SNA's

We have been thoroughly researching what is called an SNA in our Social Studies classes. The Far North District Council has debating on whether to carry out this new proposition and make it apply to the Far North or not. SNA stands for Significant Natural Areas, which we have a lot of here in the Far North. What the Council is trying to do is protect all of the Significant Natural Areas that are found around the Far North. Apparently, the council will use the SNA land to earn money, while the SNA owners won't get a single cent. 

My opinion:

Many people have different opinions of this as land owners. Recently people have been organising marches and meetings about this matter that compliment their feelings about SNA's. My opinion: the idea and principal is a great one; it will protect a lot of the native bush that covers that land around the Far North. But I also think that they are taking things a bit too far; they are taking people's land without their consent leaving them with a little bit of their land or nothing at all. Sometimes I wonder if everything that people want these days is money and power. The whole SNA scenario seems like something that could cover the fact that the FNDC really wants the money that they get from uncooperative land owners. I could be wrong; they might just want to protect our unique landscape and the biodiversity that lives on it, but are over doing it a little bit. I reckon that what they are doing is a little extreme, as they are taking people's land that is rightfully theirs. Once again their motive is a great one, but they are agitating people who have to pay money for what they already own; something that is rightfully theirs and can't be taken away from them.

Some of the specific rules:

The rules of having a SNA on your land is that when you want to clear a piece of your land you have to set up a resource consent for you to be able to construct anything. You are not allowed to plant shelterbelts, forestry plantations, making woodlots and the plating of exotic vegetation. The FNDC would however allow you to plant things that are suitable for the specific SNA. If an SNA owner were to carry out their plans for erecting a structure they would be fined by the FNDC and what they had already built would be taken down and the cut down vegetation would be replanted. 

What is the FNDC trying to develop?

Since we live in a very unique landscape, with unique species, plants and landscapes, the FNDC are responsible for identifying and protecting these special things with a new district plan which they have named SNA. Although we already have rules regulating the fact that you have to look after these areas, SNA owners now have to identify these areas and take more care of them within the district. Some pieces of land that are available for buying have particular sections on them that are what is called covenanted. This means that anything that is on that land cannot be cut down or destroyed, but you are allowed to cut paths and tracks which do not harm any of the vegetation.

What Is a Leader?

To be a leader one doesn’t have to lead a big number of people; one must have mastered how to lead themselves. Leaders and their followers often have the same sort of motive and attitude towards the world unless of course the followers follow the leaders unwillingly. Leaders take pride in their job to lead others to complete certain tasks. Leaders don't have to be employed by the Government or the people of the country; they can be people who take charge during daily tasks that involve other people. Many people might think that all leaders are confident speaking in front of masses of other people. I think otherwise; not all leaders started out confident, many of them would still be fighting worries and fears about their job to lead others. Leaders encourage and provide advice to their followers and to those who need it. What we must remember is that NO leader is perfect; everyone has their flaws.

An example of a great New Zealand leader is Dame Whina Cooper. Whina Cooper was born in northern Hokianga, 1895.  Whina became a great leader within the Northern Hokianga district and its people by participating in various local affairs.  Dame Whina Cooper was most famous for the march ending at Parliament in Wellington and starting in Te Hāpua (which is in the far North). However; what inspired the New Zealanders that watched the march the most was the fact that an eighty year-old woman was indeed leading the march. Subsequent to the arrival of the 5,000 marchers that arrived at Parliament in Wellington, Whina conferred a petition which 60,000 people endorsed. Whina Cooper was one of the many great people who abetted setting up Maori development schemes within the northern Hokianga area. 40,000 hectares of land had been allocated to Maori development schemes thanks to the hard work and dedication of Dame Whina Cooper and many others. Whina supervised a couple of these many schemes. But when further loss of Maori land occurred Whina decided to march. After her second husband died, Whina conveyed her life to Auckland. Whina became part of Maori Women’s Welfare League in which she was authority president. By the mid 1950’s; a couple years after her husband’s death, the organisation had bygone 300 branches and 4,000 partakers. Maori’s who had newly moved to the Auckland area were facing daily bigotry against being hired and their housing and what the Maori Women’s Welfare League had bettered the lives of many Maori’s.

