{"id":6003,"date":"2023-03-27T11:21:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T00:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/?post_type=article&#038;p=6003"},"modified":"2023-03-27T12:18:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T01:18:37","slug":"the-sixth-extinction","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/article\/the-sixth-extinction\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sixth Extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Well done to Kavitha Varatharajan of Year 10 whose stunning watercolour highlighting the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal has been named a semi-finalist in the international student art competition: 2023 Science Without Borders\u00ae Challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2023\/03\/Kavitha.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2023\/03\/Kavitha-1024x718.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6004\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kavitha\u2019s artwork was one of 1200 entries received from around the world. The theme this year is \u2018The Sixth Extinction\u2019 and students were asked to highlight the plight of an endangered species through art. Kavitha&#8217;s watercolour creation features the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Hawaiian Monk Seals are a greatly respected animal in Hawaiian culture due to their title as \u201cguardians over human souls after death\u201d and also their role as guardians of the Hawaiian ecosystem&#8217;s balance\u2019, Kavitha explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8216;They are apex predators and thus keep many other sea creature populations under control. The squid and the tuna fish resting on and next to the seal show how reliant the ecosystem is on its guardian. The seal blends into the sand and background so that the fish and squid can stand out. Like how the seal protects the ecosystem from devastation and disarray. The seal brings life and peace to its ecosystem, which, though we can&#8217;t see it, is being slowly destroyed by the extinction of the Hawaiian Monk Seal. We need the Hawaiian ecosystem&#8217;s guardian to continue to protect its fragile balance and ensure the survival of many other species.\u2019<\/p><cite>Kavitha Varatharajan <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matthew Mountford<\/strong><br>Dean of Gifted Education<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well done to Kavitha Varatharajan of Year 10 whose stunning watercolour highlighting the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal has been named a semi-finalist in the international student art competition: 2023 Science Without Borders\u00ae Challenge. Kavitha\u2019s artwork was one of 1200 entries received from around the world. The theme this year is \u2018The Sixth Extinction\u2019 and students [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[4],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-6003","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_category-secondary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/6003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=6003"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=6003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}