Jess recalls "We spent the first afternoon getting to know the ‘Mainland students’ and solidifying our fish identification skills. Having only memorising the fish species the night before and on the plane we were all trying our best!"
Once the team finished snorkelling at Darlington Jetty, they had lunch. They were happy for Sally Stutsel from Wild Mob for feeding 24 hungry teenagers. After a bit of setting up in the Chapel (where lectures and sampling was held) they went for a hike to fossil cliffs. The lectures at night went until 10pm, despite the freezing cold nights within the Chapel the lectures were amazing. "It's incredible to hear from experienced researchers including Dr. Scott Ling, Dr. Mary-Anne Lea and Dr Simon Reeves, the impacts of climate change is incredibly vast and complex so it was again amazing to hear their research within the lectures" said Jess.
"I’ve learnt a lot during this trip, including the ability interpret biological and environmental data, communication and team work and working within the field. The students whom were picked on for this trip were exceptionally talented, and it was great working with other students from NSW, WA and TAS. We didn't always collect samples/data during ideal conditions but we did it for the data, we got to experience real conditions that some scientists have to work in and the immense work that goes into scientific research. Once the trip is over we are all left with a field diary to turn in and a 1000 word essay that is due in a couple of weeks, our marks at the end of the trip counts towards a unit of the Bachelor of Marine and Antarctic Science at UTAS."
What an amazing experience Jess.
