Our day in San Juan / A muddy day!

Yesterday we had a "day off", which meant we drove to a beach near San Juan in the morning and then to Old San Juan to look around and have dinner. It was so much fun, and although I have been LOVING my time in the rainforest, it was nice to get out of the mud and just relax. The beach was beautiful, and the water was so warm... I stayed in for about 2 hours and came out a total prune! Old San Juan was a very cool town. I visited the old Spanish fort, El Morro, and I was amazed at how high the walls were! They still had some of the cannons there, too. The streets were neat to just walk around and sightsee. We had dinner at a great Puerto Rican restaurant, and then headed back to the rainforest.

Old San Juan (the view from El Morro)

It rained a lot yesterday and last night, so we had a very muddy day today. We hiked out to a new plot and measured several of the hardwood trees. My job today was to measure the diameter of each tree. I had a special measuring tape that I had to wrap around each tree at a specific height, which I measured with a pole. It started to rain pretty hard around 2:00, so we headed back to camp, where they needed our help getting ready for the upcoming hurricane season. I worked on putting up some shutters on the windows. Finally it was shower time... my favorite time of the day! :) I can't believe tomorrow is my last day here! I am having so much fun, even though it is hard work.

Now I'll answer a few more of your questions.

Mrs. Jackson's class asked me: Are coqui frogs nocturnal?
A: Yes, although sometimes you can hear them in the daytime.

Mrs. Jackson's class also asked: Do coqui frogs live in groups?
A: No, they are solitary animals. But sometimes when it's really dry, they will group together around a wet area, like a mud puddle.

Becca asked: What's a "juvenile"?
A: A young frog that's not yet an adult. When we did our frog study, we had to specify whether the frogs we saw were adults or juveniles.

Fun fact: Coqui frogs don't go through a tadpole stage. They're born looking like frogs!

Frog Hunting

Tonight we went out on our coqui frog study... I spent 3 hours crawling on my hands and knees in the dark, searching for tiny little frogs. I had to wear a headlamp in order to see properly. Isn't it fashionable? Haha! We had to identify which species they were, and if they were adults or juveniles. My team focused on a 50 meter area. The team is trying to see if the coqui population is decreasing or not. It seems to be decreasing in many areas, but certainly not the one we were in... we saw about 500 of them! Some of them were so tiny they fit on my pinky fingernail! We also saw several other cool things, like a big scorpion, a stick bug (a bug that looks just like a stick), and a couple of clutches of frog eggs!

It's about midnight right now, and tomorrow we're taking a day off to go to the beach and into Old San Juan, so I won't be putting many photos up tonight. But you can check out Mr. Lafond's blog to see his cool pics! I'll be updating the blog again on Thursday.

Data Day

This morning we only went out for about 3 hours to finish measuring trees in the plot where we left off yesterday. It had rained overnight, so it was REALLY muddy (mud = slipping and sliding = fun times!), but it didn't rain while we were out in the rainforest. I had a really easy job... the data recorder! Basically, I just sat or stood nearby and when people took their measurements, I wrote them down on a data sheet. I found a little snail friend who hung out with me and kept me company for the morning. We came back early for lunch, and we'll be doing our frog study tonight. I can't wait to see what that's like! I'm a little nervous to hike around in the dark, but it will be so cool to see and hold lots of coqui tree frogs!

Since I have a little extra time this afternoon, I thought I might answer some of the questions you've been asking me. Most of these questions were asked by students in my class before I left on this trip (special thanks to Noelle for typing them up for me):

Mikayla & Allison asked: What kinds of animals live there?
A: Mostly frogs, lizards, snails, snakes (the boa is one), LOTS of bugs (it seems like at least 300 different kinds!), and a few mammals... the mongoose is probably the largest mammal here.

Noelle, Austin, & Kara asked: How many kinds of frogs live there?
A: There are 13 species of frog on the island of Puerto Rico, but we will only look at two of them on our frog study night.

Hannah D. asked: What do tree frogs eat?
A: They eat many different insects.

Emily asked: How deep does the mud get there?
A: I'm not sure how deep it can get, but I've sank down to my ankles and I'm told that it gets much deeper when it rains for days. Let's hope I don't have to find out! :)

Olivia asked: How long has the rainforest been there?
A: The rainforest I'm in has only been here for about 100 years. Before that, the land was used for other things like a coffee plantation. When those people left, the rainforest began to grow... and grow... and grow! It's amazing how tall these trees are, even though they aren't that old!

