science

WikiWoods

WikiWoods is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WikiWoods rather than just read about it. In short: WikiWoods is a group of volunteers who plant trees with the joint aims of preventing climate change and inspiring people to be environmentally aware. Founded in 2007, around 3,400 volunteers have planted 163,100 trees to October 2016.

Key takeaways

WikiWoods belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WikiWoods to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WikiWoods from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WikiWoods is a group of volunteers who plant trees with the joint aims of preventing climate change and inspiring people to be environmentally aware. Founded in 2007, around 3,400 volunteers have planted 163,100 trees to October 2016. The group is based around a wiki, which enables people to register their own tree planting events, to find like-minded friends in their region, and to network with foresters and other tree experts. As of 2016, events have taken place in Berlin, Brandenburg, Göttingen, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany as well as in Hîrbovăț in Moldova. It is hoped that the idea will spread, with further volunteers getting involved in organising tree planting events using the WikiWoods software as a coordinating platform. WikiWoods plants according to a set of sustainability guidelines that were specially developed for the group. The events that have been carried out so far include afforestation, the conversion of monoculture coniferous forests into mixed woodland, the planting of hedges and forest edges, as well as the planting, harvesting, and pruning of fruit trees. In order to ensure the future protection of the trees that are planted, WikiWoods works with environmental partners who provide the land and take responsibility for their ongoing care. Partner organizations include WWF, BUND, NABU National Heritage Foundation (NABU-Stiftung Nationales Naturerbe), and the Lower Oder Valley National Park. WikiWoods is supported by sponsor organization Active Commons e.V., which provides funds for planting projects and the operation of the Internet platform. WikiWoods is a member of the Climate-Alliance Germany.

Activities

In 2009, WikiWoods started a new area of activity, namely the planting of fruit trees. In May 2009, the mayor of the Berlin district of Kreuzberg, Franz Schulz, and member of the German Parliament Hans-Christian Ströbele (Green Party) helped WikiWoods plant 10 fruit trees at Yaam am Ostbahnhof, Berlin. 2010 saw WikiWoods campaigning against the controversial carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot projects planned for Beeskow, Neutrebbin, and Letschin. The 'Trees instead of CO2 store' (Baüme statt CO2-Lager) campaign was attended by politicians including Dagmar Enkelmann (Die Linke) and Hans-Georg von der Marwitz (CDU/CSU). In 2011, several WikiWoods projects were undertaken through the Youth in Action program, funded by the European Union. WikiWoods reacted to the devastating sandstorm of 9 April 2011 in the German federal state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania by planting wind protection hedges. These newly planted hedges should help to alleviate soil erosion in the future.

Awards WikiWoods has been awarded several prizes. In 2008, it won the 'Environmental Award People and Nature' (Umweltpreis Mensch und Natur) from broadcaster ZDF and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (BDU). The organization competed under the section 'Ideas and Innovation'. On 9 April 2011, WikiWoods received the Theodor Heuss medal from the Theodor Heuss Foundation (Theodor Heuss Stiftung). This prize is awarded for exemplary democratic disposition and the focus in 2011 was the environment.

See also Forest restoration Reforestation Team Trees Tree planting

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WikiWoods

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WikiWoods claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WikiWoods before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WikiWoods ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WikiWoods

In research: WikiWoods appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WikiWoods in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WikiWoods is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2007 establishments in Germany, Environmental organisations based in Germany, Forestry organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WikiWoods outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WikiWoods in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WikiWoods means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WikiWoods out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WikiWoods in simple terms?

Why does WikiWoods matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WikiWoods?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WikiWoods.