Social Studies: What is Ecotourism?

What is Ecotourism? 

Ecotourism was established in 1980 by Clause-Dieter - an academic and adventurer. Ecotourism is a form of tourism that’s goal is to travel responsibly to natural and fragile areas with the involvement of sustainability. Ecotourism has a lot of benefits to our environment, this includes the animals, insects, types of species, and resources. They practise conserving the environment, improving and enhancing the lives and well-being of the locals. Ecotourism was established in 1980 by Clause-Dieter - an academic and adventurer. Ecotourism focuses on educating travellers on local environments and natural surroundings and ecological conservation. Protecting the environment is an important aspect of ecotourism, which is why it has established its principles, firstly, travel to natural destinations, second, build environmental awareness. Third, provides direct financial benefits for conservation, provides financial benefits and empowerment for local communities, respects local culture, supports human rights and democratic movements. 

Why is Ecotourism a growing trend? 

The popularity of ecotourism arose in the 1980s and it’s been increasing by 10%. The ecotourism industry has grown rapidly and became one of the most important sectors of the international tourism industry. It provided a lot of benefits to the locals and improved the lives of the people. It has helped the economy such as employment opportunities can be assessed, raised individual awareness, protects the natural habitats and pristine environments. It allows countries and communities to build their economies without harming the environment, as a result of increased visitors that can enjoy untouched destinations. 

How can ecotourism help our ocean? 

Ecotourism has a lot of positive impacts on the environment such as conservation awareness among people, it has improved landscape characteristics and quality, and well-preserved water resources. 

Ecotourism Facts: 

• Ecotourism can be done in cities. 
• Since the 1990s, ecotourism has been growing from 20% - 34% per year. 
• Tourism is the world's largest employer.

Resources: 

• https://ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism/
• https://greenerideal.com/news/1001-rise-of-the-eco-tourist/
• https://www.torontosom.ca/blog/what-is-ecotourism-and-why-is-it-important
• https://traveltips.usatoday.com/advantages-ecotourism-61576.html
• https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/OKQ/TC-OKQ-6852.pdf
• https://www.bootsnall.com/articles/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-ecotourism.html
• https://www.nathab.com/blog/spotlight-on-sustainability-ecotourism-facts/

The Eyes of Tawhirimatea

In our lesson in Wananga, we had to make a blog reflection about "The Eyes of Tawhirimatea". 

In the story behind "The Eyes of Tawhirimatea", there was nothing, there were no earth, no sea, sky or light, it was pitch black, it was cold and dark. With all the nothingness, there was the sky father, Ranginui and the earth mother, Papatuanuku, who both encountered each other and fell in love, because of their love for one another, they embraced each other and did not let go. Together, they had children and all of them were male. Their sons lived in between their darkness for years and as they grew up, they began to wonder what it would be like to live in the light. The most fierce out of all their sons, Tumatauenga, yelled at his brothers, "Let's kill them!", he was referring to their parents, Papatuanuku and Tanginui. All the brothers disagreed because they thought it was not a good idea. On the other hand, Tanemahuta had a solution to the problem, he suggested that they would separate their parents by pushing them apart. Three of their sons, Rongomatane, Tangaroa, and Haumia-Tiketike used all their strength to push their parents apart, unfortunately, they did not succeed. Their father, pleaded, "Please sons! Don't separate us!", finally, their other brothers joined them and were able to separate Papatuanuku and Tanginui apart. Overjoyed, the sons celebrated with each other to finally see light and have space to move. The other son, however, was not pleased, he couldn't stand his parents cry and see them in pain, he was full of rage that he threw his eyes up in the sky which became the "Stars of Matariki". 

Resources: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Do6MBCGe3Eb-gnmxDKl7q6miAqq44e24pirS6ZvFeGw/edit?ts=60d52461#slide=id.p8

Social Studies: Overfishing

 Overfishing

There have been a lot of negative and positive outcomes due to overfishing. The demand for fish has increased around the world as years pass by, this means more businesses and jobs are dependent on dwindling stocks.

 Overfishing occurs when a big net has been cast in the ocean to catch big fishes, most of the time, large species of fish get caught in the nets such as dolphins, sharks, sea lions, and turtles. Rather than putting those fish back into the ocean, they are sold in the market in exchange for a huge amount. 

Negative 

One of the negative effects of overfishing is the disruption of the food chain. When too many species of fishes are being taken out of the ocean, it creates an imbalance in the marine life which can erode the food web as a result of loss in marine life, this includes vulnerable species like corals and sea turtles. Overfishing endangers the ocean system due to poor sustainable management. It is important to know about overfishing because it can harm the economy, which means it affects the jobs of the people, the careers, the livelihoods, tourism, etc. Overfishing can change the reproduction of the fish remaining and the speed at when they mature and turn into adult fish. Approximately 3 billion people rely on seafood as the primary source of protein. According to “World Wide Life”, fish is ranked as one of the most highly traded food commodities and fuels a $362 billion global industry, this means, income. With the decline of the fish population, scarcity could occur, causing people to lose their jobs and have a hard time finding a different job. People who frequently consume fish without any sustainable resources, it contributes to the overfishing effects. There are high demands for fish in restaurants, daily meals, and jobs, with such high demands for fish, overfishing will surely continue which will cause multiple fish loss. Sustainable practices and management are essential when it comes to the protection of our fishes in the sea, without it, the majority of the species of fishes are at a high risk of extinction.

