Our featured contributor is International Expeditions, Inc., sponsor of Rainforest Workshops for Educators and Students. Main Activity Imagine life as an emergent rain forest tree. These trees grow very tall and often have many species living on them and in them. They need to stand up against high winds and soaking rains, yet they are anchored in a foundation of soil that's shallow and thin. Many grow buttressed roots.
Buttresses come in different shapes, sizes, and thickness.
Some are thin and flat. Others are twisted and branching. One scientist described a tree with such enormous buttresses and surface roots that it took a full five minutes to walk around it. Work in small groups to investigate how buttresses work. Place the branches upright in the sand to represent an emergent rain forest tree.