LC Australia Program 2011: If You Don’t Know What It Is, Don’t Touch It

By Drew Hubbard

It was finally time for us to leave Brisbane and leave our wonderful and giving home stay families, but we still had one more day of research project presentations to do before we left. The anticipation to finally boast about our projects was running high, for we had been working diligently in the library for much of our stay in Brisbane in order to finish them. Eight presentations were done during this day; topics ranged from sustainable landscape management to the idea of portraying Australian national identity when catastrophes such as flooding occur. These were all chosen by each student’s individual interest in an area of study that explores the relationship between humans and the environment.

Emily Katzman researched whale exploitation and how whales were originally exploited for their oil (to burn in lamps and make soap). What was interesting is that she explained whale exploitation still occurs, but has been converted from killing the whales to using whale watching as a form of making a sustainable income off of whales. Several of the students, including myself, explored topics in which industries exploit the land for commercial goods. I did my project on a specific type of landscape management created by Peter Andrews that creates a sustainable and holistic agriculture layout, one that decreases salinity, water problems, and fertility problems in the Australian landscape. Anna-Brooke Gutzler talked about mining; it surprised me when she explained that Australia is one of two countries that can continually increase its carbon emissions under the provisions of the Kyoto treaty. Rebecca Snow explored the timber industry in Tasmania, which is currently very controversial because a new paper mill was recently approved there. Surprisingly, this mill will actually use more trees that are supposed to be protected while the company wait for non-native plantation trees to grow. They’re Antarctic remnant species and hardwoods, which is why they’re so special. There were many presentations, but for the sake of length I can only briefly describe the remaining topics: John Sweeney and Ryan explored the floods from different perspectives, while Marni Bates researched gold tourism in Ballarat, Victoria. Finally, Delaney did her project on how a certain Aboriginal group kept their ties to the land through their art.

After the presentations and the stressful week came to an end, it was clear that many of us were very excited for the upcoming week off. As we got ready to leave to each of our destinations, we said our goodbyes to our home stay families. As for John and my home stay family, it was difficult to say goodbye. They were such a giving and caring family, and Kathryn, Richard, “Dotty”, “Ikey”, and “Tom Tom” will be missed greatly. Since I’m very young at heart, staying with three children was a blast full of swimming, water gun fights, and even ballet lessons from “Dotty”. Let me say right now, she was a tough teacher and I quickly learned to “tuck my butt in,” “tuck my stomach in” and “keep my head up.” I now know one thing about ballet: it is extremely hard and very different from football, to say the least. Luckily, John gets to spend several more days with them after the program has concluded. If you’re reading this Deery family, know that you will be missed and thank you for everything and all the love.

As for the week off, I’m sure everyone had as much fun as I did relaxing and taking advantage of the beach and its refreshing warm water. The group I was in (John, Sara, Delaney, Emily, Hannah, Melanie) went to Byron Bay, New South Wales, and stayed for six days at what looked like an extremely interesting and peaceful hostel called the Arts Factory. It most certainly exceeded our expectations because it was like a special little hippie paradise. This hostel rests on five acres of land and many of the actual rooms are funky abodes such as teepees and even an old “groovy bus” converted into a room. Bryon Bay is an extremely popular tourist area for this hippie vibe, so we met primarily people from all over the world except Bryon Bay. Needless to say, the people were great and the town was delightfully small and inviting. The ocean was very warm no matter what time of the day, and the waves are almost too big to body surf. That does not mean I didn’t continually try (and succeed every once in awhile), despite the many times I was smashed by waves and tossed around like a ragdoll. No broken bones and no stings, so we as a group did pretty well! Basically, the days were full of beach, writing papers and just relaxing and lying around in hammocks all day. It was exactly what we all were looking for and needed after several weeks of tests and presentations in Brisbane. As for the other groups, I do not know exactly what they did. Some people went to Noosa, which is located three hours north of Brisbane. It sounds like they did the same thing we did, just relaxing and taking a much-earned break.

