocabulary sheet and a Poetry Aid sheet… 3 sheets created years ago - sheet 1 would be good for differentiated work. There is information on all 4 of our experienced Olympic canoeists -Adam Burgess , Joe Clarke, Kimberly Woods and Mallory Franklin.