Concluding the Journey (Summer Learning Journey)

I learnt from the Summer Learning Journey experience is that if you cannot figure something out, ask someone or use google.

I was surprised by how much fun this was and it was really cool doing all of this.

I was really concerned with how many animals are dying and why they are dying.

I think that moving forward to save the environment we can stop buying junk food and only buy things that can either be recycled of composted.

I am really sad that the Summer Learning Journey has ended and I am definitely doing it next year!

Restricted Access (Summer Learning Journey)

I Think that it is a good idea to put a restriction on the number of tourists allowed to visit Machu Picchu because if there are too many tourists around then it will be destroyed.
Though people think that it may not be fair it is very fair because people take advantage of things that they are given so if they do that privilege is taken away so this is good that they have done this.

Adoption Day (Summer Learning Journey)

Adoption Day 

1. Barn Owl
2. Snowy Owl 
3. Red Panda

The Barn owl & Snowy owl are both similar in two ways, they can both catch food in the snow and they are both owls. Red Pandas Have Fur, not feathers. Red Pandas are herbivores (They eat Plants) where as owls are Carnivours (They eat Meat). Red Pandas have a different habitat to the owls.

I would most likely adopt a Barn Owl because Barn Owls are my favourite kinds of owls and owls are my favourite animals so I would adopt a Barn Owl.

Earth Day (Summer Learning Journey)

Earth Day
Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Use less rubbish reuse things that you can make into new things (I am always making stuff out of reusable stuff).
Pay attention to how you use water.
Walk or ride your bike to work, school and anywhere you can.

Save Our Penguin (Summer Learning Journey)

Save Our Penguins

Plastic Bags (Summer Learning Journey)

Plastic Bags

My mum agrees that it is a good thing that countdown have gotten rid of plastic bags but disagrees that they have replaced them with reusable plastic bags because they are still creating plastic pollution. She thinks that the next step should be that they get rid of the plastic wrapping on all food items as this is such an unnecessary use of plastic.

David Attenborough (Summer Learning Journey)

David Attenborough

I would choose to save from extinction (If they were going extinct) the.... 

White tiger: They are really cool and it would be sad if they go extinct.
Giant panda: They are very cool like the white tiger and cute so if they went extinct it would be really sad.
Blue whale: They are really cool whales and I do not want them to go extinct.
snow leopard: Because people hunt them as a sport so we need to protect them and stop this happening.
Gorilla: Gorillas are important because without them eating the plants in the forests the ecosystem would become unbalanced and the vegetation will grow too much and it will so become dangerous for all animals and humans.
Whooping crane: There were first only 15 in North America in 1941 but in 2011 there were a rough 279 which is when you think of it is a huge increase but even after this huge success the Whooping Cranes are now decreasing in numbers because of climate change and human activities.
Sea otter: in 1977 the Sea Otters were all in a great number of quantity but by 2018 they were badly decreasing, the Sea Otters have started decreasing badly over the 34 years from 1977 to 2018 but the weir thing is that with all of these otters around why are they not growing in quantity's.
Asian elephant: Elephants are very important as when they poo they leave seeds in their dung which acts as a fertilizer for the plants.
Orangutan: Orangutan's are in danger because people are destroying the habitats that they live in and they are in danger of extinction because of this.
Tasmanian Devil: They are in danger of going extinct because of getting run over on the roads and getting attacked by dogs which is not good because they are the worlds largest living Marsupial.

The Maui Dolphin, True or false (Summer Learning Journey)

The Maui Dolphin, True or False

True or False

• Unlike a common dolphin Maui dolphins are the only dolphins with a rounded fin.

• Maui dolphins only live up to 20 years which is short compared to a common dolphin and a whale.

• Maui dolphins are the only dolphins that can survive underwater for 3 days straight without going up to get air.

• Maui dolphins are known for there perfect way of making people think that they are cute and then eating them.

• Female Maui dolphins have there baby's between the 7 to 9 years of their life.

• Maui dolphins are the biggest dolphins in the world.

Which ones are True and which ones are False.

Put your ideas down in the comments.

Taranaki Mounga Project (Summer Learning Journey)

Taranaki Mounga Project

I really liked this video because my family is from Taranaki and I thought it is cool to see what people are doing for it. I have always liked what happens in Taranaki (only when it is good and helpful) because I have been to Taranaki so many times that it has just become a place that is like home to me (because I am from there). I have been everywhere around Taranaki exept for Mt Egmont and I really want to go there but it is really good to know that they are doing something for it.