It was a long journey all the way from Byron Bay to Gladstone, where students were to meet up and continue on to Heron Island together. In short, it took our group from six in the morning until midnight, when we arrived in Gladstone. It was quite the journey and by the end we all were tired, but we were welcomed by a small and quiet Gladstone. We did not get to know this town very well; we stayed only a night there. But, we were all excited to meet at the Gladstone Marina for the boat ride to Heron Island. What started off as excitement to see each other quickly turned into a struggle because the boat ride was…rough! I believe I speak for all in saying that there was no amount of travel sickness pills I could have taken to calm my stomach down from the giant waves the boat was hurling us through. A few students unfortunately puked, but many of us just clung to our seats with white knuckles and hoped it would be over soon. I know I wanted to jump up and celebrate when they said there were only 30 minutes left. My mindset completely changed when we made our way onto the dock and saw the beautiful coral reef surrounding an absolutely gorgeous island. As I’m sure most people did, I quickly forgot about that terrible boat ride and was just mesmerized by my surroundings. It was certainly the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life, and I wouldn’t believe someone if they told me a couple years ago that I would be seeing this with my own eyes.

We were then taken to the kitchen where we were fed basically like royalty by the ever fantastic cook Maggie. After this, we were given a brief lecture explaining how the research facility worked and what to do in emergencies. We were also told that the other side was a resort and to not venture over there too much, but I think we couldn’t be any louder and more disturbing to guests than the 100s of different bird calls sounding all day…and night! One of these birds even sounds like a crying baby, so it does sound quite strange when you’re listening for it. We then had our first lecture, which explained all of the glorious things found in the reef that can kill you or send you into such excruciating pain that you can drown. But no worries mate, we were quickly told these animals are only dangerous when you’re doing something dumb. These creatures include sea snakes, the Blue Ringed Octopus, the Stone Fish, a Jelly Fish and the more than occasional coral cut that can get infected. The Stone Fish caught my attention because it contains 13 spines that have poison sacs on them; these spines can penetrate basically through whatever is on your feet. Yes, many of these are extremely dangerous but that’s only if you are not doing what you are supposed to do. Basically if you don’t know what it is don’t touch it, and wait until our biology lecturer Derek Ball gives us permission to touch, taste or smell something.

The next lecture explained the basics about what makes up Heron Reef and the other creatures that use it as a habitat. I was surprised to hear that coral reefs are very specific and unique depending on where they are located; Heron Island is a special and particular type of coral reef found nowhere else in the world. Interestingly, coral reef is primarily made up of coralline algae, which are responsible for the majority of the production of limestone as cement to hold everything together. This is a symbiotic relationship in which the coral gives the algae a place to live while the algae supply the coral with sugar as well as cementing things together. The majority of coral reefs are actually composed of many different coral polyps, so they are actually a single colonial organism. It was so surprising to be taught about the vast biodiversity found within the coral reef, and the bizarre animals that inhabit it. Starfish for example feed by puking their whole stomach out; this stomach then surrounds the coral and “eats” the algae and then gets suck back into the sea star. The important thing to know about this lecture is the balance and role that everything plays within the ecosystem. Once one thing is affected, everything else is affected as well, because everything is in a dynamic relationship. This makes it very complex as far as the actual management of this ecosystem, which it is why it is so important to make sure that we are not affecting the environment significantly.

Dinner was absolutely wonderful, and I must say that I feel very spoiled to be feed so well after my week off. This is because my diet in Byron Bay consisted mainly of PB&J’s for breakfast and lunch! After dinner, several people within the group went out to see baby turtles try and start their rough journey from their nest to the ocean. Several people actually saw these little turtles emerge from their nest and march down the beach toward the water, but they had to be careful with their lights since they attract the poor little guys. If you are not paying attention, they will follow you and your flashlight all the way back to camp. They are not the smartest, but they are cute as hell! The reason they follow the light is because they’ve adapted to follow the moonlight out to sea. Because most of the group had been travelling all day, many of us went to bed rather early.

