Week 4, Day 5: The Sky's the Limit! - SLJ

DAY 5: The Sky’s the Limit!

Activity 1: Environment Day - Beat Plastic Pollution [4 points]

Because SLJ is only 2 activities away from the end of my adventure I’ve
decided to complete each activity in documents, ( Presentations, Google
drawings, Google docs ) Hope you enjoy and keep blogging just like I will!  

Every year we celebrate World Environment Day in June. On World Environment Day we
do what we can to protect our planet. This year the focus is on reducing the use of plastic
bags and water bottles. Watch this Environment Day video to learn more about it!

What could you and your family do to protect the planet?

On your blog tell us three things that you could do to help save the planet.

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Here’s the presentation I was talking about before, Hope you enjoy!

Activity 2: Adoption Day [4 points]

Not only can you help the planet by reducing, reusing and recycling, you can also help to
save animals and plants by ‘adopting’ them. To ‘adopt’ an animal through the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), you need to visit their adopt a species page, read through the list of
animals and choose one.

With the WWF, you don’t actually adopt the animal and bring it home! It’s a symbolic adoption.
In this case you pay a fee ($55.00) and the money is used to provide food and care for your
chosen animal. Visit the WWF site and take a look at the animals who are available for
adoption. Choose your ‘top three’ animals from the website.

On your blog, list the three animals that you have chosen and then compare and
contrast them. How are they similar? How are they different? At the bottom of your
post, tell us which of the three animals you would most like to adopt..

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Here is a little document of google drawings I’ve created, Hope you enjoy!

Cheetah:

The animal I would love to adopt would have to be the Cheetah. My reason why I chose the
Cheetah is because I will need back up for races and they are super fury. I’d also love to
adopt a Cheetah due to how well they act and I would love the privilege to be able to see
them up close. If you didn’t know all three animals that were pointed out were animals I
haven’t seen up close as for the Amur Tiger and Snow Leopard I decided to choose them
because I’ve never seen anything like them, and I was determined to learn more about
them. Because this was such a hard activity I wasn’t able to get that much similarities on
this activity. Overall I really hope you enjoy my second to last activity.

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Activity 3: Concluding the Journey [10 points]

Sadly, the Summer Learning Journey has now come to an end. It is time to reflect on
everything that you have learned about the environment and, particularly, about how you
can protect and preserve it.

On your blog please tell us:
What is one thing that you learned from participating in the Summer Learning
Journey programme this year?

Sadly this is the end of my adventure with the SLJ programme. This summer was super incredible
as I really enjoyed myself but this will be my final time participating in this years summer Learning
Journey programme. I’ve learnt so much like places I didn’t even know that actually exists here in
New Zealand. I am for sure that I will tell my fellow friends who didn’t participate in this years
SLJ about everything I’ve learnt when I head back to school. Because the day has finally ended
for me that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop blogging. Hope to see most of you’s continuing to blog
this summer holidays.  
What is one thing that surprised you?
First of all each and every activity I did for the past few weeks absolutely surprised me due to how
they were presented to me, but the activity that most surprised me would have to be day 1, activity 3
of week 2. After finding out more about that I finally got to know more about fish. So overall my
answer for this question would have to be week 2, Day 1, Activity 3. What is on thing that surprised
you, this summer blogging?  

What is one thing that concerned or upset you?

The only one thing that has upset me is having to say goodbye to SLJ. Throughout this summer I’ve definitely enjoyed myself especially the day my family and I drove all the way to Parakai springs. Each and every activity made me tell myself, wait this is actually more than what we do at school. So overall for this question it would have to be nothing besides having to say goodbye to the SLJ programme.  


What is one thing that you (or your family) can do, moving forward, to help protect our natural environment?

How I will be moving forward to help protect our environment is to continue doing what we do best and to help our animals not to get sick. Overall here's what I want to say to everyone.

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who made my holidays a lot more enjoyable and for setting us up 4 weeks of incredible activities which will help us to extend our learning. My journey through this years summer blogging was super incredible. I really hope everyone continues to stay cyber smart online, carry on blogging and enjoy your holidays. Overall I would really like to say thank you to everyone who has blogged or participated in the SLJ programme this year, hope to see you all continuing to blog. Thank you so very much for all your support like, leaving comments and more. Keep blogging and enjoy your delightful holidays!

