Group 4 Science trip – 12/12/2023

It was a very rainy trip through the Sinharaja rain forest, packed with leeches! I was hesitant about the trip at first because I don’t consider myself to be someone who enjoys the rainforest, and I don’t like being wet and cold very often, especially in the rainforest. Anyway, the science trip lasted about three days, and we actually got a lot of work done during that time. I’m in an ESS science class, and our assignment was to study the biodiversity of the rainforest.

Some parts of Sinharaja are categorized as secondary forest, which means that scientists and guides have made a few clearings and pathways in order to study some of the trees and different species that make up the biodiversity within it.

On the first day, we were divided into small groups that we would work in during the trip. My group consisted of Ansel,Aura, Anais, and myself. I’m convinced we did a great job of counting the many species of plants and animals in our surrounding environments. The trek up to the top of the mountain on the last day was the highlight of the trip for me. I really enjoyed this since it was difficult to reach the top and took some time, but the view from up there was simply beautiful and well worth it. 

A core memory that came out of this trip for me, was running back down the mountain to camp with two of my closest friends, Darius and Alex. It was a really cool experience because along with Mr.Hangi we three were so far ahead of the others that it felt like we were almost experiencing the forest alone. Having meaningful conversations with two close friends while being surrounded by dense jungles and absolutely no mobile signal is definitely something that I will not forget and a memory that I will cherish.