Cape point field trip

The field trip to Cape Point nature reserve was the most educational outing EVER.I was so excited because I have never been to cape Point before. The drive to Cape point was long and I was so anxious to get there. We were welcomed by a beautiful sea shore and beautiful mountain. The air was so cooling and I just have to say The Cape point nature reserve is beautiful, interesting and peaceful as it is in a sort of isolated place. The Cape point nature reserve has diverse habitats ranging from mountain tops to open sea. The weather outside was not so great and we thought we would miss out on some beautiful things at the reserve because of the rain.

The first stop we made was at the Buffelsfontein Visitors center that showcases all the plants and animals to look out for in a particular season and is full of informative signage. That was we go the sneak view of the reserve and got some information about the reserve and the Light house. The air was calming and the place was just surrounded by beautiful flora. The Cape Point nature reserve is very rich in flora and it forms part of the Cape Floristic Kingdom. The reserve has over 1100 indigenous plant species and a portion of those species are endemic. The fauna is made up of fynbos which includes King Protea, Sugar bush, Tree Pincushion and Golden Cone Bush. I also saw some daisies and lilies.

We then moved to the Cape Point Light house. When we got to the lighthouse we saw the board that had geographical information of the Light house. I was so excited to go up to the lighthouse even though I badly wanted to take a cable car. The walk to the lighthouse was a bit of an exercise but it was fun as I was busy admiring the beauty of nature and the view of the see. I was so determined to get to the top. When we finally reached the top we could see the whole view of the nature reserve, such beauty. As we got to the very top it was very windy and it felt like the force of gravity did not exist there. It was very fun because there were tourists and they were very friendly so we could socialise with people as well. Ooh the interesting part; we saw the baboons (chacmac baboons).

It was so interesting to see the baboons feeding and interesting with each. The way the baboons care for each other is just adorable, even though its monkeys. On our way to the ocean we saw an Ostrich and it was my first time to see an ostrich live. We then moved to the ocean where we could hike, the hiking part was very interesting and we could now see the sea view very close and could listen to the sound of the waves, the sea breeze was just very relaxing.

My experience in Lifescience

Life Science has always been my favorite subject from since I started Natural Science in primary school and Life science in high school, pursuing life sciences further has always been my passion as I am interested in knowing how the world works why certain things happen in nature and in humans and animals. Lifescience 151 has made the ECP programme more bearable and enjoyable. Life science 151 is basically a continuation of the life sciences we did in high school. Life science 151 covers all the content we did in high school but in more detail.

Life science is broken into three components lectures, tutorials and practicals.
In Lifescience151 classes I have benefitted a lot just by the attending the lecture. I get more information in lectures because I learn most from listening to someone and after that I can read what the lecture was explaining. The lifescience classes are convenient and are disciplined and the lecture starts right in time. In lifescience I can interact with the lectures and be able to get as much information and clarity in what in topics that were not clear to me.In life science I can interact with other students and discuss the work and we can explain the work to each other. The small class tests that we write during lectures have taught me a lot and the class work exercises have enabled me to be able to structure my sentences especially paragraph structure. The classwork exercises have forced me to pay attention in classes and go over my work after a lecture.

The lifescience tutorials have been very helpful to me as they serve as preparation for the tests. The tutorial classes are convenient and my tutor explains what is required of us for the tutorial and clarifies everything that may be unclear. Before we begin a tutorial the tutor go over the answers of the previous week tutorial. The tutorials have allowed me to think about the work. The lifescience tutorials help me to weigh my knowledge and assess my progress. The tutorials also help me to understand the work more and know what I must focus on and I should answer some questions.

In practicals you have to be on time all the time and the nice things about the practical skills is you get to use your practical skills. In lifescience practicals I have learnt the importance of following instructions and reading the manual before coming to the practical. In practicals I had the opportunity of using a microscope. I have learnt a lot about microscopes their parts, functions and different types such as compound and light microscope. The demy’s explain the work and are very helpful when you ask them to help you. In the practicals we have been given an opportunity to practice report writing and the importance of acknowledging the resources you use, which is referencing. The practicals are not boring at all we also have educational nature reserve walks, nice!