Program Reviews

In 2016 eight Year 11 Parade College students attended our first overseas Opwall Science expedition. We were the first Victorian school to participate in this program and the first Australian school to visit the Cuba site.

We participated in the 2 week marine research program where we got SCUBA qualified and
undertook scientific fieldwork. This experience allowed the boys to access a largely unvisited marine park and allowed the boys to gain valuable experience in responsible tourism and marine conservation, while also undertaking a cultural immersion. The lectures, activities and staff were all amazing. Upon returning one student said it cemented his interest in an ecology career, which is evidence to the immense impact such an experience had on the boys.

This summer I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a 4-week expedition to Indonesia working as a marine research assistant with Operation Wallacea, the very region in which Wallace had made many of his invaluable observations. Having never been in Indonesia beforehand, I was quite nervous when I boarded the first plane to the Coral Triangle. Forty-eight hours and four flights later, I finally arrived in Bau Bau, which is situated on an island in South East Sulawesi. During my first week I undertook an important Reef Survey Technique course. Through the three daily lectures, I learned to identify over 200 marine organisms and their attributes in great detail, as well as learning about their habitat, reef ecology and protection mechanisms. With a persistent jetlag this was a challenging task but most rewarding. Nothing compares to the experience of spotting organisms in their natural habitat during the daily dives. My first sighting of a juvenile pufferfish sleeping on a soft coral was very memorable. These encounters became part of my daily routine and turned every dive into a new adventure. Whilst diving in such a rich and dense marine habitat, I learned various techniques on how to best survey the abundance of organisms underwater. Practical skills which I could have never aquired at Uni.

During my second week in Bau Bau, I joined the monitoring team, where I applied my newly acquired skills and knowledge to actively contribute towards Opwall’s conservation efforts.
The team plays an integral role in collecting the data needed to establish a marine protected area around the Opwall site on Buton. Throughout the week, I learned how to process and analyse the raw data in the dry lab after collecting it during our two daily morning dives. This included several hours of analysing stereo-video data to assess fish abundance. Without Wi-Fi and only weak cellular data arising questions had to be solved the traditional way using reference books or by conferring with the other scientists and staff on site. This probably took longer than simply typing a question into google but often sparked interesting discussions among our group. The evenings were spent playing card games with the Indonesian staff.
This week really showed me how much a scientist can achieve to protect our environment. While an activist can chain himself to a tree and might protect it from being cut down, a team of scientist can protect the whole forest.

The two weeks flew by and it was time to head off with a group of students to the second Opwall site in the middle of the night. Two ferries brought us to the astonishingly beautiful Island of Hoga, situated in the Wakatobi National Park. The marine research centre on Hoga is Operation Wallacea’s flagship, with a marine protected area having been established there in 1996. Stripped of all modern conveniences, including running water and air conditioning, I quickly adapted to the new setting and fell in love with the way of life on the remote island: living in a traditional wooden hut on stilts, recycling waste and minimising water consumption in order to protect the beautiful environment.
As a research assistant, I helped dissertation students gather data for their different projects ranging from behavioural studies of fish to ecological studies on coral and sponge association. During those dives and snorkels, I was struck by how more abundant the fish and corals where on Hoga than around Bau Bau, where we had encountered destructive blast fishing several times. This was proof of the positive impact of a marine protected area on the fish and coral population.

In my final week, I had the opportunity to embrace Indonesian culture and learn about locals’ livelihood, fishing practices and beliefs when I took part in the culture course. A memorable experience was the visit to a fishing village near Hoga where local fishermen had started seaweed farming, which can be used to produce agar and provides an alternative income source to fishing. This was an eye opening experience which made clear to me that there is so much more to conservation than conducting research and introducing fishing quotas. This showed that the protection of the environment can only be successful if scientific research is synchronised with locals’ lives. I would therefore highly recommend the culture course to all students, even if your main focus is the research.

The expedition was an incredibly rewarding experience, and left me with an increased breadth of scientific and practical skills and a close insight into field research. The people I met in Indonesia sparked my passion for protecting these unique habitats. I would therefore recommend this program not only to people who are already studying marine biology, but also to everyone who is up for discovering a new world under water.