The second day of Heron Island was even more beautiful than the first, and we were in for some great treats! We all ate a fabulous breakfast and slowly woke up after several cups of coffee. Once we had our caffeine spike, it was time for another interesting lecture on the colonization of islands by plants and animals. It blew my mind to realize that 37% of threatened and endangered species rely on island habitats, which means those habitats must be managed very carefully in order to preserve them. It may come as a surprise to some, but the sand on Heron Island is actually composed of skeletal remains of dead organisms. Yes, this means it is not the finest sand in the world but it’s still utterly beautiful. This island is actually a coral cay, and was formed when wind blew the sand up into a concentrated area. Vegetation gradually established itself via water, wind, or was carried by humans or other organisms. The sand will gradually become a more fertile soil as decaying organic matter breaks down. Sadly, stupid tourists feed birds and this has created a major Silver Gull problem. This causes more predation on poor baby turtles because they are picked off one by one by these nasty birds. As you can tell, I don’t like them very much; besides, they are loud and annoying.

After the lecture, Derek then showed us around the island and pointed out several interesting biological activities that were going on as we walked by them. We learned about the Noddie bird that lives and nests in the Pisonia tree. The Noddie and Pisonia have a symbiotic relationship, in which the tree uses the bird as both to transport its seed and also benefit from fertilization. These seeds are very spiny and stick to the bird. Sometimes so many stick to the bird will actually become incapable of flying and starve on the ground, giving both a spot for the seed as well as nutrition for it to grow. Another interesting bird, the Shearwater, actually digs a rather deep hole into the ground and only lays one chick. These holes are easily collapsible, however and you must dig the chick out if you ever do collapse it because it will die if you don’t. On the way back we got the privilege of seeing a baby turtle race toward the ocean. These little guys are basically riding dirty because once they leave the nest, everything is out to get them. As we all cheered for this turtle, we saw it struggle to get over large rocks and it finally made it to the water. Our yelling quickly went from cheering to screams of horror as a silver gull (or murder, as I like to call them), snatched this little turtle and flew away with it. I would have intervened if I could, but since it’s a preservation area we have to let nature takes its course.

We then had the luxury of snorkeling in the harbor, where many of us saw exotic organisms. It was a learning experience for me, being my first time with fins, a snorkel, and exotic waters. I quickly learned how to get around in the water and not drown, and I personally saw a shark, lion fish and many other exotic fish. Others said they saw a very large manta ray, but sadly I didn’t get to see it. This was such an exhilarating experience, and no doubt none of us will forget how much fun it was to actually snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef! After this, we put our booties on and got to walk out through the coral reef flat. We saw firsthand how much biodiversity actually exists within the reef. It’s hard to explain everything we saw, but there was a wide range of different corals, sea cucumbers and starfish. These differences accounted for their abilities to defend themselves from predators and also defend themselves from waves. It was actually hard to keep balance walking through the narrow sand paths in between the corals. I found myself several times almost falling face first into corals, which I’m guessing would be rather painful. We did this walk in order to look for certain things we could explore for our science projects. It was quite an experience and aside from my worries of getting stung, I was so happy and grateful to have experienced it.

How could this seemingly perfect day end? Well, after dinner we all left as a group to search for baby turtles making their way from their nests to the ocean. It seemed like a rather slow day for turtle traffic at first, but as we were walking back I noticed a single turtle. This little guy was booking it toward the ocean, so I turned to show Andy, Philip and Nat. We were delighted to see a plethora of up to 40 baby turtles running toward our flashlights. I was so excited to see them and made sure to call out to the rest of the group to come and see. As everyone ran up to see, we all stopped and the little turtles crawled over our feet and followed our flashlights right into the ocean. Because baby turtles have a 1 in 1000 chance of surviving, seeing this happen certainly touched a full range of emotions. I personally like to think that every last one of those turtles made it out just fine! I believe I speak for everyone when I say this was definitely not a lazy Sunday late afternoon. This was an experience of a lifetime! Enjoy the pictures because they are pretty awesome.

This giant teepee was our funky abode in Byron Bay
which saved us from the rain…sometimes.

Just kicking it in front of the Great Barrier Reef,
not a big deal really.

This is our badass leader Derek Ball who is basically
teaching all there is to know about the coral reef. He is my hero!

This was the crew that went to Noosa, and they are
riding the wind in the National Park.

This little guy has a 1 in 1000 chance to survive to
adulthood, so that makes him all the cuter!

These suits are even more comfortable and ninja-like than
they look! This pose was prior to many of us awkwardly stretching
and doing karate as soon as the suits were on.