Jacob asked: How was your trip?
A: Long... and my luggage didn't arrive with me, but it did get here on the second day! Thanks to everyone for your concern. :)

Great questions, guys... I'll try to answer more in the next few days. After I do this frog study tonight, I should be able to answer many more of your frog-related questions.

Rain!

This morning, I awoke to the sound of rain pattering on the roof of the bunkhouse. It was still dark, so I didn't bother climbing down from my bunk and looking out the window. I just laid in bed for a while and listened. The coqui frogs were making lots of noise and soon I was lulled back to sleep. When I got up for breakfast, it had stopped raining... for the moment.

Once we hiked down to the area where we would be working, the rain started again. It was pretty cool at first, because even though it was raining, I wasn't getting wet! The canopy of the rainforest was catching all the raindrops before they reached me. But then it started raining harder. And harder. We were all trying our best to climb up and down the steep slopes to do our measurements, but it was difficult to get a foothold. We kept slipping and sliding downhill, whether we wanted to or not! :)

Eventually, it stopped raining and we ended up getting a lot of work done. I was working with Matt, another teacher, on measuring the width of the trees' canopies. Basically, we had to look up to see how far each canopy extended. We took two measurements for each tree: a north-south measurement and an east-west measurement. It took a long time because of the muddy terrain, and I was so tired by the time we hiked back to our camp!

Hiking back was an adventure... the trail had become so muddy that my shoes literally sank down to my ankles in some places! When I got back to camp, I had to laugh... the backside of my pants are now completely and permanently mud-stained. I had to rinse my shoes with the hose and lay them out to dry. I hope they dry before tomorrow morning!


Tonight should be a relaxing night... our frog study was postponed until tomorrow night. And tomorrow afternoon I'll be talking with Mrs. Jackson's class on a live webcast! I can't wait to share my adventures with her students!


Some of the people on my Earthwatch team (left to right):

Molly, Camille, Rachel, Jeff, Joe, Alison, Matt

Day 2

Today we went out to the same plot and took some more tree measurements. This time, I was on a team that was measuring the height of the trees. To do this, I used an instrument called a clinometer. Here's a picture of me using one:

The clinometer basically uses a scale that I could see when I looked into it. It told me the angle I was holding it at, and then I had to measure the distance between me and the tree to calculate the total tree height. What a lot of math!

Today I saw the biggest tree I've ever seen! It's called a Ceiba tree, and in some cultures they consider it to be sacred. I felt even shorter than usual when I stood next to it!

I also got stuck in a lot of vines today, which was a little annoying but mostly fun. I feel a lot like Indiana Jones out here!

Still no rain, but I'm hoping it will rain tomorrow. We're supposed to go out on our frog study tomorrow night! :)

First day in the field

Quick note about last night: I saw the coolest bug I've ever seen... it's a beetle that's shaped kind of like a football, but on its back it has two bright green spots that glow at night! I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I walked back from the bathroom, and it looked like 2 small round green lights (like the kind you might see on a TV or computer). Then I shined my flashlight on it and saw that it was a bug that was moving! Wow!

Today was our first day of actually going out and working for a whole day. We started out by eating a good breakfast, packing our lunch for the day, and getting all our gear together. Even though it was hot, we had to wear long sleeves and long pants to protect ourselves from bugs, sharp branches, razor grass, etc. We hiked for about half an hour until we reached the area we would be studying. Finding the area was a challenge! It's an acre of land that has been marked off by brightly colored surveying tape tied onto trees along the north, south, east and west borders. Once we found it, we broke into teams and were assigned different tasks.

I worked with a college student named Rachel for the day. We had to walk the entire acre in a grid pattern. We started at the northwestern corner of the plot and had to count 11 paces south and 13 paces east. Our tools were pretty simple: a pole and a prism. We put the pole in the ground and the prism on top, and then used the prism to determine how many trees were in our immediate area. We rotated around the pole 360 degrees until we had seen the entire area. Then we walked another 13 paces east and took another measurement. Once we reached the eastern border, we took 11 more paces south and then started walking to the western border again. In all, we took 20 different measurements, all in different spots. The purpose of our job is to find out how many trees are located in that particular acre of land.