This is why I like this video

Taniwha, Real or fake (Summer Learning Journey)

Taniwha, Real or Fake

I think that the Taniwha is fake because nobody has ever seen a Taniwha and they are supposed to steal people and eat them and they would have to come out sometimes wouldn't they? The Taniwha is just a Maori myth that nobody has ever been able to classify as true so why should we make ourselves believe it? Who has actually ever seen a real Taniha? Who? well this is just  what I believe so if you believe it then that is your belief .

The Seven Sisters of Matariki (Summer Learning Journey)

The Seven Sisters of Matariki

This story is about the creation of the Seven Sisters of Matariki. The story starts off with a man named Mitai and his 7 brothers. The seven brothers fell in love with the seven sisters while Mitai warned them not to because he said they were not of their kind. Mitai's brothers were so in love with the seven sisters that they no longer ate and they only went out to get seafood for their wives. The seven sisters used to live on the island that the Mitai and his brothers lived on and they were known back then as fairy's. The girls were going to starve Mitai's brothers to death so Mitai went back to warn his brothers. The brothers were given each a magic net as to catch their wives and capture them so they would not have to deal with them anymore. Mitai took the seven sisters to the heavens to get rid of them but just like Mitai's brothers, Uru (the god of the stars) started to fall in love with the women so he took them to a far away place and every once a year he lets them free so they can shine their light. This is the story of the The Seven Sisters of Matariki.

Conserving the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey in Vietnam (Summer Learning Journey)

Conserving the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey in Vietnam

I found this project the most interesting because the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey is endangered and it is really sad when animals become endangered because usually it is the cool and beautiful animals that are becoming extinct which is really horrible. 

I read that the Vietnam community is getting involved in this project by Monitoring the activity of the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey and counting the numbers of these monkeys to keep track of them.

I really hope that they can save the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey because every animal is important to our world.

10 Fruits, Herbs or Veggies (Summer Learning Journey)

10 Fruits, Herbs or Veggies

1: Strawberries

2: Carrots

3: Broccoli

4: Potatoes

5: Blueberries

6: Snow pees

7: Cucumber

8: Beans

9: Blackberries

10: Mint

Ziplining, Fun or Scary (Summer Learning Journey)

Ziplining, Fun or Scary

I would really hate going on the Rotorua Forest zipline canopy because it would be really frightening going over top of the forest because you would think that it would snap and you would fall into the forest, how scary! I would be really scared going across the zipline because what if you stop and someone comes crashing into you? I would hate that. I have always been scared of ziplines ever since I fell off one and really hurt myself. To me ziplines are just quick ways of getting around and if it breaks or stops then tough biscuits because no one is going to be there. 

What are you scared of?

Beijing Poem (Summer Learning Journey)

Beijing Poem

Interview Questions for Dame Suzie Moncrieff (Summer Learning Journey)

Acid Rain (Summer Learning Journey)

Acid Rain

When I walked out of my house after a giant acid rainstorm the first thing I saw was that all the trees had no leaves on them and all of the plants were shriveled up. I was really scared and annoyed because the world was changing. I went for a walk to the park and the grass was all mostly gone and the trees leaves had all fallen to the ground and they were shriveled up and you could see a big bird nest that you could not usually see. It was on the inside of the tree and you cannot see it when there are leaves on the tree. I went down to my favourite part of the beach because of all the Pohutokawa trees but you couldn't even notice that they were Pohutokawa's anymore. I saw my friend (A deep see diver) Fred and he said that he was just underwater and there were no marine plants on the bottom of the ocean. He said that it was all to do with the acid rainstorm from the last 3 days. 

This is what happens when there is an acid rainstorm so I would really hate to be in the middle of one.

My Favorite Rainy Day Activities (Summer Learning Journey)

My Favorite Rainy Day Activities

My favorite rainy day activities are.

Playing Minecraft on my iPad because Minecraft is my favourite game ever. I like watching Movies on Netflix with my sister and my mum, me and my sister always fight over what movie to watch so mum usually ends up choosing the movie.

Watching Youtube on my iPad is fun because I can watch cool videos of my favorite youtubers. Playing Sims on my iPad is something else I like to do because you get to create your own virtual world and I also like to play board games with my family, we have lots and lots of different games to choose from.

Air Pollution (Summer Learning Journey)

Air Pollution

There are lots of different kinds of pollutants, Here are 3 of them.

