Istra - A Holiday for Work

Istra was definitely one of my favourite school trips, but it wasn't all fun and games since we had a lot of coursework to do. We were doing many different projects, for example collecting leaf samples in order to produce a dichotomous key, taking water samples to test for differences in pH, constructing a line transect to determine weather a specific plant species grow closer to the trees, scout the grounds of the hotel and construct a map accordingly and did quadrats to find out if there are any variables that affect the growth of certain plant species. I also planned and initiated my own experiment: "To what extent does the proximity of pine trees affect their height, tree trunk circumference and the branch height". Basically I was counting the number of other trees around the tree that I have picked, then measure it's height, trunk circumference and the height of the lowest branch. It was a "painful" task due to approximately 2317 mosquitoes around, but through perseverance and commitment I have finished it
One of the activities was to build a a boat out of any materials you can find and power it by using chemical reaction of baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) and Citric Acid. The reaction should have built up the pressure inside the main tank and release it through the small openings, propelling the boat forwards, however due to lack of time to finish up our boat completely the pressure inside was lost before we could put the boat in the water. By doing this I have worked collaboratively with others.
The whole trip was definetely something to remember, I undertook many new challenges, developed new skills and I have increased my awareness of my strengths and areas to for growth.