Earth+Day+at+Botanic+Gardens

__**Reflections**__ It was kind of nostalgic for me when I went for this trip, as I used to go there very often with my family when I was younger. I was excited as there were only 3 classes who went to the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Thursday and I had the chance to be part of this trip to get closer to nature on Earth Day. When we got to the place, there was a small lawn and behind it this huge Kapok tree which we found to be wonderful and magnificent. It has giant buttress roots taller than us, a very thick trunk, spreading branches, finger-like leaves (about 6-8 on a stalk), ferns and mosses growing on and around it, small orange fruits on creepers growing round the trunk, and pod-like fruits with black-brown seeds cushioned with cotton. I was very amazed when Ms Tan prompted us to think about how a tiny seed can grow into such a great tree! It struck me that I had not really considered that before although I have always been in awe of nature. How did the trunk get so thick and the roots so strong? Somehow I keep thinking of the green bean or kidney bean that I tried to plant when I was in primary school. Besides the Kapok tree, my group also examined the banana tree. The surface area of a leaf is about 5 times an A4 size paper! Indeed, there are so many examples in nature of how organisms are adapted to increase their surface area for maximum photosynthesis, or maximum absorption of glucose like in the human body. After the Biology part, we went on to Physics. It was interesting to learn more about the common types of birds residing there and to find out the sonograms of their calls. The rich variety of bird calls from the distinctive Asian Koel to the monotonous Coppersmith Barbet made it quite challenging to match the sonograms to the calls correctly, but I enjoyed listening to the rhythms. These sounds helped create the refreshing atmosphere present. There was also the statue of The Man Who Planted Trees, which has its inspiration from the meaningful true story. He is made up of compost which serves as nutrients, wire meshes and saplings, bringing him to life. The person working at it explained that a lot of effort has been put into him – they have to soak the plants in root hormones so that the roots will grow quickly and they will be able to insert them into the structure. She also informed us about the variety of plants they use on the different parts of the man, even variegated leaves for different colours. Lastly, we had our English picnic, which was interesting. Although the sun made it a little too hot to enjoy the picnic more, the food was pretty good and we had fun eating. I feel that this trip has been wonderful as it has reminded me to rekindle my interest in flora and fauna, to appreciate nature more and to be more active in conservation efforts as it would be real tragic to lose all these beautiful things.