1: Greenhouse Gasses
2: Smog
3: Toxic Pollutants

Greenhouse Gasses are when you burn Fossil Fuels (things like coal) which then are burnt down and the fumes are released into the air which creates the Greenhouse Gasses.

Smog can be deadly to plants and annoys your eyes. It can be man-made or comes naturally from the environment around us.

WWF Tigers (Summer Learning Journey)

Tigers

WWF is trying to find habitats for the tigers where no one is allowed in or allowed to down trees around it.

WWF is working with scientists to try and find good habitats to put the tigers.
These areas have to be where there are lots of prey and tigers around. 

WWF is putting cameras and tracking devices around the tigers habitats so they do not lose them.

WWF is also trying to stop poachers killing tigers and then selling the skin on black markets.

Tigers WWF

Crazy Cool Clouds (Summer Learning Journey)

Acrostic Poem (Summer Learning Journey)

Megabats (Summer Learning Journey)

My Superpower (Summer Learning Journey)

My Superpower
If I could have any power in the world I would choose Telekinesis. This power would be really cool to have because you can just lift people up and lift anything up with your mind, I really want to be a scientist when I grow up so I can make a glove that can make you lift things up without touching them, That would be awesome.

The Barn Owl (Summer Learning Journey)

The Barn Owl
The Barn owl has a flat face and its face looks like the shape of a heart. It has a caramel and grayish-brownish color on its wings, the rest of its body is pitch white

I found out that Barn owls live in every continent apart from Antarctica. They like to mostly live in rough grassland as to make it easier to find their prey (This is why they do not live in Antarctica).

The Barn owl normally eats rats, mice & small frogs, it goes hunting for these and then brings it back to its home to eat.

I chose the Barn owl because I have always wanted an owl and I think it would be really cool having one to deliver letters.

Getty Images

Fungi Mathematics (Summer Learning Journey)

Fungi Mathematics
You have 7 different types of mould and it takes 5 days to remove, that would be 7 x 5 which is 35 but 35 divided by 7 = 5 so in weeks that would be 5 weeks, all together it would take 5 days to remove the mould.

Carbon Sinks Don’t Stink! (Summer Learning Journey)

Bumblebee's (Summer Learning Journey)

The Hottest Temperature on Record in 5 Different Countries (Summer Learning Journey)

Be Sunsmart (Summer Learning Journey)

Be Sunsmart

1. Slip on a shirt, Slip on a shirt with long sleeves because it protects you better then just sunblock.

2. Slip into the shade, take an umbrella if you are going to the beach for shade if it gets too hot.

3. Slop on sunblock, slop on as much sunscreen as you need to cover your entire body.

4. Slap on a hat, wear a hat that has the flaps to cover your entire head.

5. Wrap on sunglasses, put on sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun.

The Best Time of Year (Summer Learning Journey)

The Best Time of Year

I think the best time of year for tourists to come is spring, coming in spring would mean the prices on things are not too high. Spring is also a great time of year to come to New Zealand because during spring time the mountains still have a bit of snow on the top and it just looks awesome and the flowers everywhere are just beautiful!

Tourists could do a trip up the Waitangi river on Daryl's dinner cruise in Paihia Northland where they will be taken straight to Haruru Falls with a 2 course meal.

Tourists could go on the Huka Falls jet in Taupo where you will go on a very fast pace on the going up and down the Waikato river.

Which is why Spring is the best time of year for tourists to come to New Zealand.

Great Barrier Reef Fundraising Ideas (Summer Learning Journey)

Great Barrier Reef Fundraising Ideas 
Set up a gigantic stage in Auckland and do a huge concert there. People could try and get local singers and musicians to go up onto the stage and perform for free.
Do one gigantic garage sale. everyone from a place in NZ can come together and sell everything that they do not need.
Diving people can give the money that every person pays them and give it to the Great Barrier Reef.
I think it would be really good for people to donate money to the Great Barrier Reef because that means we would be helping another country out and that would feel really good.

2 Polluted Rivers (Summer Learning Journey)

Waiwhakaiho River 

Taranaki

The council are stopping freedom campers from camping along the river because they leave behind their waste and rubbish which goes into the water and makes it unhealthy. Getting farmers to clean up their act by trying to prevent any of the cow dung going into the water.

Heathcote River

Christchurch

The Heathcote River, had been recorded with higher levels of zinc, nitrogen, and suspended solids then the Curletts Rd stream which was the worst in all of Christchurch. Organisers of a Christchurch river clean up hope their efforts will stop people dumping their rubbish for free in the waterway.