Task Description:

As you already know this is my final post with the Summer Learning Journey programme. I really hope everyone continues to blog and thank you to all the helpers/staff members who have given us these activities which has helped us a lot. Activity 1, For activity 1 I have decided to create a little presentation about how we can save our planet by pollution and many more. Activity 2, For activity 2 I've decided to do a little document about the three animals I have decided for this particular activity. Activity 3, For activity 3 I was to answer a few questions about my journey with the SLJ programme. I really hope you enjoy my final post with the SLJ and that everyone continues to blog until school begins.   

Week 4, Day 4: Making Promises - SLJ

DAY 4: Making Promises

Activity 1: Campaigning for Conservation [4 points]

New Zealand is home to so many beautiful, unique and, sometimes, endangered animals
and habitats. The Forest & Bird organisation is working really hard to protect vulnerable
animals and places in NZ. They are doing everything that they can to raise money and to
raise awareness so that everyone knows about these issues. These are called ‘campaigns.
’ Check out the Forest & Bird campaigns site to learn more about them.

Imagine, that you have been hired by Forest & Bird New Zealand to work on one of their
campaigns. It is your job to come up with a catchy slogan for the campaign. A slogan is a
short phrase or sentence that is used to advertise something. Check out examples of
common slogans and logos below.

On your blog, tell us which campaign you have chosen to support and provide us
with a slogan for that campaign.

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I have decided to go with I’m Lovin It, From Mcdonalds because Everyone loves
Mcdonalds. Macas is know for the most delicious burgers as well as there shakes/drinks
and fries. There burgers are filled with Beefy Paties, with a special sauce, along with their
finely chopped lettuce, smooth cheese and their crunchy pickles, Everything that is in
your burger is know to be flavoured well. If you think you deserve a break from homemade
cooking and want to try some amazing cooking from awesome burger and fried makers
than try it, Today. Don’t forget your drink or smoothie to wash it all down!

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Activity 2: The Plastic Pledge [4 points]

Over the past few decades some of New Zealand’s beaches have become
dumping grounds for waste and rubbish. Almost 80% of this waste is made up of plastic
items. Yikes!

Some companies in New Zealand have heard about the problem and agreed to cut down
on their use of plastic. Countdown supermarkets, for example, have announced that they
will stop giving out plastic bags to customers.  What do you think of this idea? What do your

friends and family think? Is it a good idea or not?

For this activity, please ask one member of your family and/or a friend what they think
about Countdown’s decision to go ‘plastic bag free.’

On your blog, tell us what they think about Countdown’s decision to stop using
plastic bags.

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Activity 3: Restricted Access [10 points]

While much of our programme has focused on New Zealand, it is important that we also
consider the environment in other places as well. One of the most unusual and spectacular
sites to visit outside of New Zealand is called Machu Picchu. It is an ancient city that was
built high up in the mountains in the country of Peru in South America. You have to take a
train and/or walk through a series of mountains and valleys to reach it. 

Over the past few decades millions of tourists have made the trek to Machu Picchu.
Unfortunately, this has damaged the area and the local government has decided to
restrict the number of visitors to the site each year. This decision has upset a lot of tourists
who really want to see Machu Picchu but aren’t allowed to go.

On your blog, tell us what you think about the government’s decision to restrict
the number of tourists able to visit this special site. Is it fair? Be sure to tell us
why you feel the way that you do.

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To the government who suddenly decided to come up with the idea of restricting our
tourists who are determined to visit this amazing location of, Machu Picchu. First of all If
I got the chance to visit Machu Picchu I would be super excited and delighted to go
somewhere I’ve never been to, I’d love it so much due to the amazing views and how
much you’ll be able to see everything especially from that high. Machu Picchu sounds
amazing and every tourist should be upset as this place might’ve been the place at least
5 - 6 tourists had be waiting for. So I don’t think it’s fair to anyone who was really wanting
to visit this special place. This is exactly like having this place ban for eternity. Overall I
really think we should ban this incredible, peaceful place as it might remind tourists of the
places they have already visited. I think the government shouldn’t restrict this place and
should be free to everyone who visits Machu Picchu, Enjoy your visit, I really hope it
changed the government's mind about this place being restricted.   

Task Description:

For todays task of the morning I've decide to complete week 4, Day 4: Making Promises
for the SLJ programme. For activity 1 I was to write a slogan that describes the logo I've
chose, which was Mcdonalds, For activity 2 I was to ask a family member whether we
should ban plastic bags or continue using them, For the final activity ( Activity 3 ) I was to
write a description of how I feel about Machu Picchu being restricted to tourists who decide
to go there. Read todays morning task and Enjoy!

