My hands trembled, partly from nerves and partly from the rickety yellow school bus. I was five years old and on my way to a rainforest. Never having been out of the state of Nebraska, I was unsure of what I would find. I imagined rain pouring down like an April thunderstorm. I saw rivers running so extensively through the forest that we would have to tour in canoes. I imagined stopping in a pool of water so clear I could see the soft pebbles below and looking up at the trees, so thick that a grown man could not wrap his arms completely around. I pictured monkeys and crocodiles that were kind and talked just like the magical creatures in the cartoon, FernGully.
In reality, I never left Nebraska. At 123,000 square feet, the Lied Jungle at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is the world’s largest indoor rainforest, the zoo’s first exhibit in which guests are completely immersed into a habitat (“Lied Jungle”). As I approached the rainforest, it looked like every other building at the zoo. Even the entry way was unremarkable. It was a long hall with gray carpet and white walls decorated with photographs of trees. At the end of the hallway there was a set of sliding glass doors. They opened with a loud whoosh, allowing hot, muggy air to escape and surround my class. As a child, I had an intense paranoia of drowning, so much so that even a sharp increase in humidity could send me into a panic attack. Imitating a real rainforest, the Lied Jungle simulated water vapor by releasing a fine mist from tree branches (“Lied Jungle”). Along with the intense heat, the increased humidity caught my attention as soon as the doors opened. As I walked further into the jungle, I became frightened by the difficulty I had breathing. I began to breathe deeper, but as my lungs filled, the pain in my chest increased. I had experienced the sensation of drowning, yet as stated in Robinson Crusoe, Fear of danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than danger itself, when apparent to the eyes; and we find the burden of anxiety greater, by much, than the evil which we are anxious about (122). After a few moments, as it is with most people, my body was smarter than my brain. My instincts kicked in and soon I was breathing normally. It was ironic that I would lose my breath in a simulated rainforest, considering 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest alone, giving it the nickname “The Lungs of our Planet” (“Rainforest Facts”). I fought the desire to run from the exhibit to avoid another panic attack and began to regain control of my body. As I took note of my surroundings, I felt as though I had been transported to another country. I was enclosed in a glass dome, yet I could see miles of bright sapphire sky. Dirt paths led the way through coconut palm trees, orchids, African sausage trees, moss, bamboo, and Ylang Ylang trees. I had never experienced so much vegetative variety, nor had I seen many of the animal species. Spider monkeys swung from the branches made of fiberglass. A pygmy hippopotamus slept in the tan mud on the other side of thick hand-printed glass while a sloth slept upside down from a man-made vine. Howler monkeys shouted at the intruders and gibbons huddled in a tree above a Malayan tapir. I was amazed at the plethora of new plant and animal species I was encountering, yet the diversity of this synthetic habitat does not compare to the diversity of real rainforests. Of the entire Earth’s surface, rainforests cover less than 7%, yet they account for over half of its plants and animals with some estimates reaching 90% (“Rain Forest”). It was in this jungle that I truly learned what the word habitat meant. I used to think that habitat meant a home for a certain species of animal. Now I know that it is much more than that. It is an interconnected network of plants and animals that perpetuates survival on both ends. It is a place, a pact, and a community. For example, fig trees and fig wasps could not live without one another. Fig wasps fly from tree to tree performing the pollination that allows the fig trees to remain alive. Fig trees provide a nursery for the fig wasp’s eggs and larvae that are necessary for fig wasp survival. Furthermore, snakewood trees have a similar relationship with army ants. The snakewood tree supplies the ants with shelter in its hollow stems and branches. The army ants protect the snakewood tree by marching out of their shelters and climbing up vines and animals that threaten the tree. (“Rain Forest”) These interrelated networks do not stop with the plants and animals, because real habitats are not located in glass domes. According to Eric Chivian, M.D., Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, Everything we do that damages the environment — from degrading forests and coral reefs, to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, to releasing pollutants into soils and aquatic systems — ultimately ends up affecting living things. Through pollution and deforestation, the rainforests are decreasing at a rate of 50 to 100 acres a minute and along with them, the plants and animals are also disappearing (“Rain Forest”). Even though stopping this