Preparation

We had been preparing for the biology field trip for around two weeks. The reason that this field trip is so important is because we gather all our data for our mock internal assessments (IA’s). One of the first things we started off with was getting into our groups which were assigned to us, the people in my group were Andrew, Ashvini, and Emily. We first started off with how to set up the perimeter for a quadrat in our groups , we did our practice quadrats in school near the science department. After we practiced the quadrats we then prepared our field trip  bags which held all of our essential items that we would need over the course of the field trip (such as Lab Quest, measuring tape etc.). After we had gathers all of our materials into our bags we then assigned roles for who will be in charge of the various materials, I ended up being responsible for my groups field trip bag. After all of this preparation we went through one final look over the itinerary and the different statistical test we would be using on the trip (such as t-test and Simpsons Biodiversity Test). Finally after all that preparation we were ready for our DP 1 Biology Field trip.

 Into The Jungle

It was the 9th of January, we had just come back from winter break and we were already preparing to leave school. The whole of the DP 1 class was heading off on their science trips, we were all eager to get on the bus and start our journey to Borderlands, Kitulgala. All the groups would first be meeting at Borderlands (which was the same place we had our DP orientation) for breakfast and then the physics group will be going to Maskeliya and the ESS group went to Adams Peak.

After we finished breakfast all the groups went their own way, with the biology group staying at borderlands. After we were assigned our rooms, we then met back in the common area to get started on our quadrats. We drew out our first two quadrats and then got all of our materials together to prepare for the hike that we were about to go on. We set our self’s a goal to complete two quadrats and our river study, to get to the area where we would conduct our quadrats we had to hike for 1 and a half hours and when we got to the location we were all a bit stunned. The unlike the practice quadrats we did in school, this one was in the middle of a forest with no path, full of sharp thorns and vines around the forest floor. We spent a lot of time setting up the perimeter on our first quadrat as we struggled to make our way around the 20×20 meter requirements. In addition we also had to gather our light, soil/air temperature, and humidity readings which we had to take a set of readings every five minutes and we needed take five readings, meaning that it took us twenty five minutes to take all our readings. After we finished our first quadrat, we moved onto our river studies where we would be measuring the speed, depth and the width of a pool and a rifle in river. We managed to gather all of our data efficiently and then moved onto out second and final quadrat for the day, the second time we were able to collect our data much faster and the perimeter was much easier to set as the terrain wasn’t as treacherous. After finishing our second quadrat we were finished for our work for the day and we then hiked back to Borderlands. The next day was more or less similar, we started with another hike this time lasting around 40 minutes, this time however we would be doing our quadrats in a secondary forest. Our process was similar to the previous quadrats we did, first by marking the coordinates for the quadrats and then set the perimeter while also collecting our soil samples. The experience from the previous day really helped us, as we were able to collect our samples much faster. Then we set off onto another hike to our second quadrat, this location however was a lot more difficult than the others due to the fact that it was on a slop covered full of trees. This time it took us a bit longer to collect our data due to the fact of the terrain, as we were walking down from our quadrat to meet the rest of the group. Then we stopped for lunch by the river and then we continued gathering our data for our lichen study. We then made are way back to borderlands, working in groups for our research papers helping each other come up with research questions, and hypothesis for our papers. We then had dinner and some free time where we all played cards and relaxed, which concluded our last night at borderlands.

The last day was simple and much easier to work around compared to the previous two days, we hiked to a rubber plantation to complete our final two quadrats which at this point we were able to do it very fast. After we completed our quadrats we then had 10 minutes of self reflection about our trip and the environment around us. After our reflection time we went back to borderlands to pack all of our things are prepare to leave. We were joined by the physics group for lunch which was good as we were able to share our experiences from each of our trips. After we ate we said our goodbyes and made our way back to OSC. In conclusion I would say that the trip was one of our most tiresome trips and we got a fair amount of scratches by the end of it. However it’s one that I doubt I would forget, it may have been though but it gave us all lots of memorable experiences.

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate that challanges have been undertaken, therefore developing new skills in the process.

Throughout the course of this three day field trip, we all had to be risk takers. We hiked through the forest, rivers and plantations carving our own path. In addition we also had to deal with the numerous amount of leeches, thorn tree’s etc. and we also had to do most of are work on day 2 in the rain. However me and my class were able to overcome all of these challanges and adapt to our surroundings, we were able to to adopt the necessary skills required and it helped us throughout the trip.

Demonstrate that skills and able to recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

From start to finish we worked as groups to make work easier (such as the data collection) and to make the whole process more efficient. Even in the preparation we stuck as a group and I personally found this to not only be a good bonding experience but also a effective collaborative experience. When we were working in groups you must listen and discuss each others opinions, and when working on the quadrats it was perhaps one of the best examples of efficient collaborative skills as we split up into pairs leaving two pairs to do the data recordings and the other two to focus on setting the perimeter and record the species within the small quadrants. These were some of the benefits and experiences to working collaboratively.