My Island Survival

1. My Island Survival By: Jessica Rigdon

2. My survival plan I am floating on a piece of my schooner that recently sunk a few hours ago. I can see my island in the distance, noticing that the wind will allow me to float towards it. Eventually, I make it to my once wonderful home on a deserted, but well known and visited island. Everything on the island is torn apart by the squall that also sunk my schooner. Pulling out my survival guide, I see that I should not panic. Next, I walk around the island and see if anyone is there with me. While I am walking around, I hear something. Is it an endangered species? Islands contain many types of endangered and exotic animals, plants, and trees. I look behind me and see only a bird. While I am reading my survival guide, I see that I need to collect freshwater. I decide to walk around the shore, hoping a plane comes. I see a rope on the edge of the beach. This could be useful if I decide to build a raft. After being on the island for about one hour, I find enough supplies to build a raft. I laid pieces of wood next to each other tying them together with pieces of strong tree bark. Weaving the palm fronds together after creating the raft, a sail is appearing. I was glad I had saved the rope; it would be good for tying the sail to the raft. I put about ten large rocks on board, testing it so I could find out if it would sink or not. Taking the rocks off after testing, I climbed on and sat down. Making this raft would have been alright, although a large schooner found and rescued me about twenty minutes after leaving. I am very happy I had my survival guide, and it definitely showed me how to live for a few hours on an island. I also learned some survival facts:

3. Survival facts • Do NOT panic • Asses the situation and see if you are alone • Look on the beaches and see if any items have washed up on shore that could be useful • Fresh water is of utmost importantance, it is important that you do not drink anything else • You need to drink water before you get thirsty • Make sure you take water breaks and force yourself to drink if necessary • If water is scarce, drink within reason and look for more freshwater • Collect water in a leaf or shell • Must boil water from lakes, streams, and rivers

4. Island Facts • Islands contain a high number of endangered species • They have many exotic trees, plants, and animals • More than 600 million people live on islands • One of every ten people on Earth is an islander • 62% mammal, 88% bird, 54% amphibian, 86% reptile, 68% mollusk extinctions on islands • Most have many coral reefs • Very low elevation levels