This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Biology Teacher Goes Ape in Borneo

Katie Titus Larson spent two weeks in the jungles of Borneo working with conservationists and other scientists.

Some people mistakenly believe that schoolteachers enjoy their summers off, doing nothing but sipping cold drinks and working on their tans.

But the reality for teacher Katie Titus Larson of Grayslake was a world apart from that myth.

She spent 100-degree days in a wild jungle, battling daily rainstorms, being caked with mud, bugs and leeches that were biting constantly. Oh, and there were no air conditioning or fans, only river water bucket showers, strange food, stinging jelly fish and crocodile infested waters.

Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“That was my daily experience, but I have never been happier than in that jungle,” said Larson. “Borneo has definitely stolen my heart.”

She was looking for adventure, and found it.

Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I wanted my master’s degree to be meaningful and not just a step up in pay grade,” said Larson. “The Global Field Program is designed to give students an understanding of what community-based conservation can do for endangered species/cultures/ecosystems. Also, we teach how great of an impact the use of inquiry in the classroom can be. When we empower students and community members, there is no stopping what we can achieve.”

This was the third Earth Expedition that Larson had participated in through the University of Miami.

“This time I went not as a student, but as an instructor,” she said. “It was quite a different experience for me because I was responsible for the personal growth of 18 of my colleagues. I took this very seriously and I wanted to make sure this experience was rewarding as well as fun for everyone involved.”

Larson learned to stretch her comfort zone with weather, bugs and dietary challenges. “I have been in so many unusual circumstances during this trip that could have made it an awful experience,” she said, “but I have loved every minute of it!”

Larson worked with various scientists within the Danau Girang research center near Batu Puthi, Sabah in Malaysia and with the HUTAN French conservation, which strives for innovative solutions to conserve Malaysia’s orangutans.

The Danau Girang research center provides the ideal location to study the ecology and genetics of the orangutan, Bornean elephant, proboscis monkey and long-tailed macaque.

Each day for Larson during her two-week adventure in the jungle was crammed with activities and unexpected excitement.

“An average day consists of tracking primates in a boat along the Kinabatangan River (specifically Proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, red-leaf monkeys and orangutans if we are lucky) to see how the palm-oil industry has influenced their lives in Borneo,” Larson said.

“In addition, we tracked crocodiles with satellite GPS collars, conducted frog studies, worked with pygmy elephant mitigators to bridge the gap of understanding between locals and the elephants (the elephants ruin crops, so the mitigators put up fences and educate about the impact elephants have on the ecosystem),” said Larson. “Between excursions working in the field, we are listening to presentations from various conservationists about the work they are doing in Sabah. In addition, we are presenting our own discussions as students that include how to use community-based conservation methods within our own town. It is a jam-packed day that usually is from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.”

Larson fell in love with Borneo during her work there this summer. “I have seen more biodiversity here than in the Amazon rainforest and the dipterocarp trees are some of the oldest species of trees in the world. The views along the river and within the jungle are some of the richest, most beautiful scenes I have ever experienced.”

One of the world’s largest living trees is a dipterocarp in the Sabah region of Borneo that measures an incredible 289-foot in height. The name derives from Greek – di = two, pteron = winged and carpos = fruit – thus, two-winged fruit. The seeds rely on wind dispersal and the winged structure of the fruits helps to spread them all over the jungle floor.

“The people of Borneo are unbelievably welcoming. Everywhere you go people say hello to you and welcome you into their homes, stores, etc. with open arms,” said Larson. “They often fix tea and fried bananas for anyone that stops in. My host family was great and my ‘mom’ was the best cook ever. They understood a little bit of English, so we mostly chatted about how good the fish and prawns were.

Though she had many a memorable experience during her stay in the jungles of Borneo, Larson counts the following as some of her most vivid:

“On a night hike while looking for primates and frogs, we spotted a slow loris – these are VERY rare and the scientist we were with wanted to collar one, so we had to catch it and bring it back to the research station. Luckily they are called slow lorises for a reason – it just froze and one of our guides climbed up the tree to grab him and we put it in a shirt as we tracked through the mud back to the station. He was collared and released later that night. Also, we were able to see some pygmy elephants enjoying the Kinabatangan River to cool off.

“My favorite trip was to Gomantang caves to see hundreds of thousands of bats making a mass exodus out of the cave in the evening off to do their nightly moth catching! I also liked replanting some rainforest tree species to create a corridor for the orangutans. In about 20 years, they will have more trees to use to cross in a non-palm oil area of the forest! Oh and of course there was the getting attacked by fire ants, leeches and jelly fish while over here!”

Larson is a graduate of GCHS and has taught science at the school for the last six years. She has been recognized as one of the most popular and innovative teachers in a school filled with great educators.

“All of my Earth Expedition coursework has woven itself into my personal perspective on the world. This often comes through in my teaching and mostly through interactions/lessons in biology. More than anything, it shows that issues are never “black and white,” but rather are several shades of gray,” Larson said.

The teacher became the student of real world lessons in conservation.

“There are several players involved often with conflicting priorities and goals in everything in life,” she said. “For example, thousands of hectares of the oldest rainforest in the world are being torn down to build palm oil plantations in Borneo. But you can’t be too upset with the palm oil industry because the palm oil is financing the modernization of Malaysia and provides jobs, health care and schools for many people. The real challenge is to create community conservation opportunities so that the areas of the forest that are still in tact can be maintained and taken care of.”

Larson’s future plans include more teaching. “When I am finished with my master’s degree, I will be working for Project Dragonfly as a web instructor. Further in the future I hope to create a website/book on teaching and become a teacher of teachers.”

Project Dragonfly promotes inquiry-driven reform, reaching millions of people worldwide through learning media, exhibits, and education programs. The emphasis is on understanding ecological relationships and developing innovative conservation techniques that promote biodiversity and ecosystemic synergy.

Unfortunately for the students of Grayslake Central High School, Larson is moving to Barcelona, Spain with her husband. “He is going back to school to get his international MBA. I will finish up my master’s degree with Miami University and likely teach English as a foreign language,” said Larson. “I will miss Grayslake, but we are taking the ‘road less traveled’ and pursuing our dreams of living overseas. We will be gone for at least two years and then afterwards … who knows?”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?