Date:
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
What's the Plan, Stan? Diary 2
Field Trip Name:
What's the Plan, Stan?Field Trip Place:
AucklandWeather:
FineWhere You Are:
Auckland Central and HendersonWatch Andrew's diary cam video on Vimeo.
Kia Ora everyone,
The City of Sails put on a good weather show for us today. It was sunny and warm with a gentle sea breeze to help kick off the field trip.
Audioconference at Auckland Council
We made our way to the Civil Defence office at Auckland Council this morning. Here we met Hamish Keith and Stan the dog. Hamish was our expert on the audioconference where we had Pukekohe Intermediate and Picton School asking the questions.
Remember you can listen to a recording of the audioconference at any time – just go to the Audioconference page on the field trip website and you will find the link there. It was great to have a range of questions posted in the LEARNZ Adobe Connect room too. Those questions were answered following the formal part of the audioconference. Go to http://connect.vln.school.nz/learnz/ tomorrow at 9:15am to enter the LEARNZ Adobe Connect meeting room to take part during the live What’s the Plan, Stan? audioconference sessions.
Getting ready
After some morning tea we talked more with Hamish about being prepared. As it is ‘Get Ready’ week, it is a good time to have a chat with your whānau about your household plans for an emergency, as well as checking that you have survival items such as drinking water, should you need to ‘get through’ an emergency situation.
There is plenty of information on the field trip website background pages, and you can also check out the recently updated What’s the Plan, Stan? website. Speaking of Stan, we are very lucky this week because Stan will be joining us at the various locations we visit throughout the field trip. The ambassadors in particular think this is pretty cool – like having a giant-sized ambassador to look after them!
What is Civil Defence?
I also had a chat with Hamish about what actually is Civil Defence. Hamish said that many people think Civil Defence is the group of people who will help you during an emergency situation, but it is far more involved than just that. In fact, rather than me try to explain, watch the video where Hamish gives an overview of what Civil Defence is all about.
Emergency Coordination Centre
From Auckland Council we went for a drive out west to an Emergency Coordination Centre in Henderson. This purpose built facility is a great example of a building where the response to a civil emergency will be co-ordinated. Hamish said that this facility must be maintained at a high state of readiness as you never know when an emergency situation might occur. Check out the video for a tour of the ECC.
Level 51
After some lunch we were lucky enough to venture up the Sky Tower. We went up to level 51 which is the main viewing area – and boy what a view it was! You are given a 360 degree look at the entire city. It was also a good place to identify the types of hazards that can affect not only Auckland, but many areas of New Zealand. Watch the video though as Hamish gives an overview of these hazards (natural, man-made, and biological) and what makes Auckland particularly vulnerable to them.
I hope tomorrow will be just as interesting as today was. I know already that I have some tasks to do when I return home in order to ‘get ready’!
Talk tomorrow,
Andrew the LEARNZ field trip teacher
Andrew and the ambassadors listen as Hamish Keith answers another question during this morning's audioconference. Image: LEARNZ.
Andrew and the ambassadors with Hamish Keith and Stan at the Civil Defence office at Auckland Council. Image: LEARNZ.
Stan was happy to demonstrate the idea of eating food from the fridge first during an emergency situation if you are stuck at home. Image: LEARNZ.
Outside the Emergency Coordination Centre in Henderson. When might this building be used? Image: LEARNZ.
A view from across the street of the Emergency Coordination Centre in Henderson. Image: LEARNZ.
The title is used as a tool tip when the user hovers the mouse over the image.
Stan was rather excited to be on level 51 - the main viewing area of the Sky Tower. Image: LEARNZ.
Andrew talks with Hamish Keith about potential hazards in Auckland City. I wonder what Stan is looking at. Image: LEARNZ.
Looking towards the east over Auckland City. What do you think about when you look at this photo? Image: LEARNZ.
There are three volcanoes in this picture and four in the previous one. Can you identify them? Image: LEARNZ.