Mrs. Rose Smith, a humanitarian, has been doing charity work to help those in need, and now everyday from 3:30-5:30pm, she is educating the children at LISS on the importance of caring and using their efforts to help another person in need, the lessons of caring of one heart as we share the value of life. LISS’ afternoon programs this month starts with heart and the word “care”.
Immediately, the students through Mrs. Rose have begun exercises on looking at foods that can be grown on campus to feed themselves as well environmental programs.
Mr. Lee Bowen from NMC CREES is assisting with this program in locating a proper location for a garden. “As the Humanitarian and Environmental class, we believe that by growing our own vegetables for the school, we are increasing our health as well we are reducing the gas emission since we will no longer have to drive to a store for supplies”, stated Rose Smith, Humanitarian/Environmental Instructor.
In addition to the creation of a garden, students were taught the importance of a clean environment.
LISS through Mrs. Rose has tied up its services with Beautify CNMI, NMC CREES, and DEQ. The environmental aspect of the class is made to get students aware of the impacts and effects of our environment if mistreated and abused.
What can be done to revitalize and insure that it is protected and cared for.
The Lao Lao re-vegetation project coordinated by Beautify CNMI through Mr. Angelo Villagomez taught students how to look at eroding places on land that need human care. LISS Students planted 20 saplings of coconut trees on the area.
Continuing on with the environment, LISS students also had a speaker from DEQ about the water quality on island, the importance of it and its uses.
Mr. Joe Kaipat, Manager for DEQ Safe Drinking Water division directed the students to understand water quality in general.
Overall LISS and their new supporting government and private entities have adopted the COP beach for two months and each weekend or when scheduled, LISS’ students will be seen keeping our island beautiful.
Other practical projects that students would like to help is to provide school supplies to over 500 students in Kagman, our school and those children from families that are struggling due to slow economy.
ON Wednesday at approximately 10:55 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., one of the longest solar eclipses of the century can be viewed.
The best time to witness the eclipse is at 12:13 pm because at which time the moon will block the sun for approximately 6 minutes and 38 seconds. However, blindness can occur if a solar eclipse is not viewed carefully.
A total solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular astronomical events. It occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. For a short period of time, the sun is completely blocked out by the moon, when viewed from the earth. Day briefly turns into night, causing temperatures to drop, birds begin to roost and many animals become confused.
This spectacular event will be witnessed here in the CNMI, and while we are not in the direct band of total black out or the umbrella shadow, the area where a total solar eclipse can be seen on earth, is usually less than 100 kilometers in diameter, we will be able to view a partial eclipse.
In order to view this event safely, Marianas Eye Institute has put together this helpful list of does and don’ts.
DON’TS:
Never look at the sun directly – doing so can damage your eyes. You should also never attempt to look at the sun in the partial eclipse phase through unprotected eyes or homemade filtering mechanisms. A partial eclipse, as will be visible here on Wednesday, is particularly dangerous, because even though the light from the sun appears dimmer, the dangerous rays of the sun can still cause permanent damage to the eyes. The best way to observe the sun is by projecting the image.
Don’t use these as solar filters:
• Sunglasses
• Photographic neutral density filters
• Smoked glass
• Polarizing filters
• Compact discs
• Floppy disk media
• Black color film
• Any black and white film negatives bearing images
DO:
The Pinhole Projection Method
Here is one way to project the sun’s image:
1. Get two pieces of cardboard (flaps from a box, backs of paper tablets).
2. With a pin or pencil point, poke a small hole in the center of one piece (no bigger than the pin or pencil point).
3. Take one pieces in each hand.
4. Stand with your back to the sun.
5. In one hand, hold the piece with the pinhole; place the other piece (the screen) behind it.
6. The sunlight will pass through the pinhole and form an image on the screen.
7. Adjust the distance between the two pieces to focus and change the size of the image.
Do not look through the pinhole at the sun.
Welders’ Goggles
Welders’ goggles or the filters for welder’s goggles with a rating of 14 or higher are safe to use for looking directly at the sun. They are also relatively inexpensive.
Warning: Do not attempt to use these filters behind a pair of binoculars or telescope (that is, between your eyes and the binoculars or telescope). The magnifying optics of these devices will focus the full power of the Sun onto the welder’s filter, which could crack and shatter from the intense heat after only a few minutes.
The safest way to view the eclipse is with the pinhole method, and welder’s goggles from different parts of the world do not always have a high level of quality control.
The pinhole method allows the safest viewing of Wednesday’s partial eclipse.
Dr. David Khorram, the ophthalmologist at Marianas Eye Institute, recalled that during the last major partial solar eclipse, students from one of the schools had looked directly at the eclipse. “Although none of the children ended up having any significant damage, it was a scary time for the children and their families waiting to see if the damage would be permanent. We look forward to this spectacular event, and hope that everyone, especially children, will use the safest techniques to view the eclipse.”
STUDENTS passionate about protecting our natural resources, between the ages of 17-25, and enrolled in college are encouraged to apply for the year-long internship position, also known as the Micronesia Challenge champion.
In order to assist with the implementation of conservation strategies toward achieving the goals set by the MC, internship opportunities were initiated and the CNMI has two vacant MC Champion positions.
The internship is for one year, and may be extended for an additional year.
The MC Champions are expected to spend at least 10 hours a week conducting Micronesia Challenge education and awareness activities for the residents of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
The Micronesia Challenge, launched in 2006, is a commitment by the Chief Executives of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the Republic of Palau, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to effectively conserve at least 30 percent of the near-shore marine resources and 20 percent of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia by 2020.
For more information on the Micronesia Challenge, please visit the website at www.micronesiachallenge.org.
For additional details on internship goals, requirements and qualifications, go to: http://www.minapacific.org/. For other related inquiries, please contact Lisa Huynh Eller at 664-8510 or send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].
