The past week has been full of exotic jungle and inspiration. We also bid farewell to Junior, as he had to jet off to meet the Pope in Rome. Despite our dwindling numbers-there are now only two students- we were kept in good spirits by the incredible people we encountered. Our week in the Daintree began with meeting John Rumney, a major contributing force in protecting the Great Barrier Reef, and a whale-diver extraordinaire.
Right off the bat we began out volunteering with a beach cleanup lead Hady of Tangaroa Blue. She brought the idea of organized and cataloged beach clean ups to Australia and has made major changes in the way the government and citizens alike view beach rubbish.
After the beach cleanup we drove deep into the Daintree to stay with the rest of the Rumeny clan- Linda, daughter Jenna, and her partner Dave- at their ice cream plantation. Here we toured the orchards looking at the various amounts of fruit they put into their fresh ice cream- Our favorite flavors were the Davidson Plum and Wattleseed. John and Linda helped to create the idea of tourism on the reef and have lended a helping hand in extended the protected area of the Great Barrier Reef from 4% to about 33%. While staying at Daintree ice cream we helped to create a wallaby enclosure for the orphaned baby wallabies that Jenna and Dave rehabilitate. We had the amazing chance to feed the 5 month old wallaby, Neo, that they were caring for now. Their amazing kindness made us feel like we were surrounded by family, and their impactful work left us feeling inspired.
After eating as much ice cream as we could stomach, we headed to the Botanical Ark, run by Alan and Susan Carle. Alan and Susan spent about 30 years traveling the world collecting rare and endangered species of plants and bringing them back to their “ark” in order to ensure the species will exist even in they go extinct in their native countries. Alan taught us that every 2 seconds a football-field-sized plot of rainforest in cut down- destroying habitats for creatures and depleting the earth supply of oxygen. Before coming to the Daintree, I think we didn’t realize the huge impact that the rainforest has on everything that is living. Alan and Susan are doing such important work. They took a flat piece of land and planting thousands of trees and plants, creating habitats for the local fauna, while also housing plants that are going extinct in their native homes. The world needs more people like the Carles and the Rumenys. We leave this week excited to give back to the planet like they have.