This post is about the indigenous people of Australia, which are commonly known as Australian aborigines. They currently make up about 2.7% of the Australian population, with majority living in the south east, centered along the Murray River.

Aboriginal Australians were social beings who lived in a number of social groups sometimes called bands, clans, sub-tribes and tribes, but essentially in a family or kinship group who were either of the same blood-line or were related to other people through totems.Their lifestyle has little of none interference of the modern society we live in. Such examples are:

1)Clothing-
The early aborigines were observed to be naked. Men and Women of some tribes are known to have worn a belt around their middle made of animal fur, hair skin or fiber which is used to carry tools and weapons. This shows the difference as people n modern times are fully clothed.

2)Food and Diet
The aborigines hunt for their food, also gathering berries, plants, eggs and insects. They live near resources which included waterways such as rivers or were on the seacoast, making canoes from bark or tree trunks to aid them in fishing. This suggests that they identify the practice of catching food for their food supply instead of cultivating plants of rearing animals like what we do in our society.

3)Culture
The culture of the aborigines differs greatly from ours. They lead rather simply lives and find entertainment through dancing and singing, compared to the technology we have for entertain. The Australian Aborigines used a limited variety of implements to make musical sounds. The didgeridoo (see separate listing) is probably the best known, but others included rattles, clapping sticks and two boomerangs clapped together. The melodies, tunes, harmonies and rhythms of Aboriginal music included traditional ceremonial songs that were handed down from generation to generation, which is very meaningful to them. Another form of culture was in dancing. Aborigines held a corroboree in which there were elements of music, song and movement that imitated or replicated animal movements, hunting prowess, battles or ceremonies of initiation that had been conducted for thousands of years. Corroborees are part of Aboriginal culture. They were not simply dances, but were highly significant events and belong to the Australian Aborigines.

The aborigines were very traditional people, they believed in sprits and reincarnation. They respect their own culture a lot by performing many spritual rites, singing and dancing in respect to their religion. This i most probably why they do not want to develop or change their living habits to the modern ones we have. They are willing to lead simple lives and sacrifice the luxury of the technology we have today. Furthermore, they treasure family kinship, which i feel is fading fromt he modern society we live in today. Maybe the simple lives they lead allows that to bond together well (: This shows how devoted they are to their religion and how much they enjoy it. I really admire the simplicity of their lifestyles (:

today had a lesson on the functions and uses of the forest. Pretty interesting (: I didn't know that a forest could have so many uses, such as, maintaining nutrients in the soil, replenishing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide, maintaining the quality and quantity of the water supply, protecting coasts and reducing impact of natural disasters, is a habitat for flora and fauna, a source of useful material, and a places for recreation, research and education.

SO MANY FUNCTIONS!  This proves how useful forests can be for humans, which suggests that we should should not destroy or encourage deforestation.. Once Mrs lee said that she believed that the world would end when there are no trees left. Im starting to believe it now (:

I learnt that the forests plays an important role in the water cycle. Leaves and branches reduces the impact of falling water, such as rain, which decrease surface runoff, increasing water available to rivers and reservoirs. The quality of water is also maintained by the forest. Compared to water in an urban area, the water in a forested area  is of better quality, as the soil of the forested area help to filter impurities found in rainwater by trapping them between the pore spaces. I totally agree to this as when i was in KOREF, i actually drank water that was from a small river in the forest, super refreshing and clean (:

In an urban area, surfaces such as concrete surfaces, does not allow water to seep through, thus impurities are not removed.
One more fact that amazes me is that the forest can reduce the impact of disasters. For example, the mangrove forest break momentum of storms and strong waves, absorbing 90% of wave impact. SO cool that the mangrove forest can actually reduce damage, saving the lives of those people in countries  experiencing disasters, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami (:

Cant wait for next geog lesson to learn more about the advantages of forest (:

Sorry late post..
Last lesson was on coniferous forest (: well i think i like this forest the best as it is very beautiful (: all the trees covered in snow (: Just finished geography common test.  i think the paper was ok (:
Also, im really amazed by the way the trees can grow in despite the cold conditions..they have short summers which really results them to have minimal growth..

i also learnt that the latitudes affect the temperature received in one region. For example, regions further from the equator, near the north pole, they receive oblique rays where a larger area receives a lesser concentration of sunlight, resulting in cold conditions.
It is no wonder that the diversity of plants there is sparse. Only few species can adapt to the climate. Vegetation is very sparse there.

The adaptations of the trees there also differ from the forest that receive tropical climate. for example, the leaves have small surface area, such as needle-like leaves, so that they reduce transpiration as they already receive so little amount of water that is ocassionla available to them when the snow melts. The trees also retain their leave so that they can photosynthesis whenever temperature rises above 6 degrees, conserving the resources of the trees.

I think that the trees is coniferous forest are really strong as it is really tough to live in such harsh conditions.. I don't even think that humans can adapt to such conditions..Which is why i really admire and appreciate the beauty of the coniferous forest (: