There was also a lot going on in and around the CDSC forest project in the 2023/24 school year. While class 8 took care of their already planted trees, e.g. fertilizing them, removing undergrowth and collecting data on their growth, class 6 first went looking for seeds on Doi Suthep, later planted them at our own tree nursery, cared for them and finally transplanted them into larger containers. Due to a postponement on the part of FORRU (Forest Restoration Research Unit), we were unable to plant any trees ourselves this year, but we hope to be able to do so in the new school year.

Here are the reports from the two classes:

Class 6

1. Collecting seeds

We went to the Doi Suthep forest to collect seeds because we will plant trees later. We plant the trees to reduce CO2 and it is also a good solution to protect the environment. In total we collected 3 different plant species. The Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU, Chiang Mai University) took the seeds to prepare them for the planting process.

We are happy that we can help to protect the environment.

– Similan Anant

2. Planting the plants

After about a month, FORRU came to our school to plant the seeds. They brought two types of seeds. Our class sowed the seeds and planted them in small plastic containers with soil. Then we watered the plants and put them in our nursery.

– Ruoyang Cheng

3. Plant repotting

In February, we repotted the plants. We transplanted them into a larger plastic bag. The workers from FORRU helped us to repot them. It was exhausting, but we managed it after two biology lessons.

Repotting the plants was easy: first we put soil in the bag, then we put the plant in. We weren’t allowed to put too much soil in, otherwise the plant could die.

– Noah Bucher

4. Excursion to the Doi Suthep Nature Study Center

On March 9, Mr. Stemmer and Mr. Stautmeister took five volunteers (Similan, Noah B, Roy, Andy, Johannes) to the Doi Suthep Nature Study Centre. There we spoke to other schools about our experiences. There were also various stations to learn more about the forest.

It was a great trip.

– Similan Anant

5. Data on development

In biology class, we measured the plants every week and wrote a log about them. The log showed how many days it had been since we planted them, how much they had grown, how much they had grown on average and how many had died.

When FORRU came to our school for the second time, we presented our plants with the help of the log and then they decided to repot the plants because most of the plants already had more than two pairs of leaves and were therefore mature enough.

– Similan Anant

Klasse 8

Day 1: 17.Oct 2023 – CDSC Wald Field Trip – 6th Maintenance Mon Cham

Our goal as a school is to contribute to help the environment and to reduce our carbon footprint. We’re achieving this with the CDSC Forest Project, which has been an ongoing project ever since the Covid 19 pandemic.

On the 17th, 2023 our class (8th grade) and our biology teacher Hendrik Stautmeister visited our little forest again. This time, we were instructed to fertilize the trees. Each tree requires about a cup of fertilizer, which we were told to evenly spread around the stem of the plant. It didn’t take long for us to finish our task and after going through each row of our planted trees, we were done with another step to improving the environment!

Day 2: 31. Oct. 2023 – CDSC Wald Field Trip – R2 Monitoring Mon Cham

The 31st of October was our last time visiting the CDSC Forest Project. Arriving at Mon Cham on a chilly and very foggy morning, we quickly made our way through the forest and up to the trees where the volunteers from the CMU (Chiang Mai University) briefly explained and demonstrated how to measure the plants to see how much they’ve grown. This was our plan for the day. We split into small groups and got to work, going through rows of trees and doing as instructed. The weather remained the same throughout our time there, which motivated us to work more since it didn’t have the tiring effect the usual hot weather had. We worked until around 12 pm before going back down to the buses, leaving the forest with the memories of a great experience.

– Napat Kuyakanon, Monica Pohl