massacre has not been considered to be of high importance throughout history, forests have had am impact on humanity since the beginning of time. Janet Arenofsky is a researcher in forests as well as liturgical texts. She describes climbing trees as spiritual and sensual, so it made sense for her to combine ecology and religion. Through the combination, she has found up to 20 varieties of trees and 328 uses of “tree” and “forest” in texts such as the Bible, Koran, and Talmud. In the Bible, in particular, tree references are found from the beginning of time with The Tree of Good and Evil though the denouement of creation with Jesus on the Cross (Arenofsky, 47-48). Trees play a very significant role in all cultures. Most people do not understand this importance but, there are a number of people who would give their lives for this cause. One of those men, Francisco Alvo Mendes Filho, fondly known as Chico Mendes, spent his life working to protect Brazilian forests. As an activist and union leader, he sought to change the minds of most Brazilians who saw the forest as quick profit. Cattle ranchers in Brazil chop down forest lands to build pastures and are given tax benefits and direct subsides from the government for this deforestation. In 1988, 30 million acres of forests in Brazil were destroyed. This angered Mendes, who protested the government’s policies, eventually creating forest reserves. This work caused the cattle ranchers to see him as an enemy. A cattle rancher named Darli Alves da Silva decided to take the situation into his own hands, assassinating Mendes in 1988 (“Chico Mendes”). We all face situations in which the consequences could be detrimental. However, it is how we handle those situations that proves our character. During my trip to the Lied Jungle, I had only regained normal breathing for a few minutes before I began to panic again. In a corner of the jungle, there was a swinging rope bridge. At five years old, it was the most terrifying thing I have ever had to walk on. Strung between large rocks, the bridge swung by a waterfall and crossed over a large pool of water. Thick twine held together water saturated logs used as floorboards and an even thicker rope used as a hand rail. My breath quickened with every step closer to the bridge. I was six inches shorter than the handrail and able to see through the ropes to the water below. Afraid I would slip through, I stood at the entrance with tears in my eyes. In a single file line, my class began to cross the rope bridge. The children behind me were pushing me to move forward and I had no other choice but to begin to walk. I inched my way onto the first log. Grasping the twine with shaking hands, I took a few more steps over the water below. As I gained confidence with my ability to traverse safely, my steps got larger and larger. Then, the children walking behind me decided that it would be fun to shake the bridge. My heart beat faster and I stopped moving. I was unsure if I would be able to ever reach the other side or if I would fall through the twine to my death. I knew that I could not remain on the bridge for the rest of the day. I was excited to see the rest of the exhibit. If I stayed on the bridge, I would have missed everything. In the end, my fear was not strong enough to keep me from experiencing my field trip. Slowly, I reached for the next piece of twine. I took a step. Inch by inch, I made it across the rope bridge. I have since returned to the Henry Doorly Zoo a number of times throughout my life. Each time, I return to the rope bridge and proudly walk across. It appears much smaller now, yet the same saturated logs and brown twine remain. Walking across, I am reminded of the fear and doubt of that first trip, yet the bridge has become a symbol of courage. When I think of my experience in the Lied Jungle or of people like Chico Mendes, I remember that there are still many bridges that need crossing before our rainforests are finally save. We have acknowledged the problem and are now stuck in the middle of the bridge, afraid to move forward for fear of the consequences. However, we must continue to persevere. Fear is a colossal deterrent, but can be conquered if we remember that the potential reward is far greater than the potential dangers. References Arenofsky, Janet. “High on Conservation.” American Forests 113.1 (2007): 47-48. Chivian, Eric, M.D. “Understanding the Link Between Human Health and Biodiversity.” (2009): 3-23-2009. <http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/news.cfm?id=echivian>. Defoe, Daniel. “Robinson Crusoe.” W. Taylor, 1719. Lied Jungle. 2009. Henry Doorly Zoo. 3-8-09. <http://www.omahazoo.com/index.php?p=animalsexhibits&s=liedjungle>. “Rain Forest.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2008): 3-8-09. <http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552810/Rain_Forest.html>. Rainforest Facts. 1996. Raintree Nutrition, Inc. 4-20-2009. <http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm>. “Chico Mendes” Thinkquest.org. (1999): 3-9-09 <http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/People/chico_mendes.html>.
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