Dame Whina Cooper delegated a lot of her time and effort to correct the issues of Maori land loss. What Dame Whina Cooper did left us forever in her dept especially those who got to keep their heritage because of her. 

Podcast about me.

A recent Social Studies assessment/task was to create a podcast that introduces you, your lifestyle and your family. This was assessed to us because we would be doing this a lot in the future; for NCEA assessments, hence why our Teacher wanted us to be prepared for the tasks ahead.

Whittaker's Chocolate - Bean to bar.

The picture above shows a map of how Whittaker's assemble their chocolate bar from ingredients they get from other countries around the world. It also shows where Whittaker's send their chocolate bars to after being manufactured in New Zealand.

The journey begins in Ghana, Asikesu. This is where 20% of the worlds Cocoa beans come from. Whittaker's is part of that percentage. Most of Whittaker's cocoa beans come from Asikesu, Ghana, but they get beans from elsewhere around the equator as well. The cocoa beans from the Asikesu get fermented and dried then they get taken to the Cocoa Marketing Company to get exported. They are shipped to Porirua where they get roasted and winnowed. The previously ground cocoa is combined with other ingredients including fresh New Zealand milk. Once the Chocolate bar has been assembled they get exported to many different countries for people to enjoy. These countries are Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, The Middle East, Kenya and various Pacific islands.

Digital Paper Scissors Rock!

 My paper scissors rock program.

Click the shake button to play.

Learning About the Heart.

 Lately we have been learning about the Heart, how it pumps blood around our bodies, how it receives oxygen, the types of blood that flow through our veins and just in general how the heart functions and appears to the human eye.

We learnt about the cardiovascular system, how it refers to blood, arteries, veins, the coronary veins, capillaries, and the heart itself. We learnt about the different types of blood; RBCs, WBCs, plasma, and platelets. We learnt that the RBCs are responsible for carrying oxygen around our body to our cells and organs, how WBCs create antibodies when the body has infection or disease, how plasma carries nutrients, water, salts and waste and how platelets are responsible for clotting our blood when we get a cut or wound. Platelets are kind of like our bodies natural plaster. We learnt that arteries carry the oxygenated blood and that the veins carry the deoxygenated blood. A way to remember what transports what is that the arteries carry oxygen AWAY from the heart and the veins carry deoxygenated blood TO the heart. The veins carry deoxygenated blood to the heart so that it can go back to the lungs to get filled with oxygen again which the arteries carry around the body, providing the cells and organs in our body with nutrients.  You may ask how the heart gets oxygen. Well veins called coronary veins go to the lungs, collects oxygen and then gets transported back to the heart. They wrap around and into the heart, providing the heart with the nutrients it needs in order to survive. The heart is broken up into four sections, the upper ones named the left and right atrium and the lower ones named the left and right ventricles. The left side is stronger than the right side and this is so because that side is responsible for pumping the oxygenated blood around the body which requires more strength, the left side needs to pump blood to the lungs and back. The left side only has to pump the blood back to the heart after being taken around the body.

This picture shows me and some classmates carefully dissecting a sheep heart. This lesson taught me a lot especially since it was a hands on experience. I was able to detect where everything was by cutting open the heart, and following a diagram we were given.

The most fun thing so far has been everything; I am the type of person that enjoys everything. If I had to chose one thing, however, it would be dissecting the sheep hearts and watching our teacher demonstrate dissecting sheep and heart lungs (we did that before we dissected our own sheep hearts).

Next year I will be year ten and I would like to focus more on biology based things since I have always taken a fascination in this type of science. But in general I would not mind what topic we would start on next year. I am happy as long as everyone else is happy. I will enjoy anything that gets put in front of me.