Many of us enjoy watching animals in the wild. They usually make us pleased, cheer us up and, sometimes, even make us frightened. But do you know what they can teach us? Wild geese (鹅), for example, teach a very good lesson about teamwork.

In fall, Canada wild geese fly south to get away from Canada’s cold winter weather. They lift off in no order. Yet very quickly they form a V-shape, with one bird leading the flock (鸟群). Scientists have discovered that wild geese flying in a V-shape can help them to save energy. In this way, they can fly 70 percent farther without rest than those flying alone.

What can human learn from this?

Be cooperative. We have found that wild geese make sound in flight to encourage those that have fallen behind to keep up with the speed. Team members should regularly communicate with each other while working towards a common goal.

Set a good example. When wild geese are on the ground, if something frightens the leader, it might fly off. So does the flock. But if the leader stays calm, the flock will do the same. Wild geese and people usually emulate their leaders. When leading, we must remember that our actions and feelings will be passed on to our followers.

Whether it is in our personal lives or our work, we need other people. We are encouraged by their enthusiasm and energy. If we face the difficulties alone, the risks are greater. Like wild geese, when we work together, our burdens are lighter.

Mike Myers is a teacher at Chauncey Rose High School in Terre Haute,Indiana.Last year,he taught his students about the world’s rainforests.They learned that rainforests are important because the plants and animals of the rainforests give us food,wood,and medicine.

Destruction of the world’s rainforests is a serious problem.Unluckily,rainforests are disappearing at a rate of 80 acres per minute!As part of a class project,Myers’ students bought three acres of the rainforest in Central America.They paid $25 per acre.The students hope that the land they bought will be protected and not destroyed.The students became so interested in rainforests that they decided to get a closer look at a real rainforest.

So last June, Myers and four of his students took a boat ride down a river.They saw alligators and crocodiles.In the middle of the week,a guide took Myers and his students into the rainforest.“The monkeys were not happy that we were in their forest.They broke small branches off the trees and threw them at us,” one of the students said,“It was a great learning experience for all of us,” said Myers.

Each student chose something specific about Costa Rica to study involving the plants,animals,food,and culture.During the last few days the group had time to do fun activities.They went whitewater rafting and horseback riding,and visited Costa Rica’s active volcano.

Myers hopes to make the trip every year with a different group of kids.

Fish cats are a kind of cats that love water and love to fish. They are like tigers and lions, only much smaller, around twice the size of our average pet cats. They live in wetlands of South Asia and mangrove forests （红树林）of South and Southeast Asia. Like many endangered species, fish cats were in danger of dying out more than twenty years ago, mainly because of the great international need for fish food and the people's cutting of the mangroves at an extremely fast speed.

Mangroves of Southeast Asia are home to a great many fantastic species, like fish cats, turtles, shorebirds and others. Mangroves can protect soil, and they can be the first line of protection between storms, tsunamis and the millions of people who live next to them. The fact is that mangroves can store almost five to ten times more CO2 than other forests. So protecting mangroves may well be like protecting five to ten times more of other forests.

Ten years ago, in South India, many people came together to change the future of their home. In less than 10 years, with international support, the state forest departments and the local people worked together to restore over 20,000 acres of unproductive fish and shrimp farms back into mangroves. Now experts are working with them in helping study and protecting the mangroves as well as the species living in them. Fish and shrimp farmers are now willing to work with experts to test the harvest of nature protection like fishes, turtles and other species in mangroves. The local farmers are encouraged to protect and plant mangroves where they have been lost. A win-win-win for fish cats, local people and the global ecosystem（生态系统）is being built.