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 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 2: Protecting Our Own - SLJ

DAY 2: Protecting Our Own

Activity 1: A Flying Fox [4 points]

New Zealand has some of the most beautiful forests in the world. Both New Zealanders and
tourists, alike, enjoy walking through these forests. Unfortunately, constantly walking through
forests can damage the plants and animals (flora and fauna) that live there. In an attempt to
protect the local flora and fauna, an eco-tourism company in Rotorua came up with an idea.
The Rotorua Canopy Tours Company designed a series of ziplines that sit above the forest
canopy (top). People can ‘zip’ from one section of the forest to another, looking down on the
beautiful natural areas below. To see what ziplining looks like, check out this video.

I have tried ziplining and I really enjoyed it, however, I must admit that I was pretty scared to
try it at first. How would you feel if you had the chance to go ziplining in Rotorua?

On your blog, tell us how you would feel about going ziplining in Rotorua. Try to use
some descriptive words (adjectives) and action words (verbs) in your post!.

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Here’s a little presentation I’ve created for this activity, Enjoy!

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Activity 2: A Protective Plant [4 points]

There are concerns about the water quality of some of the rivers, streams and oceans in
and around New Zealand. Some people have suggested that we plant flowers and plants
on the banks of our most polluted rivers to stop the spread of the pollution. Apparently, the
plants can act as filters, absorbing some of the chemicals (pollutants) that are moving across
the land, on their way to the river.

Planting can be a lot of fun! Have you ever planted a garden? Aronui and I are going to
make our very own edible garden this year. We are going to plant a number of veggies,
fruits and herbs, including mint, coriander, parsley, lemongrass, onions, tomatoes, beans,
zucchinis, kumara and strawberries. Yum! If you could plant an edible garden what would
you plant in it?

On your blog list 10 veggies, fruits, or herbs that you would plant in your garden.
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First of all you’ve got to know I’m not a garden person, But anyways, here’s a little document
I’ve created for this activity ( Activity 2 ). Enjoy It!

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Activity 3: A House is Not a Home [10 points]

New Zealand is home to some unique wildlife that cannot be found anywhere else in the
world. While we work very hard to protect our natural habitats so, too, do people living and
working in other countries. One of the oldest international wildlife conservation
organisations is called ‘Fauna & Flora International’ (FFI). They support a number of
projects around the world, including those working to protect Lansan trees in the
Caribbean, fruit forests in Tajikistan, and national reserves in Mozambique. Read about
each of these projects and choose the one that interests you the most.

On your blog, tell us which project you find most interesting and why..

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Lansan trees in the Caribbean

I would say that the this project interests me the most (Lansan trees in the Caribbean) as
this is what I had found out about this project. This is quite a short description of my
reasoning's but overall I really hope you enjoy it!

This project was requested by the Saint Lucia Forestry department. Lansan trees are very
fragile and prone to infection when damaged, when Lansan trees get damaged they lose
to about 60% of their range in the Eastern Caribbean. Wildlife conservation had confirmed
that traditional harvesting methods are able to kill the Lansan trees, very quickly.

Task Description:

For this task I've decided to complete another days work, Today's task I was to write a description about ziplining as well as the projects I was given for the final activity. Last but not least I was to list down 10 items I would love to grow if I had a garden. Today I've completed Week 4, Day 2 and I really hope you enjoy. Happy 2019 everyone. Enjoy my blog post!  

Week 4, Day 1: Preserving the Past - SLJ

WEEK 4: Protect and Preserve

DAY 1: Preserving the Past

Activity 1: World of Wearable (WOW) Art [4 points]

If we want to protect our natural world, we must be thoughtful about what we make,
how we make it and how we dispose of it (throw it away). At the moment, the waste in
New Zealand is separated into two main categories: 1. Recycled items
(eg. bottles, cans, paper) and, 2. Non-recycled items (rubbish). Most of the rubbish is
collected by rubbish trucks and taken to a rubbish tip (landfill) where it is dumped and never
used again. Much of the recycled material is to taken to a place where it is sorted,
separated and sent out to be used again.

