For the last six weeks, Room 24 and 25 have been reading the novel My side of the mountain. An oldie but a goodie, the book explains how a boy runs away to live in the Catskill mountains and how he survives off the land.
This prompted a lot of questions resulting in the main one....How would we live off the land sustainably?
From there the classes broke up into eight subgroups each researching a component and answers to the questions.
Team Land
If we were going to live off the land sustainably, where would we go?
Team land first looked at Woodhill forest and realised there was Paintball and activities there, with no fresh water so it was crossed out. They then looked at the Waitakere ranges and realised that it was native bush so that they would not be able to hunt or use the plants there.
They finally narrowed the choices to Riverhead and the Hunua ranges and ultimately decided on the Hunua ranges because it has fresh water, lakes to go fishing, lots of trees, including apple trees and waterfalls.
The next steps were to discover how long it would take to get there from Western Heights and to map out the area to pick the best spot.
Team Resources
If we had $125, what resources would we need to live off the land sustainably.
Originally we were given only $100. We quickly found that other teams wanted a lot of items and it was going to be tricky. Luckily we were given more money.
It was hard to find cheap pocket knives. There was a lot of stuff wanted and we had to prioritise and get rid of some items that were requested. Most things cost more than we thought it would.
Team Fire
How could we build a fire, to live off the land sustainably?
Team Fire found it difficult at first to discover how to build a fire using only natural materials. After a while it was decided that they would ask the resource team to provide them with matches and the research process became easier.
They learnt how to keep the fire safe from the elements and how to best design a fire.
The next steps are for them to produce a how to guide and to also discover how to cook using the fire.
Team Food
If we were to live off the land sustainably, what could we eat that wasn't poisonous?
First of all, we wrote about our prior knowledge. Then we did some research. We found it challenging at first but then we discovered a few more websites. We found a huge list of edible foods. Next we planned out our presentation and now we're in the middle of making an i-movie.
Team Campsite
How could we build a warm, dry, safe campsite to live off the land sustainably?
Team Campsite found things very hard as at first as the question that they came up with, didn't give them the information they needed. They refined the question and it became easier to get what the information. However, due to some team mates not pulling their weight, the team struggled to come up with their final plan for presentation. Eventually one team mates was evicted and the team pulled together.
They are now building a model of the campsite and successfully pooling their ideas.
Team Trap
How would we build a functional trap to catch different sustainably?
As a group, we started off by talking about what we could catch. Then we looked at different models of traps and decided which ones looked the easiest to make. We learnt we could catch birds or shoot them with a bow and arrow.
Next we decided what materials to bring in and started to build our traps. Originally it was a bit of a disaster. It was harder than we thought. Then we had to re-look at our designs and change some of our plans.
Right now we are building some of our new ideas and seeing if they will work.
Team Fish
If were to live of the land sustainably, how could we build a fishing line that would catch fish?
First of all, we looked at what we already knew about fishing. We decided we needed some wood to make the fishing hook. We also planned to whittle the wood. We also found out how to make a fishing line out of flax.
Today we have managed to make the fishing line and to make a few different fishing hooks.
Team Weaving
How could we keep food, we'd collected, fresh and safe to eat?
Team Weaving found getting information tricky at first. They finally found some guides on Wikihow but are still in the process of learning about how to preserve food by smoking it and keeping it in brine.
Yesterday they had their first attempt at creating baskets out of flax. Each team member agreed it was a total disaster! At the end of the day, they had made a lot of flowers but that was it.
luckily today, Kalani's mum Karamea has come in to assist. She brought in a basket made the night before and is showing the group, step by step, how to weave. Karamea to the rescue!
