What motivated you to join Earthwatch's Student Challenge?

I heard about the Student Challenge through my school's environmental committee, and I was completely blown away by what an amazing opportunity this was!

My parents, particularly my dad, have raised me to always make the most of the opportunities available to me and to never take them for granted. The Protecting Wetlands for the Future expedition was not something I was going to let pass me by, especially with my growing passion for environmental science and conservation.

Nature and conservation have always been interests of mine, but now I am seriously considering making them a career path.

This time, the expedition took place in Mackay and was about protecting mangroves. What was that experience like?

Each day started early with breakfast and lunch preparation. By 8am, we were in the mangroves, taking the equipment to the plots (either 20mx20m or 10mx10m) we were working on that day.

Once at the right site, we used flagging tape to mark out all the trees that needed to be measured (identifiable by their metal tags). We worked in groups and were assigned a group of trees and spent the day locating them and measuring their girth, height, and health. This data was recorded, and the flagging tape was removed.

We would have a lunch break around midday and continue in the afternoon, leaving the mangroves at around 4pm. Once back at the university accommodation where we were staying, it was chore time.

In groups, we rotated duties to get equipment and clothes cleaned and dinner ready. In the evenings we had a team debrief, did some data entries, and then played pool until lights out around 10pm.

What skills or insights did you gain from this experience? 

Besides the skills I learned around operating in field research with a team, including communication and separation of tasks, I was able to see the impact of human activity first-hand.

Even we caused some damage when we were walking. Our damage would not be long-lasting but there is a reason studies can only be conducted every few years – the forest needs time to recover from our impact.

Another thing that really stayed with me was the lack of paths – it was such a unique experience. Everywhere we go in life, we are following trials and paths that have been set out before us. It is not often that we are in a place entirely untouched by people. Even nature escapes like hikes usually have some kind of trail that you are following.

The sense of freedom (and nerves, as I did get lost once or twice) that it gave me was not something I was expecting. I felt so connected to my surroundings.

What was the highlight of this expedition? 

One of the biggest highlights was seeing so many people who are passionate about the environment and willing to try new things to learn and grow.

I met and worked with so many people, both my age and older, who were so passionate about the environment and conservation. For us students, this was a completely new experience – but we got along so well, even in tough situations, and it was such a unifying experience to share with so many wonderful people.

We were also joined by individuals from organisations and environmental services like Reef Catchments who were just as eager to get involved as we were. As one of the students said on the last day, "It's great to know that there are people like me who care. That I'm not alone".