One day when I was scrolling through meeting notes I saw that on the 1st of December a group of kids from a school in California would be coming over to Sri Lanka, and Mr Lockwood would be taking them down to Diyasaru park. This immediately piqued my interest and I asked if there was any way in which I could engage or help out. Fast forward to the 1st of December and I am talking to them on the bus and walking around the park with them.
After we had arrived we started at a hut in the park where Mr Lockwood gave an brief introduction into the importance of this wetland and the history behind it. He talked about how when they built parliament it was turned into a flood zone where excess water and plants would float to. He then talked us through the creation of the park and the benefits it held to wildlife. We were then treated to a crash course in interesting species we could encounter such as the spotted dove we heard as we walked in and the fishing cat which sadly is nocturnal so we would have no engagement with it.
From here we split off into groups of which I was with one of the accompanying teachers Meg and a student called Kaya. Soon enough, as we all had the same destination in mind (the bird watching tower) we merged with another group led by Senaka. Antoine skulked off to look at some plants whilst I talked a bit about the invasive water hyacinth and cracked jokes with the group to which they surprisingly laughed in response.
It was a good group with a good vibe and as we stood on the top of the watch tower we took some pictures and tried to identify the bird species flying through the sky. A notable one I saw was the black hooded oriole, me being the only one who spotted the elusive creature. I was very proud of my accomplishment as this is now the second time I have spotted this majestic bird species in Sri Lanka. They have been known to be difficult to spot despite their bright colours and their conservation status being least concern.
I really enjoyed getting to know these people and I hope our paths cross in the future, or that they get to pursue what they enjoy.
Featured Image Credit: Eloise Golding