The idea of reusing materials was taken to a whole new level by a woman named
Dame Suzie Moncrieff who, thirty years ago, created an event in New Zealand called
the ‘World of WearableArt’ (WOW). WOW takes place in Wellington (and in other cities)
every year. Artists from around the world create outfits made entirely from recycled materials.

Let’s imagine that you were invited to this year’s WOW awards and you were able to
interview the creator.

On your blog, list five interview questions that you would like to ask Dame
Suzie Moncrieff.

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Activity 2: Guardians of the Sea [4 points]

One of the largest rivers in New Zealand is called the Waikato River. It is found in the
central part of the North Island of New Zealand. The river (awa) was given the name ‘Waikato’ (meaning flowing water) by a group of men and women from the Tainui iwi who,
legend has it, travelled down the Waikato years ago and settled in the area. According to
Māori legend, the Waikato River has hundreds of taniwha (mythical water spirits) living
in it, guarding the sea.

Unfortunately, the Waikato River has become polluted in recent years and is, sometimes,
closed to the public. This is very upsetting for many people, especially for those who
believe that taniwha live in the river. Please click here to read about taniwha and watch
this short video about taniwha.

Once you have finished learning about taniwha go to your blog.

On your blog tell us whether, or not, you believe that taniwha exist. Be sure to
explain to us why you feel this way.

What I think about Taniwha’s:

After exploring this website I’ve decided to say yes about Taniwhas being real as it says
that Taniwhas are described as fabulous monsters that live in deep water but others refer
to them as dragons. I’ve also said yes as it says on the website that Taniwhas are called
Supernatural Creatures which are legendary in Maori tradition. Taniwhas lurk in water
dens/caves, and were often depicted as dragons or serpents. Overall my final answer
would have to be yes about Taniwhas being real due to how much options I have provided
for you. Hope you enjoyed, Moving on to Activity 3!

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Activity 3: The Sky in Shanghai [10 points]

One day I would really like to travel to China. It is a country with a rich history, vibrant cities,
tasty food, and fascinating architecture   (buildings). Unfortunately, some of the largest
Chinese cities have high rates of air pollution. The air pollution in Beijing, one of the largest
cities in China, can get so bad that roads are closed, flights are cancelled and events are
postponed while they wait for the smog in the air to clear. The terrible pollution is also
having fatal (deadly) effects as, approximately, 1.1 million people in China died last year
from air pollution-related causes. The Chinese government is very concerned and they
have introduced a number of strategies (ideas) to reduce the pollution levels. Imagine that
you were asked to travel to Beijing. How would you feel?

 

On your blog, write a poem that describes your feelings about travelling to Beijing,
China..

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Before we get into the poem you should all know I am not great with writing my own poems,
But anyways here it is. I really hope you enjoy!

I was asked to travel to Beijing,

My flight was a bit of a zing,

I looked around and saw the ground, I knew I was heading to a town.

People were screaming, running, and crying,

I was clueless of what I was seeing as I didn’t want someone unwell-being,

On the other side of the town I saw people with surgical mask,

I didn’t know what was happening but I knew the air con was off task

Families of 3 - 4 layed on the deepest floor,

I walked around with more people found,

After walking half way, I ran back to the plane

It was nowhere to be found so I looked on the other side where it was found

Beijing was not what I had expected so I flew back home and played on the phone.

The End!

Task Description:

For this task of Day 1, Week 4 I was to complete another 3 tasks. For activity 1 I was to
list 5 interview questions for Dame Suzie Moncrieff but I decided to go with 6, For the 2nd
activity I was to write a short description about Taniwhas being real in New Zealand, My
answer for that was yes. As for the final activity I was to write a poem about how
I feel about going to Beijing. As always, for more information about this check my blog
post. Enjoy!