When Calm Waters Meet Intelligent Minds

Written by: Maya Janaki Mwangi [Year 13]

On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, the A-level Biology students went on an exciting expedition to Karen to investigate biodiversity and abundance of organisms in a certain environment. Though we were knee-deep in our research, this trip was one for the soul as much as it was a part of our syllabus. We were welcomed graciously by Mr. Johnny, into his beautiful home – full of life, peace and which had a dash of serenity at every corner. He had five beautiful dogs, two of which were the biggest dogs I’ve ever seen in real life! His house had a river flowing through it – now if I had a river through my backyard, I would never leave the house! We scoped the mesmerising scenery and got ready for a day of delightful wander. There were pieces of art all over the compound, it was a very eye-catching scenery.

We put on our gloves and face masks, and got down to work. As mentioned earlier, we were investigating biodiversity and abundance – specifically, the effect of abiotic (non-living) factors on the biodiversity and abundance in an ecosystem. Biodiversity highlights the variation in species in an ecosystem, whilst abundance identifies their population or quantity. In order to carry out this investigation, we were to set up a few apparatuses across a measured distance – ours being fourteen metres, and, we had an additional set of tools to further our data collection. On the ground, we laid out a very long tape measure, and netted squares called quadrats – these two apparatuses helped us identify the distance that we were using as the range for our investigation, as well as take account of the gap distance between each quadrat. On the other hand, we had a pH meter that we used to identify the pH of the soil and water, a thermometer to measure the temperature surrounding the area we were investigating and a light-meter to measure the light intensity covering the area of investigation.

The work we did was entirely hands on. We identified three species of plants that we were looking to measure i.e. Hydrocotyle Vulgaris, Prunella Vulgaris and Cyperus Rotundus. The mentioned names are referred to as the ‘genus name’ or scientific name, given to organisms to further identify its domain, kingdom and family. An example of this is within the context of the relationship between domestic and wild cats. Tigers have a genus name of ‘Panthera’, as do lions. Persian cats have a genus name of ‘Felis’. They all, however, fall under the same family, known as ‘Felidae’ – this is how organisms are classified. Now, we covered three different locations within the compound; A, B and C, and we set our sights on each of the three species in the three locations respectively.

We had different roles to make our research approach as efficient as possible – I, Maya, was responsible for counting the number of each species within seven quadrats (across the fourteen metres, there was a one metre gap between each quadrat). Hussein Azim was on ‘abiotic factor duty’, measuring the temperature and light intensity of each area over the quadrat. Milka Kagumba was in charge of data collection. Mr. Juma aided each of us with our tasks and stretched the tape measure from one point to another for a distance of fourteen metres. Miss Mbati, ensured the investigation went on smoothly and further filled our minds with knowledge on Ecology – the topic under which this practical investigation lies. She helped us gauge why we were taking each practical step, and as we got deeper into our investigation, she made sure we were referencing the work we covered prior to the practical. It was a tiresome but exciting journey.

It was whilst we were in between our practical when we met Mr. Johnny, a warm spirit that seemed like he knew how to make life an adventure – a theory proven once we got to view his art room later on in the day. He gave us a bowl of meatballs attached to some string when he told us that within the river, resided crayfish which we could catch – how exciting! We had a really exciting activity lined up for us, and we couldn’t wait to go fishing, little did we know, we were in for a life lesson. We continued our practical investigation. Once we were done identifying each species and their quantities, we collected soil from two locations as well as water from the river that we were taking back to HQ in order to run further tests on. We also measured the pH of the water in the river on-site, found to be alkaline with a pH between seven to eight.

It was time to crayfish fish (say it five times fast – what a tongue-twister!). Crayfish fish. Crayfish fish. Crayfish fish. Anyway, we tried fishing at two different points on the river, one point was where we had carried out our investigation – an unsuccessful pursuit. Lots of meat was lost to the river with no crayfish in sight. Our second location was where life decided to humble us, across a lovely little bridge further down the river. We got comfortable and tried our luck with the crayfish – I am certain we just happened to visit during their hibernation season, or maybe we scared them away, there were no crayfish! We sat, and sat, realising why ‘peace is a virtue’. We were so eager to scoop something up; however, we got to discussing how our patience was being tested in this very moment. We definitely left partially enlightened as we gained the kind of wisdom that is not spoken aloud, but exists deeper in the mind. I asked myself ‘why is this making me so antsy?’ – a piece of my inner monologue that travelled time with me into the rest of the month of September. 

Once we concluded our endeavour to find crayfish and inner peace, Mr. Johnny invited us into his art room to have a look at his journals. First of all, I’d like to say, as a fellow fan of the arts, I was over the moon! There is something deeply spiritual about the exchange of various forms of art. For one, a part of your inner world ends, for a new one to form. It puts you in a state of deep reflection, in a busy world, moments like these are grounding and necessary for the nervous system. He shared with us little trinkets of wisdom, though unspoken, the lesson I got from Mr. Johnny was that life is an experience to immerse yourself in, not just bypass. He shared poetry about a snake; he had some real shed snake skin that he was going to add into the journal – very cool! We got to peruse through his many memories and learned about some of his adventures. Afterward, we got to look at his outdoor library, where he had some of his favourite pieces of literature.

After a long day of getting our hands dirty – literally, we concluded our short stay at Mr. Johnny’s house with a smile. We got the opportunity to do formal research. I am sure any science student can relate to the excitement felt when you are given a chance to do practicals, it makes the learning experience one of a kind. Sometimes, it is necessary to take a step out of the classroom to approach your studies in an immersive way. Additionally, it is good for the spirit to take a moment with nature, to bring yourself back into your mind, and to be one with the river. Regardless of whether you get a catch, you will never leave empty handed.