Timber traders in the north-east are being asked to sponsor a computer game which is being developed by the Tees Valley Cluster of the Forest Education Initiative (FEI).
In a style modelled on the’Sim City’ games, children can grow, re-stock and harvest their own forests and produce timber for sale, balancing ecological and tourist economy aspects with the costs of growing, processing and selling timber. An initial demonstration can be found at www.forest-life.co.uk.
The FEI Cluster is now seeking sponsorship to finalise development and market the game to schools and beyond. It plans to apply for National Grid for Learning North-East England ‘kitemark’ approval.
Around £17,000 is being sought, either from a single sponsor or from a group of timber companies in the north-east, and there is still an opportunity to influence the outcomes of the game, making sure they are relevant to real-world timber trading.