Today we headed out to the state of Melekeok to see the largest lake in Micronesia! We met with some of the park rangers who were there to tell us about the creation of the park. In 1997 it was made the first terrestrial protected area in Palau.
Some of the land had received damage in World War 2 and burning from people in the local area is creating large savannahs that experience high amounts of erosion and sediment runoff. The state rangers are working to replant these areas to slow the rate of erosion.
Along the trail we stopped to find a carnivorous plant called the Sundew. It traps insects with a sticky sap that it produces.
The rangers allowed us to plant some trees in one of the areas where they are trying to reforest.
On their way out the PCC students noticed that one of their tires was flat. With the help of the park rangers they were able to get it fixed in no-time!
After Lake Ngardok we visited an area to snorkel but we discovered it was low tide during a new moon which was making the tide even lower than normal. We decided to do some Palauan tide pooling instead.
After the tide pools we went back to PCC to help build more segments for the roof for the traditional Bai.
Written By:
Savannah Hesidence (Oregon State University, Marine Biology and Environmental Sciences major, Graduating Spring 2022)
