The Old Town of Ávila

The Old Town of Ávila encloses 82 semicircular towers and nine medieval gateways dating back to the 11th century. Fire is one of the threats to this site. Patrimonito and the young people learn about preparing efficient prevention plans to manage the risk and to access the site in case of threats.

Patrimonito means 'small heritage' in Spanish and the character represents a young heritage guardian. Patrimonito has been widely adopted as the international mascot of the World Heritage Education Programme.

Patrimonito was created in 1995 by a group of Spanish-speaking students during a workshop at the 1st World Heritage Youth Forum held in Bergen, Norway. The young students designed Patrimonito on the basis of the World Heritage Emblem which symbolizes the interdependence of cultural and natural sites: the central square is a form created by people and the circle represents nature, the two being intimately linked; the emblem is round like the world and at the same time a symbol of protection.

Patrimonito Storyboard Competition

In 2002 a cartoon series entitled Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures was launched where Patrimonito introduces World Heritage sites, the threats they are facing and proposes solutions to preserve them.

Why Do Leaves Change Colour in Autumn?

September 23rd begins the autumn

As summer ends and autumn begins, the days get shorter and shorter. With fewer daylight hours, leaves are not able to make as much chlorophyll as they can during the long daylight hours of spring and summer. As the chlorophyll fades, we are able to see other colours, such as orange and yellow, emerge.

Many people mistakenly believe that weather makes leaves change color. While this is not true, weather can affect how vibrantly the colours appear.

If the weather is too hot or cold, the leaves will not be as bright as they begin to change. The best weather for brilliant autumn foliage is sunny, warm days and cool nights.

Water also plays an important role in autumn leaf colours. If a tree doesn't receive enough water, the leaves will die faster and fall to the ground. If there is too much rain, the tree won't receive enough sunlight, and the leaves will not be brightly colored.

You may be surprised to learn that each leaf has small amounts of other colors in it year-round, even if we can't see them. During the spring and summer, chlorophyll overpowers the other colours, and all we see is green. With less chlorophyll to give the leaf its vibrant green colour, we begin to see the other colours, such as orange, yellow, and red, which have been there all along.

Harvest Festival 2015

A harvest festival is an annual celebration and that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. Harvest festivals typically feature feasting, both family and public, with foods that are drawn from crops that come to maturity around the time of the festival. Ample food and freedom from the necessity to work in the fields are two central features of harvest festivals: eating, merriment, contests, music and romance are common features of harvest festivals around the world.

Harvest Colouring Pages

In Britain, thanks have been given for successful harvests since pagan times. Harvest festival is traditionally held on the Sunday near or of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox (22 or 23 September). The celebrations on this day usually include singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival

In the United States, many churches also bring in food from the garden or farm in order to celebrate the harvest. The festival is set for a specific day and has become a national holiday known as Thanksgiving which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. In both Canada and the United States, it has also become a national secular holiday with religious origins, but in Britain it is both a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest and a more secular festival remembered in schools.

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In this page there is an illustrated list of vocabulary items related to school things.

Click Vocabulary related to school things