The Hood River news., June 24, 2015, Image 24

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Hood River News, Wednesday, June 24, 2015
IN BUSINESS
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F
THE HOOD RIVER NEWS
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Photos courtesy of Lacy Corlis
CORLIS helped guide a teen conservation course on water quality, wildlife monitoring and tree preservation. “We hiked through the jun-
gle at night, a terrifying and amazing experience,” she writes. Below, Corlis counts seedlings.
es s
n
i
s
u
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in
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Continued from Page B1
jungle with Taing and Mr.
Arbu for seed collection. We
bushwhacked through the
leech-laden jungle until one
of my guides would excited-
ly notice a big tree, and we
would scour the ground
around it for various seeds,
or seedlings if we were
lucky. Each day took us to a
new location. Travelling
down tributaries off the
main Kinabatangan River
made for excellent wildlife
viewing. Mr. Arbu sat on the
bow of the boat and used his
machete to clear brush so
our boat could make it
through the narrow canals.
One afternoon, I was hav-
ing a post-lunch nap near
the lake on the deck of the
eco camp and I awoke to a
strange sound. As I rubbed
my eyes open I noticed a 3
foot long monitor lizard
grazing its tongue towards
me, just steps away. Jumping
up with a squeal, the men
working at the camp all got
a hearty laugh out of the or-
deal. The lizard slowly saun-
tered back to the water, and
as I calmed, I laughed at my-
self with the men.
In the evenings after
work, we cruised down the
river back to the village;
sunset provided the best
wildlife photo opportunities.
The monkeys head towards
river to rest at night, as do
the birds and reptiles. I saw
EWS
IVER N
OOD R
ISE
THE H
NTERPR
TION OF
MON E
PUBLICA
E S AL
14
E W HIT
JULY 20
AND TH
several species of monkey,
orangutan, kingfishers with
bright colors, storks, croco-
diles, monitor lizards,
hawks, hornbills, and so
much more. It was truly a
magical place.
■
During my stay, I also
worked in the local plant
nursery, planting and nur-
turing the seeds and
seedlings we had collected. I
spent time maintaining
trails, which basically
meant swinging a machete
until my arms went numb,
in between stints of peeling
leeches off of my skin and
pulling barbed plant strag-
glers out of my hair. One
weekend, I took a group of
teenagers out in the forest
for a camp over and environ-
mental education course. We
examined the importance of
water quality, wildlife moni-
toring and tree preservation.
We hiked through the jungle
at night, a terrifying and
amazing experience. The
nocturnal insects and birds
were something out of a fan-
tasy. At one point we all
turned off our flashlights
and just listened to the for-
est in pitch darkness. I was
surprised at their forest
knowledge; they could iden-
tify many species and they
even showed me a few plants
which we were able to har-
vest for dinner that night.
There were other days
spent out in the hot, equato-
rial sun planting trees in
lands that had previously
been palm oil plantations.
These days made me appre-
Barb Smith
Page 2
ciated the humidity and
shade during our swampy
forest hikes. I spent time
weaving away invasive vines
from freshly planted trees to
give them some space to
grow. Some days, I just spent
cleaning up the village and
offering English lessons to
anyone who wanted to prac-
tice.
■
Three weeks of volunteer-
ing went by too fast. As a re-
ward for my work, I got to
spend my last day in the
rainforest just playing.
Taing took me off on an ad-
venture about an hour up-
stream to visit some swift
bird caves and sacred burial
grounds. We spent the entire
day scrambling up and down
slopes, exploring caves,
shouting off the top of
mountains and resisting the
urge to jump into the croco-
dile-filled river to cool off.
At one point we lost our way
and spent about three hours
marking trees and searching
for a high point to find our
direction again. It was an
adventure I never wanted to
end.
On my final day, I walked
through the village and said
my goodbyes. I had found
such warmth and friendship
on that little street. Children
chased me for the last time,
and my host families came
out from their homes to give
me a hug and bid me
farewell. Mr. Arbu and
Taing presented me with
some handmade bracelets to
thank me for my work. As I
boarded the bus to head
back to Kota Kinabalu, I
cried just a little looking
back. I know that forever a
piece of my heart will rest
in Mengaris Village.
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photo
Page 50
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