Movies

On Sunday afternoon we went to Sylvia Park to watch House of Magic. It is a movie about Thunder the Cat who is dumped on the street. Then Thunder goes to a magicians house and has lots of fun. At the start Jack the rabbit and Maggie the mouse hate him but in the end they like him.

Tree Planting at Omaru River

On Saturday Robin, Mama and I went to Omaru River for tree planting. When we got there we were helping the Wai Care staff measure the water and the quality of the stream. The quality showed it was a good stream but there is still room for improvement.

Then we started planting the trees. I planted 6 trees. Together, everyone planted 500 trees in about 40 minutes.

Once the trees were planted we got some hot soup and bread rolls and listened to a member of the band Herbs who was playing some of their songs.

We also looked at bugs from the river. We saw two really cool Damselflies (see below for image) and lots of midges.

By Karl.

 

The Big Game

The Big Game by Sue Gibbison

This story is about Karla and the narrator going to the rugby game and their team loses but they were supporting the other team.

By Karl Plessius.

Pollution

Pollution

There are three types of pollution. Air Pollution, Land Pollution and Sea Pollution.

Air pollution fills the air we breathe with poisonous gasses. The poisonous gasses can kill humans and the air will not be safe to breathe. The poisonous gasses are things that humans can not breathe and if they do not die from it they will get very sick. Acid Rain is the term for pollution when sulfur and nitrogen dioxides combine with atmospheric moisture to produce highly acidic rain, snow,  hail or fog. Pollution from exhaust gases of vehicles is responsible for 60% of all air pollution and in cities up to 80%. There is a large variety of harmful chemicals present in these gases, with lead being one of the most dangerous.

  

Water pollution is the introduction into fresh or ocean waters of chemical, physical, or biological material that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms living in it. Mines, especially gold and coal mines, are responsible for large quantities of acid water. Agricultural pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides may wash into rivers and stagnant water bodies. Sewage as well as domestic and farm wastes were often allowed to pollute rivers and dams. Water is discharged from after having been used in production processes. This waste water may contain acids, alkalis, salts, poisons, oils and in some cases harmful bacteria.

Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth’s land surface through misuse of the soil by poor agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping and indiscriminate disposal  of urban wastes. It includes visible wastes and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself.

Pollution is not good for planet earth.

The Day Marry Shook the Karaka Tree

The Day Mary Shook the Karaka Tree by Jan Farr

This Story takes place at the house and at the karaka tree.

In this story the Mum and Dad play tennis with Pete and Wynne. Mum and Wynne keep talking and Wynne hits the ball into the karaka tree. Next Mary, Spike and the narrator climb the karaka tree and shake it to get the tennis ball.

My favourite part of the book is when the ball goes into the karaka tree.

I recommend this book for people who like narratives.

By Karl

The Big Shift by Jaqui Brown

Big Shift by Jacqui Brown

This story is about a family that splits up and the dad stays back on the farm in the countryside while the mum and the three children go and stay in Wellington. The characters in the story are Dad, Mum, Terei, Cherie, the Narrator, Tomo, Meilai, the two kids who beat up Tomo and the two kids who were tagging. Tomo, Meilai and the Narrator become friends when the Narrator stopped the two kids who are beating up Tomo. Tome introduced the Narrator to Meilai. In the end Meilai lives in Auckland, and Tomo and the Narrator are in college in Wellington.

The story takes place on the farm in the countryside and in Wellington.

I like  this story because it shows how some people feel when  their parents split up and they struggle to keep their family together.  

By Karl

Tree Planting at Tahuna Torea

On Sunday, we went to Tahuna Torea to help plant trees.  The reserve is 25 hectares, and over the last 30 years or more, 1000s of trees have been planted by volunteers like Mama, Robin & I. 

I planted 4 native trees and grasses, including a kowhai, a flax and a native grass.  Mama also planted karaka and other natives.

Today, there were over 400 trees to be planted and 30-40 people were there to help.  The Auckland Council provided all the trees.

I'm looking forward to seeing the trees I planted get bigger.