Resources: 

• https://connectusfund.org/list-of-12-big-pros-and-cons-of-overfishing
• https://www.google.com/search?q=negatives+of+ovevrfishing&rlz=1CAUHAI_enNZ782NZ783&oq=negatives+of+ovevrfishing&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13l4j69i60l2j69i61.2980j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on 
• https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing 
• https://www.google.com/search?q=why+it%27s+important+to+knwo+about+overfishing&rlz=1CAUHAI_enNZ782NZ783&oq=why+it%27s+important+to+knwo+about+overfishing&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l9.4684j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on
• https://www.isfoundation.com/news/effects-overfishing-bycatch
• https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/sustainable-seafood

English: Film - "Ang Kasunduan"

For the past few weeks, we have been working hard on our English subject. The reason for that is because we had to make a film in groups, the film should be at least 5 minutes, and it had to include film shots and angles such as full shot, long shot, tilt, pan, close up, extreme close up, mid-shot, and two additional shot of our choice. The film can be about William Shakespeare re-imagining like Romeo and Juliet, Ten Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew), The Lion King (Hamlet), She's the Man (Twelfth Night). 

The film should be related to "The Merchant of Venice".

What is the film about? 

My group's short film is about an oath or agreement between two family members who are fighting for their own purpose. Person 1 is fighting for her loved ones and person 2 is fighting for her pride and right. 

How is this re-telling the film "Merchant of Venice?" 

Our film is re-telling the Merchant of Venice because of the court scene of the film. In our own film, person 1 and person 2 are fighting for their own things, their family and their pride. 

In one of the scenes in Merchant of Venice, Shylock and Antonio are fighting for their own rights as well, wealth, pride, and loved ones. 

What were some challenges our group faced? And what did we learn from this occurrence? 

One of the challenges our group faced was my scene, the scene is about me getting shot by another person. It was hard for me to act like getting shot because I don't really act a lot and I think it's difficult to imitate a person who had been shot but we managed to overcome this difficulty and got on with our work successfully. 

Another thing we struggled with the memorisation of our lines. It was challenging to remembers our own lines in the film especially, there's no script, it's just straight-up lines we made up throughout the film. We are able to do this properly by repeating our lines over and over again during our free time and practising. 

What would you do differently if you were to do this project again?

What I would do differently if I were to do this project again is maybe practise our lines more, and make sure we don't miss out on any shots in the film. I would also prepare the props and costumes beforehand so that we can easily disguise ourselves as the characters. 

Ang Kasunduan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GcyAbtVDcszEOH5yuM1JpjZ_Z2t8Z2R1/view

Social Studies: Sustainable Fishing

In our lesson in Social Studies, we were continuing our topic about "Trashing our Planet", within this topic, we had to research its sub-topic, which is "Sustainable Fishing". 

In our research, we have to include facts, figured, data and a good paragraph of our choice. I chose the "Slam Dunk" for my paragraph. This paragraph consists of an open question intended to be answered, an adverb start should also be in the slam dunk paragraph. An adverb start is a sentence beginning with an adverb such as Interestingly, Shockingly, Amazingly... In the slam dunk paragraph, evidence is necessary because its purpose is to support the answer to your chosen question. An impact should be included, with 2 or more sentences that discuss the topic. Lastly, the SLAM DUNK! This means the writing should have a massive ending to it, to finish it, a very short sentence is a must. 

Why is Sustainable Fishing important? Sustainable Fishing is important because it generates less waste, minimises energy consumption and reduces chemicals that damage the ozone layer. 

Significant Facts you need to know about Sustainable Fishing: https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2014/7-things-you-need-know-about-sustainable-seafood-movement/58591

• 87% of the world's wild fisheries are stressed. 
• About 1/3 of our fish is mislabeled. 
• Our oceans are acidifying faster. 
• 200 million people depend on fish for their livelihoods. 
• Seafood supply chains are notoriously rife with the human violation. 

Presentation

Well-being Assessment Reflection - Wananga

 During our Wananga, everyone in the class had to do an assessment about our well-being. We had to choose 3 personal well-being that we can work on. Personally, it was a bit hard to record the well-being I chose because I chose the physical well-being, school work well-being, and my social well-being. I finished it early and I guess you could say I did improve on those areas and I'm proud of it.

Reading Reflection

"And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one...", Take the hint? This is a lyric from the song "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo. 

Olivia Rodrigo is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She rose to fame when she played the character named "Paige" from Bizaardvark at the age of thirteen. Since then, she started her career as a teen actress, she starred in the "American Girl Series" and other movies and shows too. She is a talented girl with an amazing voice. 

She released her first song "Drivers License" in 2021 where she became well-known. She recently released her first album that consists of various of her other songs. 

The songs in her albums... 

• Brutal 
• Traitor
• Drivers License
• 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back
• Deja vu
• Good 4 U
• Enough for You
• Happier
• Jealousy, Jealousy
• Favourite Crime
• Hope ur ok

Sustainable Fishing - Social Studies

How does commercial fishing relate to bycatch? Commercial Fishing has massive effects on dolphins and sharks because many of these creatures die needlessly and accidentally. Bycatch is an issue both ecologically and economically because animals that are discarded back in the ocean often die, which means they can’t reproduce, which creates a large impact on the marine ecosystem. Other impacts of fisheries on marine animals include the removal of their preferred prey and sometimes habitat damage. 

According to an environmental organisation called the “WWF” - World Wide Fund for Nature, bycatch is believed to be the main cause of the drastically declined population of the Pacific Leatherback Turtles. The data showed over 90% of the numbers reduced since 1980. Another significant piece of information was stated that 300,00 small whales and dolphins are dying annually, due to the entanglement in fishing gears. 

The majority of seabirds are also victims of bycatch, these birds are mainly albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, etc. These birds are near being endangered, especially albatrosses, 18 albatross species are near extinction. Sharks are also being accidentally caught. In the Pacific Ocean, an estimation of 3.3 million shark species is caught each year by bycatches. 

Is Sustainable Fishing possible? Sustainable Fishing can be possible as long as we can employ limitations to catching fishes and consumptions.