Operation Wallacea 2015:

Going on this expedition was something I had never done before. I have been living in South East Asia for the past three years so I am used to the culture and the nature here yet this trip showed more even more of this part of the world.

The trip that I went on was with my International School in Singapore and I was very nervous about going. I wasn't sure what the accommodation would be like, if the food would be nice and if I would have any fun. The people I was going with weren't friends of mine at school and I was worried I would spend the whole trip alone. However, within the first few days I loved it. We started the trip with a week in the jungle monitoring the wildlife. The science itself was very hands on and it was great to feel that I was contributing to actual research that could save this forrest. Hiking and camping in the jungle was like the best scout camp I could ever go on times 2. Everything was very well organised and everything was provided for in the jungle also.

The second week of the trip was at the marine site. This is the part that I remember the best and which I learnt the most from. I had got my diving qualification a week before this trip and was still pretty terrified of being several meters under the surface but I was hooked within hours. I actually enjoyed the diving so much that I completed my 'Advanced Open water diver' qualification with the dive instructors there. I also learnt so much about the ocean and the state that the global fish populations are in. What we learnt about our oceans in the lectures was very depressing and it shows that we need more expeditions like this to create marine protected area.

The worries that I mentioned earlier about going on the trip were all set aside. The food and accommodation was great for the most part and I really bonded with the small group that I was with during the time we had spent on the trip. When I wasn't talking to school friends I was talking with the leaders and university students who were all super friendly and really showed a keen interest in the work that Opwall is doing. Overall this trip was a real eye opener into current environmental affairs but also a great personal experience.