Written by South Pacific Students, Caroline and Susannah
What’s New in Our Journey?
Hello, world!! Greetings from your Leaders of the Week, Caroline and Susannah. We’ve had another great week here in the Daintree Rainforest and are excited to share our adventures with you. We started our week at SheOak Ridge and continued our work with our lovely hosts, Claire and Marcus. We took down a wallaby pen, put up barbless wire to replace the barbed wire we removed, and continued preparing pots for Marcus’ 100,000 trees project.
We also took two very fun day trips! On Sunday, we took a tour through Mossman Gorge and did a Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk with a member of the Kuku Yalanji indigenous group. It was super interesting, and we learned a lot about their cultural practices and how they learn from the land. We also had a chance to swim in the gorge and had lots of fun! On Monday, we ventured farther to Lake Eacham, a beautiful lake created when a volcano erupted over 12,000 years ago. We spent lots of time swimming in the crystal-clear water, tanning (and some of us burning… eek), and chatting.
During our time at SheOak, we also met two lovely kids, Eli and Olive, who quickly became honorary members of our group. We loved hanging out with them and answering their MANY questions about American culture (our favorite being, “Do Americans really die from vending machines?”).
We left SheOak on Tuesday after a sad goodbye with Marcus and Claire and headed to Mossman to complete our first big food shop! We figured out our budget beforehand and wrote very detailed shopping lists, so we felt very prepared. We then drove to ClimateForce, the organic farm where we are spending the next week. We learned about their work and how they are trying to restore the rainforest and document their steps so they can create blueprints for other organic farms in tropical environments. So far, at ClimateForce, we have collected seeds from the rainforest and identified them, planted those seeds, done lots of weeding, planted baby trees, and spread tons of mulch. We’re enjoying our time here and look forward to the week ahead!
Top Three Highlights of the Week:
- Lake Eacham: Lake Eacham was definitely a big highlight of our week! The water was beautiful, and we loved hanging out lakeside. It was a great way to cool off from the heat.
- Campfire with Eli and Olive: We had a great campfire on our last night with Eli and Olive. Olive and Mary planned it, and it was dinosaur-themed! We played games, told stories, and roasted marshmallows—a perfect night!
- ClimateForce Progress: We’re very proud of our work so far at ClimateForce! One morning, we cleared out a huge area full of weeds and were able to plant trees there in the afternoon. It was amazing to see the impact of our work, and we’re excited about the progress.
This Week’s Challenge
Our first big group food shop was definitely a challenge! This was our first time shopping for a group this size, so it was a bit tricky figuring out how much food we needed and how to fit it into the budget, but we think we did a pretty good job! We’ve been loving all of our meals so far. 🙂
Looking Ahead
We’re super excited for our next week at ClimateForce. We’re planning to go out on the boat for a beach cleanup, and we’re also hoping to watch a controlled burn happening in the area (weather permitting—it’s been quite windy and rainy here). We’re also looking forward to cooking as a group and trying out different recipes, as well as learning more about the people here at ClimateForce and the research behind their work.
A Few Extra Highlights
- Uno Update: Clivia and Ash are tied for the most wins with seven each. Congrats to both!
- We’ve met two other volunteers here at ClimateForce and loved working and hanging out with them. Naïm is from France, and Jo is from Japan. It’s been awesome hearing all about their lives.
- We were excited to choose Gabe and Grace as the next Leaders of the Week! We’re confident they’ll do a great job. 🙂
