Reflections+on+outdoor+lesson+220410

Having lessons in the outdoor in the Singapore Botanical Gardens was a really fresh experience. While admiring the scenery, listening to bird sounds and tasting the food prepared by classmates, we all had fun and I could say that it was a rather fruitful experience. We were able to be awed by how a small seed can grow into such a large, magnificent tree and learned to appreciate the minute details in each part of the tree and how all parts work together to support the survival of the tree. For example, huge buttress roots and thick trunks are often present for large trees for support. In addition, many trees have branches that branch out into many sub-branches and this allow a larger surface area for leaves to be arranged, thus increasing efficiency of light absorption.

In addition, we were able to learn more about the building of the "Man who planted trees" structure and understand how people were able to apply biology knowledge of plants to build unique structures that carry a meaning behind it. There were three different types of plants that were used to bring out different colours of the man and they were first cut at the node and then the plant cuttings are soaked in hormones to allow the roots to grow. These cuttings are then planted into the medium that contain nitrogen nutrients which help sustain the plant cuttings and allow them to grow, finally covering the entire wire structure. We will be looking forward to see how the structure will turn out in a few months' time!