Week 4, Day 3: Taking Action - SLJ, A3

Activity 3: The Power of Ten [10 points]

Sir David Attenborough is a famous TV presenter from England who loves nature
and the natural world. He has spent his career filming documentaries about the planet
and working hard to protect it. In a recent interview, Sir David was asked to reflect
on all that he had learned and to imagine that he had suddenly been given the power
to save 10 animals and/or plants from extinction (disappearing forever).

After thinking about the question, he listed these 10 species (animals/plants):

1. Black Lion Tamarin (pictured to the right)

2. Sumatran Rhino

3. Solenodon

4. Olm Salamander

5. Spatuletail Hummingbird

6. Darwin’s Frog

7. Sunda pangolin

8. Priam’s Birding Butterfly

9. Northern Quoll

10. Venus’s Flower Basket

Let’s imagine that you had the same power and that you could save 10 species
(animals or plants) from extinction. Who would you save? If I had the choice I would
probably save animals like the elephant, white tiger and rhinoceros because they
are unique and have lived for centuries on earth. I would also like to save some of
my favourite flowers including hydrangeas and calla lily flowers. What about you?

   

On your blog, list 10 species (animals or plants) that you would protect from
extinction. For each one, give a reason as to why you think it is important to protect.

Task Description:

For todays final tasks I've decided to complete Week 4 of day 3 as I got a bit bored and wanted to blog some more. Today I've decided to split Activity 3 with Activity 1 and 2 as the presentation wasn't going the way I wanted it. Either way you'll find out what task description of all three activities are. For activity 1 I was to choose a video that I liked the best, for activity 2 I was to list 3 facts down about dolphins and a true and false statement. For the final activity I was to list 10 different species I would love to save before them becoming extinct. Overall I really loved the blogging and can't wait for more tomorrow. Maybe ending the summer learning journey tomorrow but lets just find out what happens. Enjoy my final blog post of the day!

Week 4, Day 3: Taking Action - SLJ, A1/A2

DAY 3: Taking Action

Activity 1: Predator Free 2050 – A Call to Arms [4 points]

There is currently a huge drive to get rid of all predators from New Zealand. Predators are
animals that, in some way, damage our natural environment. Many organisations are working
hard to accomplish this goal.

Click on the links below to watch videos about three of the current projects operating to make
New Zealand ‘Predator Free by 2050.’

Predator Free Video #1: Cacophony Project

Predator Free Video #2: Taranaki Mounga Project

Predator Free Video #3: Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP)

On your blog, tell us which one of the videos you liked the best and why..

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The video I would say that interests me the most and I personally like would have to be #1
the Cacophony Project. I’ve chosen this project due to how much I have found out about
this, Enjoy my short description about this project.

Grant Ryan is known as an engineer, inventor and a entrepreneur. Grants Backyard is his l
aboratory where he made his first invention which is called the cacophonometer. How it’s
used? All you need for this invention is a regular smartphone, microphone and a solar panel.
The cacophonometer wakes up every hour which takes little snips of sound recordings and
will automatically upload itself to where ever the videos need to go. The project started a
cheap and an inefficient way to measure the sound which got them thinking how else
would they apply information to trapping and lurring. Grant and his team seem to mimic
the sound of which animal they are trying to trap, Mainly Possums. So overall this is there
way of trying to get New Zealand, Predator Free.

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Activity 2: Protecting the Most Vulnerable - Fact or Fiction? [4 points]

Here in New Zealand we have a native dolphin, the Māui Dolphin, that is on the verge of
extinction (disappearing forever). As of this year, there are only 63 Māui dolphins left and
people predict that they will be extinct by 2033. Environmentalists and activists, including
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are working hard to save the dolphin because it is such a
special and unique animal. To learn more about the Māui Dolphin, please follow this link.
If you would like to sign a petition from the WWF encouraging the New Zealand government
to take action to save the Maui Dolphin, please follow this link.

Once you have learned more about this unique dolphin, it is time for you to share your
learning with us.

On your blog, post three facts that you learned about the Māui Dolphin. Then, using
your imagination, create three more statements about Māui dolphins that are not true
(i.e. false). Please don’t tell us which of your statements about Māui Dolphins are
true and which are false. It will be the job of the students and staff who read your
blog to figure it out.

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Here are the facts page:

Here are the extra statements about Maui Dolphins:

Activity 3 will be posted soon!