***STUDENT ASSISTANCE***
FIELD BIOLOGY: OUR ONCE IN A LIFETIME RIDE
By: Karmina A. Aquino and Verna Marie Malabanan
“Aside from watching the television, reading some old and stinky books, sleeping and daydreaming, there’s nothing much that you can do inside our house. That’s why I do not ask myself why I do not usually look forward to vacations just like any other normal student. I do not want to be stuck inside the four corners of our house for two months doing nothing. I want to get up and get out and explore new things I’ve never seen and new places I’ve never been to.” –Mina
“School days are more exciting for me than vacations. I decided to join the Field Biology Program because I really wanted my vacation to be thrilling and interesting; I wanted to explore new places, I wanted to add to my knowledge about the environment, and lastly, learning that I can apply to my Science and Technology Research (STR) course.” -Verna
Field Biology is a hard subject yet it is very, very fun and exciting! The requirements to qualify for the course are stiff – interest, attendance at the orientations and passing the tests, recommendation from our Biology teachers, among other requirements.
The course consisted of two parts — preparation and the actual field activities. The preparation part started in the third week of February and included lectures, modules, film watching and our very first oral exam. For the next few weeks we had first aid training, menu preparation and swimming lessons and an orientation on hiking. The swimming part took place in our very own PSHS pool—we were made to use life vests and snorkels so that we could get used to wearing them. For the field part, from April 14 to May 5, varied destinations were planned, where for each place we had reading assignments and oral exams where the observations and data of each group were presented. The last exam was the comprehensive exam covering everything we did from start to end and where we had to memorize a long list of scientific names. We were divided into 5 groups of 4 members each for the other learning part – chores. Each group was assigned a particular chore for the day like cooking, going to the market or washing the dishes.
Our first destination was Candaba, Pampanga, which is part of the East Asian Australasian high way (this is the path which birds from nearby countries take during migration). Here we observed both endemic and migratory birds. We stayed in a small room near the barangay hall together with small creepy insects of different colors and kinds!
We went next to Mt. Pinatubo, where we hiked together with several locals from Zambales, 2 soldiers and 3 or 4 mountain climbers, for 3 hours, all the way to its very beautiful and charming crater. It was very exhausting and tiring but we were rewarded by the breath taking scenes along the trail and the very captivating view of the Crater Lake. Sadly, we only stayed there for one night. The next day we swam in the very cold lake and then had to bid good bye to the very beautiful place.
We proceeded to Alaminos, Pangasinan to explore the Hundreds Islands. We observed the distribution of plants and animals of three of the islands and snorkeled around the islands, we explored the coral reefs and swam with the fishes, and giant clams – including the scary sea jelly/jelly fish and the sea snakes! At night we saw colorful fluorescent dinoflagellates scattered near the shore.
We then went to the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) in Bolinao, Pangasinan where we stayed for almost a week (in the dormitory). We listened to the scientists and marine biologists talk about their research and other endeavors after which we did some research tasks. We studied sea urchins, sea cucumbers, diatoms and giant clams. We went to the nursery grounds of the giant clams, played with and touched the sea cucumbers and learned how they cultured diatoms. We went to a small remote island, led by their barangay captain who in partnership with the UPMSI, are taking steps towards the renewal and preservation of our natural resources. We also studied a mangrove ecosystem and two beaches—one exploited by humans and another one which has not yet been exploited and hopefully will not be breached by people’s indifference to the preservation of nature
We ‘crashed’ a party in Dagupan City and listened to the different local bands that performed that night – a different Biology! The next day we went around the city and interviewed the ‘Dagupeños’ about their very own Bangus Festival — its history, the events and its impact on the environment.
Our last stop was a forest in Subic, Zambales which is part of the JEST camp (Jungle and Environmental Survival Training Camp). 2 JEST personnel toured us around the forest and showed us some of the medicinal and other useful plants found there. Our two ‘kuyas’ demonstrated how to make our own plates, spoon and fork and glass out of bamboo. We learned how to cook rice and make fire also using bamboo. We had a fire making competition and those assigned to prepare the meals used the bamboo to cook rice. For four days we had to take baths together (if that could be considered taking a bath) in a stream near our camp site.
It is really hard to put every little thing that happened in just one essay. We shared with you some of the things we did but we cannot share with you everything. All 20 of us, 21 including Sir Niño, shared almost everything in this once in a lifetime adventure—our laughter, our tears, our fears, our secrets, and our lives. We learned a lot from this journey — and not just all the scientific names of the giant clams and many plants and animals—we learned about the lives of everybody. We became everybody and we became one!