It was a wonderful expierence which I will remember for the rest of my life. Madagascar was very different from the UK such as the climate, the diet, the species ect. One of my favourite memorys was at the first camp we went to which was a two hour walk away from base camp and we were really lucky to have crab and chips for dinner except I'd never tried eating crab claws before
 I was sitting at the table with the local guides and they tried to teach me how to open them but I was hopeless. The guides found it very humorous very time the claw slipped out of my hand bit with a lot of coaching I managed a small but to large victory to me that I managed it. Another small but for me great success was the walk back to Base Camp because I really thought i wouldn't be able to make it up the, what seemed like, a vertical slope but when I got to the top being in front of my other peers I felt a rush of adrelile and I was breathtaken as I looked over the landscape. The feeling of awe I felt standing there is a feeling I'll never forget. I also did some scuba diving and how could anyone forget driving down and swimming with turtles at a arms length away from you. At just 17 and to have this amazing personal victory is amazing and I'd defiantly recommend doing a exhibition.

The two weeks I spent in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest were two of the most incredible, unforgettable weeks of my life. I would recommend Operation Wallacea expeditions to anyone who has the opportunity to go on one, as I would go back again in a heartbeat.

From early morning breakfasts in the rainforest for mistnetting (where we ringed and measured birds such as Wire Tailed Manakins and even a Toucan!) to late night canoe trips upriver to catch and measure Caiman (and stroking their stomachs to keep them calm) everything we did was absolutely amazing. What made the trip more amazing were the groups we worked in, the people we became close to and the funny times we shared as people fell into the swamps in the jungle or couldn't catch a fish in a survey.

Nearly everyday we had lectures about the local area or different types of birds and animals native to the Amazon Rainforest. All the lectures were really interesting and made the surveys we carried out more meaningful as we understood more of what we were seeing and doing. The lecturers, biologists and guides were honestly some of the kindest people I have ever met and had the pleasure to work with.

From floating upriver counting pod size of dolphins to trekking into the jungle and recording monkey group size and activity, there was never a boring moment and always something new to try out whilst on the surveys (such as GPS, filling out data forms or using different measuring devices). The skills you learn whilst on an Operation Wallacea trip are so valuable and you don't even feel like you are learning difficult techniques as everything is so fun and interesting.

Nothing could ever beat waking up on the boat that has become your home and seeing dolphins jumping outside the window on one side and the jungle teeming with life on the other. Exotic birds and butterflies fly over and around the top deck where you can spend free time washing, reading or just getting to know everyone you are sharing the incredible experience with. The sunsets that lit up the sky every evening were absolutely breathtaking.

There may have been a few unexpected visitors in the rooms at night but it was nothing a bit of bug spray couldn't fix! Another concern I had before going was about what food I might get to eat but there was nothing to worry about as we got three very filling meals everyday... as long as you liked rice, pasta and eggs.

My experience in Peru is one that I will treasure for ever and I hope to join future Operation Wallacea teams travelling to other parts of the World.

Before taking part in this expedition, I had no experience living and working in a tropical setting where the native language was not English. Leading up to my departure for Peru the staff at OpWall were very helpful in informative in making sure that I would be set for the expedition. The atmosphere on site was relaxed and open, staff, university students and high school students interacting throughout the day, forming new friendships and learning about each others experiences and interests. The first time that I stepped off of one of the small auxiliary boats and into the jungle was truly exciting as the feeling of actually being in a remote region surrounded only by the natural environment was a thrill! As a research assistant staying for 4 weeks the first 2 weeks provided us with the opportunity to try all of the studies on site. For the last 2 weeks we were then able to focus our attention on the studies that were of more interest to us, this allowed me to take part in more of the mist netting surveys of understory birds. By the end of my time there it was sad to have to leave and would love to return the next time the opportunity presents itself!

Operation Wallacea was an amazing experience that anyone who has an interested in the natural world should be part of. Leaving civilisation behind and going to live in the south african bush was a surreal experience, arriving late and night and waking to the noise of the hippos was such a contrast from life in rural Lincolnshire. Seeing four of the big five was a truly unforgettable experience. After a week in the bush we were transferred to Sodwana Bay to take part in a reef ecology course. diving in a world heritage site, swimming with dolphins and seeing humpback whales was a once in a lifetime experience. overall the trip pushed me out of my comfort zone, made me more confident and cemented my desire to study Biology at a higher level. I would fully recommend this trip to anyone with even a slight interest in nature.

