Additional Blog: Upcoming Event (Earth Day Festival)

For the past four years, Planet Rehab has hosted an Earth Day Festival event. This year we plan on doing another but in a more entertaining way. He made a them for this years Earth Day and the theme is Alice in Wonderland. Earth Day is a day in which we acknowledge what has been going on in our planet. It raises awareness about the negative things we've done and are still doing. We plan on education everyone on what's going on and HOW to stop it.

As of now we are getting ready and making props for this event. We have started to make paper mache mushrooms which will be six feet tall and many other sizes as well. We are making huge flowers out of paper which we will place around the back yard for the guest to see. We also have set up tables in many different way to see which would look the best. We will also have a new member to Planet Rehab, Helen. He is known to be one of the largest tortoises in the United States, weighing over 250lbs. We have high hopes for this event and are extremely excited to show others what we are all about.

 

These are pictures of what we've been making on our craft nights. So far things are looking pretty cool.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1. What is the best way to maintain equilibrium between man and nature in relation to the rainforest?

2. The best way to maintain equilibrium between man and nature in relation to the rainforest is by becoming vegetarian.

3. The best way to maintain equilibrium between man and nature in relation to the rainforest is responsible sourcing.

4.  My three reasons

1. We, as individuals, can practice this by avoiding products that have been taken from the rainforest unsustainably.
2. Indigenous people can work with the rainforest in order to make a profit, instead of destroying it.
3.  Huge corporations and companies have practiced responsible sourcing because their customers were able to pressure them into doing so.

5. I found an article by "Rainforest Alliance" that shows corporations how to become part of the solution by practicing responsible sourcing. While looking for article/information on responsible sourcing I found information about companies like Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe's becoming part of the solution for the rainforest as well.

6. My mentor Gary C. Mitchell has brought this answer to my attention on several occasions when explaining that becoming vegetarian was also a way to help the rainforest.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1. For my Independent Component 2, I will become a vegetarian. I will be logging what I eat for dinner everyday. I will update my hours log every night about the things I eat and what substitutions I will have to use in order to avoid using meat.

2. Since I will be a vegetarian until the end of Independent component, I'll be doing more than my 30 hours. So I'll be showing my hours through the dinners I eat with a vegetarian touch to them. I'll record what I eat everyday onto my hours log.

3. By becoming vegetarian it will allow me to have experience and be able to have a self example for my first answer. I can explain how easy/hard it was, what it was like, and if I will continue my vegetarian diet.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• Literal

(a) I, Nick Herrera, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 35 hours of work.

(b) My mentor Gary C. Mitchel and with the help of his partner, Carlo Rios, both helped me understand what is at stake as of what is going on now in the environment. Moreover; the rainforest.

(c) Mentorship Hours

(d) Gary and I were able to pin point what were key things that are important about the rainforest, how it affects us, and how it's going to ruin us when its gone. We also spoke about how educating people can also make a huge difference. The things Gary and I know, should be common knowledge. Together we determined what my second and possibly third answer to my EQ should be.

• Interpretive

On Tuesday nights Gary and several of other senior volunteers come together to discuss upcoming events for Planet Rehab. We also discuss things going on in the environment. It varies from the ocean to the deserts. We also make crafts for the events we have so we can make some extra money to throw in our fund for the "Rainforest Initiative." We sell these items at fair prices. Before craft night, I usually come an hour earlier to have some one on one with Gary in order to get more incite on how the rainforest is doing. We speak about the major issues for the rainforest, solutions for these issues, and how to prevent them. Within our findings I have been able to set my foot on a couple of answers for my EQ. I have some photos of my mentorship at with Gary/Planet Rehab.

 

 

• Applied

This component helped me find my second, possible, answer to my EQ. The second answer I am considering is Education. If EVERYONE knew what was happening to our rainforest. They would be definitely be an automatic response to it. Unfortunately not everyone knows what's happening to the rainforest. According to the book "Deep Jungle" the Earth's land was fourteen percent rainforest. Today its at a staggering six percent. That's more than half of what we use to have. I feel that if every nation and it people knew this, it would definitely save us. As of now there is very little hope for humans to survive another two hundred and some years. As long as everyone is uneducated, nothing will change.  

 

Additional Blog: What I get to see while at mentorship

Monarch Caterpillars

Kiki the Sun Conure

Mandarin Ducks

Russel Crow

Parakeets

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

What am I most proud of in my lesson and why?

I was glad to be able to give people the chance to prove why being vegetarian is a great choice and allowing them to see for themselves by trying a vegetarian meal. The reaction of surprise when I told them that everything was a meat substitution was great. It was nice overall to show them that they can save the rain forest by the way they eat.

Self-assessment.

I think I deserved, at the very least, an AP. I believe I deserved an AP because overall I felt like my lesson was interesting and I was able to keep my audiences attention. I felt like I did a good job in explaining why the rain forest were very important. I cited my sources by showing my book and sort of giving them a lay out of what it was about. I did my job of informing them about what is happening to our environment that SHOULD be common knowledge.

As of right now I'm not sure what my second answer should be. I need to speak with my mentor and see what my second best answer should and could be.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

 1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am working with an organization called Planet Rehab. We educate people on environmental issues through the volunteers we receive on Saturday mornings. We also use our events as opportunities to educate people, as well as raising money in order to feed the animals we hold.

 2.   Who is your contact?

My contact is Gary C. Mitchel. He is the founder of Planet Rehab and my mentor. I chose him because he is very educated on the environment. Planet Rehab has a huge goal that we call the "Rainforest Initiative," which would allow us to purchase part of the rainforest in order to protect it from human expansion.

 3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

I have done thirty hours throughout the school year. I usually go to Planet Rehab early before our meetings to do my mentorship hours.

 4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

I do my mentorship hours on Tuesday nights when we have our craft nights. I tend to go earlier to get more one-on-one with Gary. We usually speak to each other about new statistics on rainforest destruction as well as what has been going on worldwide. He informs me on what California is doing to try and help out environment. Gary has also spoken to me about our plan to sponsor tours to Costa Rica, where we could gain lots of publicity as well as profit for the organization. This will also us to be able to get a step closer to our Rainforest Initiative.