Last Friday, our Year 11 Biology class went to Perth Hills Discovery Centre. We began by spraying our shoes with a methanol solution to kill Phytophthora cinnamomi (dieback). The focus of our excursion was biodiversity in WA’s Jarrah Forest. We hiked through the forest, noting down native plants and their adaptations to the harsh climate. Our favourite was the Zamia palm (Macrozamia riedlei), an ancient sclerophyllous plant that deceives weevils into assisting with their pollination process.

After lunch, we applied the quadrat sampling techniques, assessing sunlight penetration, leaf litter and humus to soil ratio.

We finished our day by doing belt transect sampling of native plants such as yellow buttercups. We also found a cool bug that we could not identify (but it was ORANGE).

The day was relaxing, informative and we really did get into the bio-zone.

Written by Jasmyn Luong, Lola Vecchio, Asha Greer and assisted by Georgia Hatzistavridi and Katelyn Simpson (11BIOA students)