Nice To MEAT You!

At the Meat Processi#14D1B7
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Here we are at a meat processing plant in Auckland. Some students are doing a research project on where New Zealand gets its food, especially the meat. There, the students saw some pretty interesting things. One student remarked, “Some parts were gruesome to see, but the whole plant was cleaner than I thought”. This was a great chance to continue the our conversation about stewardship and sustainability in regards to meat and produce production around the world. It seems that the New Zealand meat industry is doing well!

Environmental Literature

Environmental Literature
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

This week Professor Drew Ward from Corona, California came to teach Environmental Literature. Students had a fantastic week of reading poems and excerpts from such greats as Walden, Thoreau, and Berry.

Here we are in a cabin in the Waitakere Ranges. We had class on the deck overlooking the Tasman Sea. What a way to learn Environmental Literature! Kare Kare beach on the was only a 1km walk away. There we got enjoy lunch and game of ultimate Frisbee. Others basked in the sun rays and played on the sand dunes.

Making Journals

Journals are fun to read and make
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Not only did we get to learn how to make sushi and bake, we learned how to bind our own books, responsibly. Jessica, one of the students, taught us how, with recycled paper and old cardboard boxes to bind our own journals. Students made some amazing, artistic designs for their journals.

Cookies!!!

C is for cookie and thats good enough for me
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

We also got to learn how to bake this week too with Sue. She usually cooks our meals but this time she gave us the chance to learn from her expertise. We made anzac cookies, afghan cookies, oatmeal cookies and more. It was a nice study break from all the research and writing we've been doing for our ISP.

Sushi

Group Sushi Pic.
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Sushi, Sushi lots of...Sushi?

We are doing it, we are making sushi. Respect it!
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Its time for our Integrated Seminar Projects (ISP). This week we get a chance to research our topics. Most of us will probably go to Auckland City Library and do most our research there. But its not all research this week. Miki who is a resident of Kodesh Community taught us how to make and roll sushi. We stuffed ourselves with the sushi we made. MMMMMM so good!

Spring Break!!!

Some students holidaying in the south island
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

The students are coming off a week long fall break (spring break, depending on what hemisphere you are in). Everyone had a good, relaxing time away from papers, tests and research. Most students went and traveled around the South Island, flying into Christchurch dispersing from there. Here is a picture of one group in the South Island. Later in the semester we will be heading back to the south island for forest ecology. What an amazingly beautiful place. I suggest you try it sometime!

Chasing Waterfalls...

Waterfall
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

This is the place where everyone fell in love with Samoa. We got to swim to our heart's desire at this waterfall. It was a much needed swim. The heat that day was oppressive.

Tapa

Tapa Making is Fun
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

This is a demonstration of how tapa is made. Tapa was the material used for clothing and other things before cotton and other materials entered Samoa. The lady in giving the tapa making demonstration is one of the few people on the island that makes tapa traditional. It was a real treat having her show us.

Fia Fia at Sufua

Fia Fia equals a good time
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Here we are having a fia fia, Samoan for party. Girls danced up front while the boys danced like monkeys in the back. Traditionally this is done so that the male may protect the female from any evil or enemies.

Mangroves

Knee deep in mud
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

We are back from Samoa. It was an AWESOME trip filled with a lot of playing, learning, swimming, and eating Taro root (main diet of the Samoans).

We got the privilege to take marine biology while we were there. In the picture, we are walking through mangrove mud (not the cleanest place ever). As we kept walking the mud got deeper and thicker. There were places where it would come up to our waist. No worries though, afterwards we got to rinse off in the nice cool blue tropical ocean.

Learning Stream Ecology

Students identifying stream invertebrates
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Everyone has been going "hard out" in stream ecology. A normal day consists of traveling to a marvelous stream, getting our feet wet collecting invertebrates, measuring rate of flow, testing pH level, etc. Not only that, they have lecture and lab too. With good spirits the students have engaged in the demanding field work and have been learning so much about the ecology of streams. We are very proud of them!