Cyclone Justin was just the start of a week of chaos for us. We spent many
evenings making plans for spring break, which had been approaching faster
than any of us had anticipated. We eventually had our plans and groups to
travel with. Then Justin came, stayed, and left us flooded out of the center
because of high rivers. We stayed in our evacuation site until we finally were
able to cross the river. That left us with one day to study for the exam and
make new plans for the break. Much of Queensland had been hit and many of
our destination places were not worth going to because of all the damage or
could not be reached because of the flooding.
Eight of us headed north to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas. To say the
least it was absolutely beautiful. We camped the whole week and spent time
resting and relaxing; a much needed break. Apurva and I rented bikes and
went to a beautiful creek. We were able to swing on some large vines, watch
some four wheel drive vehicles drive across the creek and then head a bit
further upstream to a beautiful swimming hole.
Easter Sunday I went to a historical church in Port Douglas. Instead of the
usual stained glass windows, it had a huge window in the front overlooking the
sea. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful church. Sunday night we met in
Cairns to head back to the center to begin working on our directed research
projects.
This week has flown by now that we are back in the swing of things. We just
got back from spring break, and are hard at work on our directed research
projects. Although our plans to hike Hinchenbrook Island were ruined because
of Cyclone Justin, we still had an amazing five days. A bunch of us rented a
Land Cruiser ("Babs"), and went out to see a bit of the country. We went to
see the caves at Chillagoe, and managed to camp at a beautiful waterfall almost
every night. Except the mosquitoes, everything went smoothly; it was really
hard to come back to the center after an experience like that.
My directed research topic involves ethnobotanical research, and recording
information for various aboriginal cultures. It is important to give credit to these
groups for the knowledge they possess for two important reasons: first,
information about the rainforest is becoming harder and harder to find as the
elder aborigines slowly begin to die off, and second, if a pharmaceutical
company tries to come in and use a particular plant for a drug, the aborigines
that use this plant will not be cheated out of credit or economic benefit.
Next week we will go on an overnight trip with George Davis, an elder of the
Mulanburra clan, to survey and discuss different plants on his land. As an
anthropology major, getting an opportunity to do this kind of work is a dream
come true.
My Directed Research Project
by Rosemary Penna
A large portion of the land in Far North Queensland has been cleared for both
agriculture and development. Deforestation of the land results in the loss and
fragmentation of habitat. When fragmentation occurs, the range of birds and
abundance of the rainforest flora and fauna are affected.
Corridors have been used as one way to minimize the negative effects of
fragmentation. A corridor connecting rainforest fragments has two main
functions: to provide habitat and to aid the movement of isolated species.
Riparian corridors use the land around a waterway as the link between
fragments. Toohey's Creek Corridor, an example of a riparian corridor
connects Gadgarra State Forest with Lake Barrine National Park. A mix of
tree species have been planted in order make the corridor. It will take a
number of years for the plantings to mature enough to be effective. My study
aims to do three things: to conduct a survey of the present bird populations of
the corridor, determine the ways various bird groups are using the habitat, and
to compare this information with past data in order to find any significant
changes in Toohey's Creek Corridor.