Overfishing (Summer Learning Journey)

Overfishing
I think that the $100 000 fine for fishing in restricted areas is fare because if you fish in a restricted area then you are just ruining the ecosystem because if all the fish are taken then you are just asking for situations like a kina barren to happen, A kina barren is when lots of kina start popping up because there are no fish to eat the kina and it messes up the ecosystem.
I think this is bad because fish are the main animals of the marine ecosystem so when you are overfishing you are actually eating a lot of fish because the small fish eats the kelp, the bigger fish eats the little fish, the huge fish eats the big fish and the biggest fish eats the huge fish.


The fishing website

Picture Perfect (Summer Learning Journey)

Picture Perfect

Selfie #3

From the selfie I think that she was having lunch at a place on a hill and she just got the idea to take a selfie because the lighting was perfect.

I think that she was just wandering around there and wanted to show her friends and relatives that she was having a great time. 

I also think that she could actually be a local there and that she was at her house on the balcony and her friend asked her to take a selfie and she jumped up and took the pic. 

When I first saw the picture I thought that she was at a hotel and she was just showing how much fun she was having. 

There is a possibility that she was just posting a photo on social media for the pleasure of it. 

I think that in this photo she is in Venice an she just couldn't resist the temptation.

She might have been on a tour and they said to take photos so she just went and took the picture.

She might have been on the rooftop of a building and someone dared her to take a selfie on the edge, We may never know.

Devil’s Bath (Summer Learning Journey)

New names for Devil’s Bath.

* Thermal Acid.

Radioactive Waste.

Killer crocks lair.

Lime Milkshake.

Green Smoothie

Atlas Obscura

Milford Sound (Summer Learning Journey)

Milford Sound

I would love to travel through Milford Sound by boat because you are looking up to the beautiful cliffs and snow capped mountains while watching the glimmering river flow past. One of the reasons I chose this is because I really am not that fond of helicopters and on the track something might happen and there will be no one around to help and the boat trip seems really cool.

Milford Sound Gallery

Squid kg's (Summer Learning Journey)

Caramel Popcorn (Summer Learning Journey)

Caramel Popcorn

1. 8 cups popped popcorn.
2. 1 cup unsalted butter.
3. 11/2 cup light brown sugar packed. 
4. 1/3 cup light corn syrup.
5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
6. 1 tsp salt.
7. 1 tsp baking soda.

I love caramel popcorn because it is so nice but when you just eat normal popcorn it just tastes really boring. With the added caramel the popcorn gets an added jazz to it which just makes it so much better to eat even though it hardens up and it is crunchy it is still delicious.

Night Owl or Early Riser (Summer Learning Journey)

Night Owl or Early Riser

I am definitely a Night Owl because I am always staying up extremely late reading my book. Last night I stayed up till 2:30 AM and I wasn't tired at all, crazy right!

My sister Bella is also a Night Owl because she is mostly always staying up until midnight on her phone. She is usually texting her best friend until she falls asleep.

My mum is an early riser because she wakes up early to get everything for the morning ready for us. She also uses the the time that we are asleep to get some time to herself.

So it just goes to show that everyone is either staying up late or not and that is their life cycle.

3 Similarities And 3 Differences (Summer Learning Journey)

Venus FlyTraps and Pitcher Plants

Similarities: They are both carnivorous which means they eat meat, meat for these plants are insect like flys. They attract insects by making a nice smell which the Insects get loured to and then the plants eat them. They each have a reddish color on them that also helps to attract insects.

Differences: The Venus Fly Trap has a taco mouth (Like folding a piece of paper in half and holding on the curve bit) but the Pitcher Plant looks more like a tube and it has a circle mouth. Another difference between the two is The Venus FlyTrap closes its lobes immediately when the insects comes in contact with the plant where as the Pitcher Plant  doesn't close it's mouth because it sucks in the insect and then starts digesting. One last difference is the appearance of the two as you will see in the images.

Why Harry Potter Is So Strong & Tough (Summer Learning Journey)

Why Harry Potter is so strong & tough

I think that Harry Potter is really strong and tough because in the Deathly Hallows movie part 2 Harry knows he has to die in order for Voldemort to be killed and that takes strength to go and face your death. I also think that he is tough because when he kills Voldemort he uses all of his mental toughness to try and hit him with a powerful spell.

