As part of the UN International Year of Forests, staff from the FAO Forestry Department visited Core International School, Rome, to see how much the children know about forests and forestry. The children had an excellent understanding of basic science and biology and had heard of important issues such as deforestation, but they knew much less about the causes of deforestation.

Talking about wood products, the children knew a lot about how wood is used and had lots of ideas about how they enjoy using wood products (musical instruments, sports, drawing, etc.). The challenge for foresters is to explain how sustainable production of wood products can benefit people while protecting the other benefits of forests that everyone enjoys.