Thursday I spent the day with a biology professor (ichthyologist), who is studying the impact coal mining is having on the local river. I went with him and 2 of his students to complete a water quality test at 4 places on the river. What an adventure!!! So much happened–I hope you will scroll down and see everything!!!! Still trying to vlog when I can.

While waiting for a truck to take us to the river, I met the man pictured below. I could not take my eyes off of him. He was beautiful. When I first arrived, he was preparing strips of wood to make a basket. He was surrounded by chickens and goats. I wish I had taken a video of this. He was beautiful!! He had a beautiful bright scarf tied around his head. When I asked to take the photos, sadly he took it off. I know a picture is not like being there, but please take a close look at him. I was mesmerized by him–he is 80!!! (I was told this is very old for people here.) So much so, I paid 3o,000 rupiahs ($1.75) for the basket you see in the picture–I hope it makes it home. This is a fishing basket he was going to use to catch fish in the river. The spikes of the basket go in at the bottom and the top is coconut and opens to take out the fish. I got to pet the goats!!

Below are photographs of getting to the site. We took a larger truck about 1.5 miles down to the river and walked back. Wherever I show up, I feel like a celebrity. Everyone wants to take my picture. I was getting off the truck and they asked to take a picture so I took one too! The other photos show the road into the research site.

Once we arrived, the students completed some water quality tests. They stuck their hands in the mud at the bottom of the river to gather sediment to determine silt. Because of the coal mining up river the silt has widened the river to be much bigger than normal. In one photograph, you see the students with a stick and a shoe. They are measuring the speed of the current. The man in the green shirt is not part of the team, but when the team shows up to collect data he wants to participate. As we were leaving the first site, I saw some water buffalo and had to take a video. Indonesian Water Buffalo and Students Playing

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My role here is to define how people think about conservation and biodiversity. Indonesia ranks in the top 5 highest biodiversity countries in the world. They are known for palm oil and now they are mining coal. You might think in the picture below that people are fishing, but NO-they are dredging coal out of the river. The coal is coming from the coal mine up river. The other pictures show the white bags, which are bags of coal. The long boats are used to carry the heavy bags of coal across the river. The trucks are in line to take the coal from the river to the main road where someone will purchase the coal. The people working in the river are paid 14,000 rupiah per bag–$1 US. This is how they make a living, but the river is being destroyed. Nothing lives in the river now. Indonesia Coal Mining in the River and Water Testing

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This video is just for fun. When we were leaving one of the test sites, I took a video of what it looks like to drive. Driving in the Countryside in Indonesia If you watch long enough you will see the mobile market–the truck on the side of the road that drives house to house selling clothes and other things.