Day 4: Making promises

Activity 1: Campaigning for Conservation

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.

i'm lovin' it because saving animals means you are doing your part into saving the environment. You also get to go on awesome trips around NZ. Also, you just get to get up and personal with cute (and also weird) animals.

Activity 2: The Plastic Pledge

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.

I think its a good thing to happen because single use plastic bags are, well... single use. I think it is appalling that 80% of our waste is plastic. That is a scary number. That means only 20% of our waste is other things. If we stop using plastic and start bring reusable bags, we can reduce that 80% to maybe see a change like 50% or less. That little pledge to stop plastic has possibly made a big difference for NZ.

Activity 3: Restricted Access

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.

I think the decision is both crucial and is unfair for tourists. The decision is for peoples safety because there might be unstable step or there is the risk of getting separated by friends.

Today is the last day of SLJ!! NOOOOOOO😞