Daily Archives: 02/11/2023

Seoul Foreign School visit to the Yeoncheon Imjin River Biosphere Reserve, September 7th 2023

By SFS student Leyna Biggs, with translation support from Yun Jeong (YJ) Choi

Seoul Foreign School student Ms Leyna Biggs investigating sound pollution in the Hantan River in the Yeoncheon Imjin River Biosphere Reserve.

“On September 7th, I participated in the Seoul Foreign School Science Group 4 Project, to learn more about Yeoncheon Imjin River Biosphere Reserve from Dr. Nial Moores and members of the Yeoncheon Birds Korea team, and we conducted various types of research in the field. My group focused on testing the effects of the development of human infrastructure on the sound pollution produced. My classmates and I were intending to deduce the impact human infrastructural development has on the quality of the birds’ nesting grounds. Our results were that the sound pollution was most extreme by the two main bridges within the biosphere reserve, supporting our hypothesis that human infrastructural development may negatively impact the ecosystem and the bird life within it.

My main takeaway is that ecological preservation is a much more complex issue than what we can be taught in the classroom. Although a theoretical understanding of the biological impacts that sound and water pollution has on ecosystems is important, physically being at the biosphere reserve with Birds Korea really allowed me to see the importance of evaluating the harms of our human actions, in terms of ecological preservation. Talking with Dr. Moores and asking him questions about the various bird species and the development projects going on also helped me really realise what we, as the next generation, can do to help preserve and restore the birds’ ecosystem. This trip ultimately made me realise that preserving the ecosystem has to be addressed from many perspectives. It was crucial for my classmates and I to be on the biosphere reserve to not only conduct scientific investigations through our experiment, but also to help us recognize the vital importance of prioritising sustainable development in all development projects to come, for the future of our community and environment. 

2023년 올해 9월 7일, 저는 “연천 임진강 생물권보전지역”에 관해 더 잘 알기 위해 Nial Moores 박사님, 저희 Birds Korea 팀과 함께 서울외국인학교 과학 프로젝트에 참여했습니다. 이 체험학습을 통해 저와 저희 팀원들은 다양한 연구를 할 수 있었습니다. 저희 팀은 인간 인프라 개발의 과정이 환경 오염에 얼마나 큰 영향을 주는지에 대한 연구를 수행했습니다. 다양한 주제 가운데 저희는 인간의 인프라가 특히 새들의 둥지와 서식지에 어떠한 임팩트를 주었는지 연구해 보고 싶었습니다. 결과 분석을 통해, 연천 임진강 생물권보전지역 중앙에 있는 두 다리가 생태계를 가장 많이 오염시키고 있음을 알 수 있었습니다. 이 연구를 통해 인간의 인프라 개발이 생태계와 새들에게 부정적인 영향을 주고 있다는 저희의 추측을 확인할 수 있었습니다.

이번 기회를 통해 제가 가장 크게 깨닫게 된 점은, 생태계 보호가 학교에서 배우고 가르치는 내용보다 훨씬 더 복잡한 문제라는 것입니다. 오염에 대한 다양한 개념과 종류를 이해하는 것이 당연히 중요하다는 것은 알고 있었지만, 실제로 “Birds Korea”를 방문하고 나서, 인간의 행동이 생태계에 얼마나 나쁜 영향을 주고 있는지 깨달을 수 있었습니다. Dr. Moores와 함께한 다양한 새 종류 및 발달 프로젝트에 대한 대화도 다음 세대가 어떻게 생태계를 보호할 수 있는지 알게 된 유익한 시간이었습니다. 이번 체험을 통해 제가 배운 결론적인 교훈은, 생태계 유지라는 문제를 바라볼 때 다양한 관점으로 봐야 한다는 것입니다. 지속 가능한 프로젝트 개발의 중요성에 대해서도 알게 되었습니다. 이번 연구와 체험은 다시 한번 우리 환경의 중요성을 깨닫게 한 정말 소중한 체험이었습니다.”

Additional students’ commentary, gathered on September 7th

“visiting the reserve demonstrated some of the consequences of technology, and the importance of having spaces to preserve natural life and biodiversity”

“Our trip to collect data with Birds Korea taught me about the importance of utilising scientific research and knowledge in minimising the environmental implications of construction… we learned how birds can be indicators of the quality of the surrounding environment”

“Ecosystems are fragile, and all the parts to one are interconnected. The water pollutes the vegetation, which the rest of the organisms rely on. The pollution makes its way up the food chain”.

“it was a great experience to realize how the environment really needs urgent support”.

“I learned so much from the conversations with the Birds Korea. I learned about how the non-refined wastewater from factories affected the river and bird species living there”.

Seoul Foreign School students, Yeoncheon Imjin River Biosphere Reserve. Image by Mr Michael Farrant and used with permission.