NINETY-ONE students from St Ignatius Secondary School in Central Rupununi visited the Iwokrama rainforest on Wednesday as part of a Grade Nine Integrated Science research project.
According to a release from the Iwokrama research centre, the students’ science project focuses on the symbiotic relationships among plants, namely commensalism, parasitism, and mutualism.
The task of the students during the visit was to identify, by name, the plants that share these relationships and to explain how plants affect and are affected by each other and other organisms in their environments.

Another objective of the students’ assignment was to observe, describe and classify plants by their colours, sizes, shape of leaves and their habitats.
The research centre explained that the visit afforded the students the opportunity to see those relationships at work in the Iwokrama forest and to collect samples for preservation.
Botanical surveys of the Iwokrama forest have found over 1, 250 species of plants, but could well exceed 2, 000 species if those in the highland areas are taken into consideration, the centre said.

The students were accompanied by Francine Gomes, head of the Science Department at the St Ignatius Secondary School.
She noted that science teachers at the school felt that even though plants around St Ignatius and surrounding communities could have been used for the research, it was better for the students to visit Iwokrama, where “everything is in one place.”
Gomes said that even though the students would have read about Iwokrama and the plants it harbours, they were extremely excited to actually see the plants in their natural habitat.
“They gained a lot of knowledge about what it means to conserve the rainforest and were able to understand why conservation is so important, not only for plants and animals to survive, but for us humans too,” she said.

In addition, the students and teachers were able to observe the rainforest from the canopy walkway, after which they visited the Iwokrama River Lodge and Research Station at Kurupukari.
The exercise was led by rangers and tour guides at Iwokrama River Lodge and Atta Lodge (Canopy Walkway Site).
Meanwhile, Raquel Thomas, a forest ecologist and Director of Resource Management and Training at Iwokrama, explained that the centre has had ongoing outreach activities to schools, universities and the general public.

“We are ecstatic to be getting more community schools coming to visit,” Thomas said, adding that more schools from Georgetown have been visiting as well.
“It is very important for children to learn about conservation and sustainable use of forests and for them to really see the natural beauty of Guyana,” the director shared.
She noted too that one of Iwokrama’s core values is a people-centred approach to conservation and wise use of the rainforest, and as a result, the Iwokrama International Centre will continue its outreach activities, focusing on all stakeholders in society.