Day 2 of SLJ: Forest life

Activity 1: Giants among us

New Zealand has a really special environment. Many of the plants and trees found in New Zealand are not found anywhere else in the world. These plants and trees are endemic to our country.  In New Zealand, one of the largest and longest living endemic trees is the NZ Kauri tree. Kauri are mainly found in three regions of New Zealand: the Coromandel, Auckland and Northland. The largest Kauri tree in the country is in the Waipoua Forest in Northland. It is called Tāne Mahuta. Some people refer to it as the ‘Lord of the Forest.’

Thousands of people go to visit Tāne Mahuta every year. Would you like to be one of those people who got to see Tāne Mahuta in real life? Why or why not?

On your blog, tell us whether you would like to go and visit Tāne Mahuta one day. Be sure to tell us why you do (or do not) want to visit this endemic tree.

I would like to visit the tree because it is a major tourist attraction. So, if tourists think it's an amazing piece of New Zealand then, I want to see it.

Activity 2: Fabulous ferns

One of the most common plants found in New Zealand forests is the fern. It is a special, iconic symbol of New Zealand. You will find pictures of ferns on the jerseys of many famous sporting teams in New Zealand, including the New Zealand All Blacks.

Did you know that many of these teams also have the word ‘fern’ in their name? Use your best researching skills to find three New Zealand sporting teams who use the word ‘fern’ in their title.

On your blog list three sports teams that have the word ‘fern’ in their title. Beside each team’s name, post a picture of their uniform. Then, at the bottom of your blog post tell us which of the three uniforms you like best and why.

Sliver ferns (netball team) - 

Black ferns (women's rugby team) -

White ferns (women's cricket team) - 

I like the silver ferns uniform because I play netball and the uniform shows that that team is from New Zealand. Also it showcases the fern, our most common plant in New Zealand. 

Activity 3 (edit):

New Zealand is just one of many countries that has amazing plants and trees. In fact, the African desert is home to some pretty incredible plants, like the cactus. Some cacti are able to survive on as little as 3 millilitres (ml) of water a day. Wow!

Let’s imagine that you are given a cactus for your birthday. To keep it alive, you must give it 3 ml of water every day.

Over one full year, how much water will you need to give your cactus plant?

On your blog, tell us how to solve this maths problem. You can write your answer in words, use a Sketchpad image, or post a video explaining how you would figure it out. Be sure to give us your final answer in millilitres (ml).

This equation consists of multiplying and is quite simple. All you do is multiply 365 (because that is how much days are in the year) by 3 (because "my" cacti drinks 3 millilitres of water). The answer should be 1095. This is the simplest way I could think of.