Also Harry Potter loses 6 people that are important to him, his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin & Dobby but he never gave up and that would have been tough

These are the reasons why Harry Potter is so strong & tough to me and I really do like the way he cares for everyone he knows. Harry Potter is a great wizard!

Flax weaving (Summer Learning Journey)

Flax Weaving

I would not like to try flax weaving because I have already tried it and it did not interest me. I didn't like it because I found it really boring and couldn't really see any use for the things I was weaving.  It was boring because it took so long to do and it's not really that interesting when you finish. I couldn't really see why people like it because they are just big hollow bowls of flax that cannot hold a liquid.

I only think it is cool when you are playing a game and you need to hide because the flax bushes are a good place to hide for people who cannot climb trees.

In conclusion I don't think that flax weaving is that cool but to some people it is and everyone is different so that is just my point of view

5 Fish Facts (Summer Learning Journey)

5 Fish Facts

Fish Fact #1: The oldest known fish in the world is a 65 year old Australian lungfish. TRUE

Fish Fact #2: Sharks are the only fish that have eyelids. TRUE

Fish Fact #3: Starfish are a type of fish. FALSE

Fish Fact #4: Fish communicate with each other by making low-pitched sounds (moans, hisses, etc) TRUE

Fish Fact #5: Fish usually swim together in groups called ‘classes.’ FALSE

Lake Taupo Cycle Race (Summer Learning Journey)

My Support Crew
If I was to do the Lake Taupo Cycle Race I would choose for my support crew, my mum because she will always tell me to keep going and she will love me even if I come last!
I would also choose my sister Bella because even though she yells at me and is usually always angry at me I know she still loves me & she will always have my back.
Lastly I would choose my best friend Lincoln because he always makes me laugh and that would keep me going.
I have chosen all these people because they all share one thing, they all know that I will do great & even if I didn't they would still congratulate me.

Surfs Up (Summer Learning Journey)

Surfs Up

I love swimming at the beach during the summer to cool me off.  This is a picture of me down at Paihia beach today, we went down to cool off because it was so hot. I went down with my mum, sister, aunt & cousin. My favorite things to do down at the beach are, swimming, building sand structures and covering myself in sand. When I swim I like trying to stay afloat and trying to get out of the water before my sister tags me.

Life in New Zealand 2018 (Summer Learning Journey)

Life in New Zealand 2018

Life in New Zealand for me during 2018 was spent in Paihia at the top of the North Island, Taupo in the middle of the North Island & visiting Queenstown down in the South Island, Wellington at the bottom of the North Island and Taranaki which is in the middle of the North Island on the West Coast.

Every morning on my way to school I drive by the beautiful Pohutakawa trees and stupendous beaches right by the glimmering ocean. All of the shops, cafe's & restaurants are right on the shoreline where you can sit down and listen to the rushing of the waves.

In Taupo all of the town is right by the lake and then you go up the road to the middle of town and you are heading towards the houses. On the shoreline of the lake you can see all of the mountains covered in snow watching over Taupo.

In Conclusion New Zealand goes from beaches to mountains and Oceans to Lakes so New Zealand is just a beautiful place to live.

Alpine Tundra (Summer Learning Journey)

8 Minecraft Road

Blocky Falls
Overworld

Tuesday January 8th

Dear Mum

I just came back from the Tundra and it was spectacular! The Tundra is located at the top of the world near the North Pole and is a giant, flat, treeless Arctic region of North America in which the ground is permanently frozen.

While I was there I saw a Reindeer, an Arctic fox, an Arctic hare, a snowy owl & an Arctic ground squirrel. I asked the tour guide what kind of plants were there and he said there was lots of moss and really short shrubs everywhere but no trees, I don't even know how we were breathing there when they had no trees to create the oxygen!

Because it was summer there we had such long days, the sun was up for 24 hours and the nights were annoying because I didn't really have a comfortable bed.

Anyway I cannot wait to see you next week.

Love Jack.

Why Logging should not be allowed in NZ (Summer Learning Journey

I think that logging should not be allowed in NZ because we have such amazing forest wildlife that need the trees to survive. Even we need them to survive, if there were no trees then we would all be dead! 

The trees are the most important part of living because the trees take the moisture  and create oxygen which goes with the wind and this is why it is so hard to live in a desert.

The trees are a living thing and everything living plants and animals alike should be treated like they have feelings. The only reason the cut down trees is to make houses and paper and to get money!

Therefore I think that logging should not be allowed in NZ.