A Bittersweet Experience
First of all, I’m very glad for the return of BEAP this semester. In my point of view, learning about the natural environment has to take place in nature itself. Only in this way can we truly understand and appreciate nature.
As much as I was pleased to be able to venture out into the forest, sad to say, I felt rather disappointed due to the fact that the trekking still had a number of drawbacks. Again, this time, the speed at which the trekking was done was not slow enough to enable the trekkers, especially the new ones to look around. Yes, I agree that the pace was reduced compared to the previous ones (last semester), and we did stop a few times, but many of the trekkers were not explained about the forest and the things that were found in it. However, I’m not saying that the trekking lacked educational values. I believe that by going into the forest, and by exploring it, there are still a lot of valuable lessons that can be gained. Watching documentaries on rainforests and wildlife, no matter how realistic they may seem, is not the same as being in the forest itself. There’s nothing like experience; experience is the best teacher!
First of all, I’m very glad for the return of BEAP this semester. In my point of view, learning about the natural environment has to take place in nature itself. Only in this way can we truly understand and appreciate nature.
As much as I was pleased to be able to venture out into the forest, sad to say, I felt rather disappointed due to the fact that the trekking still had a number of drawbacks. Again, this time, the speed at which the trekking was done was not slow enough to enable the trekkers, especially the new ones to look around. Yes, I agree that the pace was reduced compared to the previous ones (last semester), and we did stop a few times, but many of the trekkers were not explained about the forest and the things that were found in it. However, I’m not saying that the trekking lacked educational values. I believe that by going into the forest, and by exploring it, there are still a lot of valuable lessons that can be gained. Watching documentaries on rainforests and wildlife, no matter how realistic they may seem, is not the same as being in the forest itself. There’s nothing like experience; experience is the best teacher!
One of the aspects of this trekking that I was really glad about is that the bin managers collected the rubbish that were littered in the forest. The lecturers and some of the other trekkers also helped in keeping the forest clean, by picking up pieces of papers that went unnoticed, and by removing the tracking ribbons that were used for this trekking and the ones that were used previously by other trekkers. In addition, the bin managers also collected the litter outside the forest after the trekking. A job well done! It is very important that we observe cleanliness of the natural environment. A responsible trekker leaves nothing behind, except footprints.
