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Location: Kuranda
Today, we woke up in our terrific cabins located in the Kuranda rainforest. After traveling around in different hostels and boats, it was so luxurious to have a cozy bed and even a bathroom in our room. We ate a quick and healthy breakfast of croissants and Pop Tarts before we headed over to the van to be transported to Envirocare. After arriving at Envirocare, Cathy, the lead volunteer, explained the area and the different stations we would be working at. We even had a delicious break of morning tea, including tea and scones with jam and cream. These stations included potting plants such as young fig trees, writing tags for plants, shoveling soil, laying out and hammering new floor mats in the potting room, weeding, and washing dirty pots. Although it was hot and difficult work, it was enjoyable and community-building as well. Some of us tasted the local chili peppers that were growing around the area (and spent the rest of the day coughing and wheezing), and we even spotted some wildlife. One of these creatures was a blind snake, which we originally thought was a worm. We also spotted many grubs while shoveling soil, although these creatures were particularly controversial amongst our group. After a long day of work, we all piled back into the van and headed back to the cabins. Taking a dip in the pool after a sweaty day of community service seemed to be the best idea, but words cannot describe the hypothermia we all endured in the process (saying a hot shower was a miracle after this experience would be an understatement). After we all dried off, we had a lovely dinner of tacos, chips, and guacamole courtesy of Amanda and Steph. Thanks to all the volunteers at Envirocare for such a fun, informative day, and we are all excited about tree planting and frog monitoring tomorrow!