The United Nations General Assembly announced that 21st March would be the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organise activities involving forests and...

From the Wellcome Trust, this animation shows how environment and living conditions can lead to infection by a range of energy sapping intestinal worms.

The three main worms infecting humans are hookworm, roundworm...

This worksheet introduces inheritance and the basic structure and function of DNA, including the genetic code and the idea that genetic conditions can be caused by changes in the code. The resource also looks at what the DNA of different species can tell us about evolution and our ancestors. This worksheet is part...

This presentation and collection of short activities, from Eurostemcell, introduce basic stem cell concepts and include teacher’s notes with each slide and useful diagrams. The materials include:

 Presentation: Introducing stem cells

• Stem cell biology basics: for post-16 students,...

This resource is an interactive activity which aims to provide an introduction to the lowland heathland habitat. The five topics relating to lowland heathlands covered by the resources include: • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing on plants • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing...

In this activity students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using biological control to halt the invasion of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. This is an invasive plant which is spreading across Europe. Because of illness caused by its allergenic pollen and competition with crops, it costs...

This resource from Arkive allows students to investigate the impacts that invasive species have on the environment, the effects that they have on native species and habitats, and the characteristics that make certain species good invaders. The activity looks at the different ways in which invasive species can...

From Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), these materials encourage students to use disc diffusion tests to investigate antibacterial or anti-yeast properties. A wide range of products, both synthetic and natural, claim to have microbicidal properties. Students can...

One of a series of resources from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. An enjoyable and reliable practical activity allowing students to compare factors affecting photosynthesis. Possible investigations could include the rate of photosynthesis in sun and shade plants,...

In this practical, students investigate the effects of different levels of minerals (nitrates, phosphates and potassium) on the growth of radishes. Students sow radish seed in ‘soil’ containing different levels of 3 minerals - nitrates, phosphates and potassium. These minerals are present inside N:P:K fertiliser...

One of a series of resources from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. An intriguing way to demonstrate gravitropism in action over the course of a lesson. Using black film canisters, a freshly cut seedling stalk (hypocotyl...

One of a series of resources from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. In this practical activity, students to investigate the role of light in starch production in leaves during the process of photosynthesis. By using leaf discs rather than whole leaves, a number of...

One of a series of resources from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. This activity offers a simple way to investigate phototropism: the response of seedlings to different wavelengths of light. This technique will help students investigate this tropic response, using...

One of a series of resources from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. In this activity, students investigate the effects of the hormone auxin (Indole Acetic Acid or IAA) as a plant growth regulator, giving opportunities to look at auxiliary bud development, root...

One of a series from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) investigating key topics in plant biology. This practical introduces a simple method to grow radishes, for investigations into the effect of a range of factors on plant growth, including levels of pollutants,...