Reflection

 How did this observed information impact what you now know?

      Seeing how Vadim Sidorovich uses camera traps to collect his research was something new to me. Earlier, I thought camera traps were only used to capture a cool photo of rare animals in the wild. But after he showed us how they work and what he has gathered from using them, I understand that camera traps are extremely important for research. Now I know that they can show us where a wolf den might be, or new traits of an animal, or what animals have been communicating with each other. There is much more information that can be gathered from camera traps than I thought possible.

What kind of action could be taken to protect this forest?

     There are two things that stuck out to me while we were there. One was that there was a lot of litter in the forest. Some of the litter might have been dragged there to mark territory, but it's still not good to have litter that takes a long time to decompose in the forest. One action that could be taken is to have a monthly walk through of the forest to pick up trash. There could also be more signs that say “no littering,” however, many people do not listen to this. I think a helpful step could be a monthly clean up check of the forest. Another problem that should be addressed to help the forest is to stop poachers. One way could be for them to have higher fines if caught poaching, or possibly they should have certain times of the year that they are allowed to hunt so that animals will be able to reproduce. These are just some thoughts that might be used to help protect this beautiful Naliboki forest for many years to come.

Self reflection:

     Looking back, this trip was a like a dream. Everything was a blur of excitement to see what we would find next. Every since I was small I had a love for animals, especially wolves, and it was my dream to see one in the wild. We were told that there was such a small chance that we would ever see a wolf, and not only did we see one, but some of us saw three! This trip has taught me to really enjoy nature and to understand how special it is. Having to stay quiet while walking in the woods was hard at first, but by the last day I really enjoyed having the quiet time to listen to the birds and animals around. One of my favorite times was beaver watching by the river edge. It was such a peaceful place that it took all stress away. I also loved seeing the different environments the forest had. One side of the forest looked almost like autumn, then another was greener with many flowers. Having to wake up early was difficult, but the morning always made up for it when the sun rose. Seeing the sunrise gave me renewed energy and reason to live.  I am glad to have have had this amazing experience this weekend in the forest, and I hope to come back again someday.  

-Anna Davidson