Take a few minutes to tell one another the names of trees that you know or have heard of. Mention the things trees give us. Then read this poem about trees.

Trees are for birds.
Trees are for children.
Trees are to make tree houses in.
Trees are to swing swings on.
Trees are for the wind to blow through.
Trees are to hide behind in ‘Hide and Seek.’
Trees are to have tea parties under.
Trees are for kites to get caught in.
Trees are to make cool shade in summer.
Trees are to make no shade in winter.
Trees are for apples to grow on, and pears;
Trees are to chop down and call, “TIMBER-R-R!”
Trees make mothers say,
“What a lovely picture to paint!”
Trees make fathers say,
“What a lot of leaves to rake this fall!”

Working with the Poem

1. What are the games or human activities which use trees, or in which trees also ‘participate’?

2. (i) “Trees are to make no shade in winter.” What does this mean? (Contrast this line with the line immediately before it.)

(ii) “Trees are for apples to grow on, or pears.” Do you agree that one purpose of a tree is to have fruit on it? Or do you think this line is humorous?

3. With the help of your partner, try to rewrite some lines in the poem, or add new ones of your own as in the following examples.

Trees are for birds to build nests in.
Trees are for people to sit under.

Now try to compose a similar poem about water, or air.

What Are Mangrove Forests?

‘Mangrove’ is the name commonly used for varieties of shrubs or trees growing in the muddy swamps of tropical coasts and estuaries. Mangroves produce tangled roots that grow above the ground. They produce new trunks and thus rapidly form a dense growth. Mangrove timber is impervious to water and is resistant to marine worms.