Each year, Middle and High School students get an opportunity to spend one week off-campus in order to experience “real-world” learning. Here, Middle School student, Kendra, reflects on her class trip to work with the Biosphere Foundation in north Bali and learn about the connections between neighboring ecosystems, including how they can help or harm one another, through the Foundation’s “Ridge to Reef” program.
Imagine spending two years in a research facility meant to replicate our Earth’s biomes. A wave-machine powered ocean, savannah grasslands, and a 20,000 square foot rainforest, and thousands of animal and plant species bundled into a three hectare space, and your job is to attend to them everyday. This was the reality for eight individuals who led the Biosphere 2 mission thirty years ago.
Present day, three of the Biospherians have come together to create the Biosphere Foundation here in Bali, which us Middle School students had the chance to visit as part of our Integrated Study Unit (ISU): Finding the Balance, Becoming Better Biosphere Stewards. This ISU course offered by our teachers, Ibu Laura and Ibu Angie, centered around researching and learning about our Earth’s interconnecting natural systems.