The two weeks in Honduras were an amazing experience that’ll I’ll never forget. The first week in the cloud forest, I collected different data from different species of animals along international scientists. This enabled me to learn about the National Park and how important it is in order to keep many species alive, this I enjoyed seeing and investigating for myself. From identifying and locating birds by their calls to exploring a wider context of our A level syllabus in biology. For example, the ‘mark, release, recapture method’ with snakes. A challenge for me but also one of my highlights was canopy access, where we got to climb into the canopy, it was pretty strenuous and scary at times, but once at the top the view was extraordinary.
The second week in Utila was an unforgettable experience, here we had the chance to become a qualified PADI open water diver. Some of these skills we had were pretty unnerving and took several attempts, although we did all manage to do it with the strong support from the staff. It took a lot of perseverance but it was well worth it to be able to explore the outstanding beauty of the reef. Exploring the reef itself was the main highlight of the trip, as we got deeper it almost seemed as if we were in a completely different place. We saw many types of sea life, including sting rays, eagle rays, parrotfish, pufferfish and lionfish. We were lucky to dive in such a preserved reef as it was one of the few which hasn’t been affected by coral bleaching.
Ultimately, the trip was an incredible experience, that I would definitely recommend doing and would love to do it all again.

A lot of people studying wildlife will agree, growing up and seeing the Amazon rainforest on TV made it the dream destination due to the huge abundance and diversity of wildlife. What it fails to capture is the atmosphere generated by the incredible rainforest sounds- insects, so many different bird calls and of course the distinctive howler monkeys that can be heard for miles-the excitement of being the one to spot something, or seeing some interesting animals and behaviour. Even the wellies full of water when slipping on a log have their own charm in the Amazon.

As someone with a strong interest in cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) no trip sounded better than getting to see all the diversity the rainforest had to offer alongside my favourites- one of the few places in the world you can find river dolphins! And were they abundant, you couldn't go a boat journey without seeing the pink river dolphins (the other species, the grey dolphins, were less commonly seen but still exciting), a lot less variable than spotting cetaceans at sea and without the rough conditions! One great feature of Operation Wallacea is that on the 4 week+ projects they encourage you to specialise in your favourite surveys and increase your expertise in that. This allowed me to focus on the dolphins and really get the most out of the experience, although this was not limited and I still enjoyed partaking in other surveys.

Unforgettable memories were made, being completely surrounded by these strange, primitive-looking dolphins was fantastic and the best surveys were the few that the dolphins associated with the boat and followed us all the way down the channel. If you're lucky you may get a sighting of one of the rarer animals on the reserve such as jaguars or the harpy eagle. As someone who loves aquatic mammals, the rarer species I was keen to see was the giant river otter, which is endangered but occasionally encountered on surveys. I'd just about given up hope of seeing one when on our last day, our Peruvian guide spotted and pointed out two just ahead and it was an incredible experience, truly lucky on our final day!

Other highlights included the caiman and mist netting surveys- getting hands on to collect important data with such amazing animals was an experience!- seeing bizarre animals like the electric eel up close, observing lots of monkey species and sloths regularly and of course the amazing people I met through the trip, my fellow volunteers who are sure friends for life. Operation Wallacea had great organisation and information prior to leaving and when there. The Peruvian guides on site were wonderful people who were eager to share their knowledge of the rainforest- their home- and it was truly a joy to learn from them.

I would highly recommend Opwall to anyone wanting to experience conservation as the research done here is funded by you and generates very important data on climate change in one of the world's most incredible places. Lectures ensure the trip is very educational and you will come away enriched from the experience, even beforehand if you fundraise for the expedition! It also allows you to visit a remarkable country, my friend and I took a few days at the end of the trip to visit Machu Picchu- when in Peru! I would like to thank Operation Wallacea for the opportunity and again recommend it to possible future volunteers to allow this great research to continue.

I was responsible for 16 students aged 16-19 from my English school. We had an extraordinary time. We travelled to Calukmal in Mexico for a week in the forest, trekking and surveying with expert scientists, visiting the Mayan ruins, enjoying fascinating lectures and just living the jungle life. Accommodation was basic but gave a real experience, and we would not have wanted it to be more touristy. The second week was spent diving in the Caribbean at Akumal, with more glamorous accommodation (air con and flushing toilets!) and expert tuition from Akumal Dive Centre.

Throughout the expedition Opwall staff were professional. We felt safe, but not too safe (it's the jungle in Mexico, not the New Forest in the UK). Arrangements were impeccable. We would go again - in fact we are, to Honduras with Opwall in 2018. Can't wait!

On the back of their experiences a number of my students changed their university plans, wrote EPQs or founded their UCAS statements on their travels. All have university offers, some unconditional, some expressly as a result of their work. Opwall changes lives. Go. Go now.

During my time in the Amazon I will say was the best trip of my life. During my stay I experienced people and cultures that I never would have experienced anywhere else. The trip also was an eye opener to what I want to do in my life. I also made some very good friends through the trip that even after two years I still keep in contact with. I was also able to use the trip as a good resource in school by contacting the biologists from the trip for information as well as insight on what or how to do something.