Experiencing something new: The Cape Flats Nature Reserve

There is always a first time for everything in life. The moment I heard that me and my fellow classmates were going to be working in labs, wearing lab coats, I felt a great amount of excitement, because working in a lab is a huge dream of mine. We do various experiments and tests in the lab, but it gets boring after a while, because your working environment is constant. So when I heard about the nature reserve practical we were going to do, I was really excited. This would be the first practical that did not take place in a laboratory, we had the opportunity to choose our team mates, which meant working with friend, this was an outdoor practical and we did not have to wear our long and warm lab coats. I had a fear of some spiders that were going to crawl on me and when hearing the branches rattle you would think that something would pop up out of the trees or bushes. There was also a feeling of interest as we learnt about the different animal and plant species in the nature reserve. There was also a bit of history involved. The nature reserve originated in the early 1960’s through the interest of a group of academics attached to the University. I would not mind doing more outdoor practicals. This gives you the confidence to mix with other people and to physically take part in the activities needed. This practical made me realise once again why and how much I love science.