This task doesn't sound very difficult, but when you're trying to stand on a very steep, muddy slope and look at trees through a little prism, it can be quite challenging! There were many times when we just sat down and slid down a slope, rather than try to walk down it. The best part of our task was that we got to see a lot of different areas. There were so many interesting trees, flowers, frogs, insects, etc... we kept stopping to take pictures, which probably slowed us down, but we didn't really care. When we were about halfway through our task, we stopped for lunch. It was amazing to be sitting in the middle of a rainforest, eating lunch! The coolest thing I saw today was this tree. It looked like it had teeth growing out of it! It's called Martinique prickly-ash. I also found a leaf that was as tall as I am!

I'm very tired after a long, hard (but fun!) day of work. I'm looking forward to a hot meal and a comfy bed. Tonight the people we're staying with have arranged for salsa dancing instructors to come up and give us some lessons! So I guess I'll be learning to salsa! My feet hurt, but it sounds like fun anyway, so I'll give it a try. Wish me luck! :)

Training Day

I just got back from our training day. I learned so much today! First we had a delicious breakfast of omelettes, toast, oatmeal, and fruit. Then we sat down in the "dining room" area and Sally, the principal investigator, gave a talk about what we'll be doing for the next week. She explained that the goal of this project is to prove that the rainforest can be used to make money in a responsible way that does not destroy the environment. Our job here is to take measurements on a variety of trees, so we had to learn how to use all the different tools. Here are photos of the dining area and Sally:

Then we were off on a hike into the rainforest! We had to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts to protect ourselves from razor grass and toxic tree sap. It was a HOT and HUMID day, so I got pretty gross and sweaty! We hiked for a while until we found some trees to practice taking measurements. My favorite tool to measure with is called a "clinometer". We used it to measure the height of each tree.. Just being out in the rainforest for the first time was amazing! It is a beautiful place, and I can see why Sally and her team are trying to find ways to preserve it. Here is a photo of the canopy (top layer) as I looked up at it from the ground:

Here's a challenge for you: I took this photo of an interesting plant I saw in the rainforest. See if you can figure out what it is!

(Hint: it hasn't quite "unfurled" itself yet.)

It didn't rain yet today, but I'm hoping for some later tonight! After all, it IS a RAINforest!

I finally made it!

After a long day of traveling, I'm finally here in the middle of the beautiful green Puerto Rican rainforest. (Although my luggage didn't quite make it yet... but that's another story.) I flew out of Phoenix at midnight and arrived in San Juan at 1:20 p.m. As soon as I stepped outside, I could feel the humidity. My hair, skin, and clothes all felt immediately damp and sticky, which I am not used to at all, since I live in a desert! Then I met up with my team: another teacher from Boston and 9 other volunteers, all very interesting people from different parts of the world. We packed all of our luggage in a big white van and crammed in. Then we drove for an hour and a half out of the city and into the rainforest. As we drove, I watched the scenery pass by and I couldn't believe how green everything is here! There are giant trees and plants with massive leaves!

When we got here, we were given a tour by Sally Silverstone, the principal investigator for this expedition. She showed us where we would be sleeping... women in a bunkhouse (I'm on a top bunk!) and men in tents. We saw the bathroom, which is basically a small building with stalls containing showers and toilets. The kitchen is in a separate building, and the living/dining area is attached to it, but it's an open-air area with no walls... just a roof with tables, chairs, and a comfy hammock underneath. To get from "room" to "room", you basically follow a path outside. It's so neat! I am surrounded by nature!

I can already hear the call of the coqui frogs all around me. They are pretty noisy, and as the evening grows darker, they are getting even louder! I think I'll be using my earplugs tonight. I'm off to bed early, since I didn't sleep much on my flight. Tomorrow is supposed to be a "training day", where I'll learn all about the project and how to use the different tools. Check back tomorrow for an update!

Almost ready!

Wow! I can't believe I'll be in the rainforest of Puerto Rico in just a few days! I spent this past weekend looking over my packing checklist to make sure I have everything I need. I will be taking lots of extra socks and t-shirts... I don't want to be walking around in wet clothes. I'll need to use my BIG suitcase!

I have been looking online to learn more about the rainforest and the coqui (tree frog). Here are a couple of good websites I found:

Eye on the Rainforest (Info. about the place where I'll be staying and working)

Coqui tree frog (About the coqui)

You can also learn more about my expedition by clicking on the links under the map on the right side of this page, or by clicking here: Earthwatch Expedition

I am getting so excited for this adventure! I hope you'll check in on me to see what I'm doing... you can post comments and questions, and I'll answer you!