Rainforest Live Extra! Extra!

Oct 1	Most of the group either hiked to Behana Gorge or went down to Lake Barrine and walked around the lake. Many of us are also reading up on literature relevant to our Directed Research projects.
Oct 2	This morning we had a great field exercise measuring the height and diameter of trees. The weather was beautiful. We were sitting in the rainforest with the sun pouring through the trees and the vines surrounding us, and we just looked around and said, “Wow!” This afternoon we will write up our field exercise papers and enjoy the sunshine.
Oct 3	The day started off with a water balloon toss that was sure to get everyone in a good mood. The class lecture focused on forest fragmentation and how it is related to the current situations that are being faced on the Atherton Tablelands. The weather is keeping everyone in a cheery mood. Life is good in the rainforest.
Oct 4	Today all of the students worked on their Directed Research projects, including the Lakes Corridor Project. This long-term project will help us determine whether a restoration planting, in a corridor between Lakes Eacham and Barrine, is encouraging animals to expand their territories.
Oct 5	After a day of rain yesterday, we began today with a gigantic group hug. We hope the clouds will break soon so that the sun is out for our field trip to Tolga Scrub. We’re going to find out what these stinging trees are all about. Tonight we will attend a lecture given by our Center Director on his past experience with plant diseases.
Oct 6	Today we had lectures in the morning. After classes, we went to visit a dairy farm in Malanda. We saw different plantings that had been done in the cow pastures and learned about dairy farming. We even saw two tree kangaroos!
Oct 7	Today our group did some field work along a creek in the town of Yungaburra. We cleared a 100-meter by 20-meter plot of land containing the weed species Lantana camara. We cleared only the weed from this area leaving the healthy plants to grow. In the future this area will be developed into a public park with help from the School for Field Studies. Later on this afternoon we will be going out into the field to count the number of cranes inhabiting nearby Hasties Swamp. After that it’s dinner, then movie time in the common room. Hopefully some students will bake!
Oct 8	Today was a relaxing day around the Center. We had a nice brunch. After brunch, half of the students went to see some beautiful waterfalls, and the other half went for a swim in Lake Eacham.
Oct 9	Today we conducted a field experiment. We went to four different fragmented rainforest sites and counted the number of birds that we saw and heard. Two of the sites were in large fragments and two were in small fragments. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effect of the fragment size on which birds can and will live there.
Oct 10	Today, all the students join together to help clean up around the Center (called "Warrowork"). The afternoon will be quiet, because many of the students will be studying and finishing up a report for a bird survey that we all participated in yesterday. We will end the day with a student meeting to talk about events of the week.
Oct 11	Wednesday is Directed Research Project Day! Each DR group is going out into the field to collect data. Some groups are catching butterflies, while others are measuring tobacco plants, finding little invertebrates, and bush-walking in the rainforest. Everyone is really busy today! We have a social tonight, and we’ll probably watch a movie!
Oct 12	The "highlight" of our day is studying for exams! Doesn’t that sound exciting? Needless to say, everything is pretty quiet around here. People are spread out all over the Center, with their notebooks and portable CD players. Some are in study groups cramming away.
Oct 13	Students are going on a field trip to Chillagoe this weekend. They'll be birding, hiking, and swimming.
Oct 16	This morning we woke up early to participate in another bird-watching field exercise. Our goal was to determine the feeding habits of different birds on the Center's property. We saw lots of birds, including a Victoria's riflebird doing a mating dance. This afternoon we will begin to write up our reports about the field exercise.
Oct 17	A brush fire is burning somewhere down near Cairns, and we’re getting a lot of smoke up here at the Center. Florry explained that it’s probably caused by the deliberate burning of sugarcane.
Oct 18	It is once again a fine sunny day with no threat of rain. Perfect for collecting data and working on our Directed Research projects. This morning the computer room is full of people scrambling to finish another field exercise report, but despite this everyone seems relaxed and stress free. Tonight we will be watching the video Cane Toads to prepare us for tomorrow night’s guest lecture from the "crocodile man".
Oct 19	Today is Chris T.’s birthday! Last night a few people baked a cake and made cards for him for a surprise birthday party. After lectures today we are going to look at several on-site plots that have been re-planted to determine which planting approach is the best for restoration projects. This evening we have a guest speaker coming to talk about crocodiles.
Oct 20	Today we are visiting the town of Yungaburra. There are several restoration tree planting areas that we are going to visit. We will also participate in lawn bowling, which is quite different from bowling in the United States.
Oct 21	We pulled woody weeds at Peterson's Creek in Yungaburra all morning to prevent transplanted rainforest tree saplings from getting overrun by them. When we were done we had accumulated a pile of branches and roots almost twelve feet tall! Everyone was proud of our teamwork and accomplishment, and we got lots of thanks from the locals.
Oct 22	Today we are going to Nandroya Falls (it’s the waterfall on the Australian postcard stamps). It’s a four-hour hike round trip, and there are a lot of fun things to do, like swimming and hiking around the waterfall. If we are really lucky, we will be able to see a platypus in the creek. It will be a full day of off-site adventure.
Oct 23	Today we engaged in some reforestation on site for Roger’s field exercise. It involved pulling lantana (a weed), digging holes, spreading fertilizer and mulch, and planting 83 rainforest tree seedlings. We all got wet and dirty, and we pulled tons of leeches off of us. The afternoon we either wrote papers analyzing the total cost of the planting, or we took a nap.
Oct 24	This morning the spangled drongo birds were chasing each other all through breakfast. Today’s activities will include morning lectures, while this afternoon we will write up lab reports and an economic analysis of yesterday’s tree planting.
Oct 25	Today was Directed Research (DR) day, so everyone split up into their DR groups and ventured into the field. The GIS group gridded the northern half of the research center property, and spent most of their time sliding down muddy hills and picking off leeches. Tonight we will entertain ourselves with greatest game of charades the southern hemisphere has ever seen!
Oct 26	The SFS students are on break until November 3.