Help The Christmas Heliconia

For this unit, I investigated an issue that applies to MDG 7 -  ensure environmental sustainability. The issue I chose was endangered species, specifically, a plant called Heliconia angusta, which we know as Christmas heliconia. After researching the plant, I wrote a poem and created a drawing to inspire others to take action on the issue. One thing that I learned throughout this project was to appreciate plants and the environment. I am proud of my poem because I didn't know how to make it at first but I learned in the end.

KIS. Christmas Heliconia/Paraguay. (2013)

There are different colors of heliconia, but the red one is best known and most dominant. The heliconia is a tropical plant which grows best in shade, prefers warm or humid weather, and dies in the cold. However, the Christmas heliconia is vulnerable because shade is more and more rare as its native habitat - southeastern Brazil - is deforested (Wikipedia). Loggers cut down 575,114 sq. km of forest between 1990 and 2011 (World Bank). Please read my poem below which tells you about the plant and how you can help save it from extinction. 

The Christmas Heliconia

Christmas…
A happy and curious holiday
Presents get unwrapped and new things come into your life
A happy moment to remember

The opposite of happiness is happening to the christmas heliconia
A rare plant
Only relates to christmas because of its color
Only grows in warm and shady places
Needs tress and their shade to live

Without trees the heliconias can't survive
They are sensitive and are alive

A challenge for this year;
To give this plant as a gift to somebody you care about
Or by giving a financial gift to the U.S Botanic Garden,
A group who teaches about the importance and values of ecosystems
Such gifts help the environment
Plastic toys only create more carbon dioxide
You can help Heliconias survive this Christmas

References:

" Forest Area (sq. km)." The World Bank. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

"Heliconia Information." http://members.iinet.net.au, n.p. Thur. 10 Oct. 2013.

"Heliconia." www.heliconia.org, heliconia society international. Thur. 10 Oct. 2013.

"Heliconia angusta" www.wikipedia.com. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Knust, Barbara. Personal Interview. 16 Oct. 2013.

"United States Botanic Garden." www.usbg.gov, government. Thur. 10 Oct. 2013.