Environmentalists on the Move
By Jamaina Canosa and Peter Chon
Ms. Willard’s AP Environmental Science class went on a spelunking field trip Friday, Oct. 29 at Howard’s Waterfall Cave in northwest Georgia. Students wore helmets with flashlights on them to be able to navigate their path inside the dark cave. During the trip, spelunking students tripped and fell, soaked their shoes and pants in the mud, and crawled through tighter openings- the full package of experiences a cave can offer. After leaving the cave, the students felt closer to each other than ever. This trip was a unique bonding experience.
Throughout our four-hour drive, the sky was pouring rain. When we arrived, there was a make-shift canopy, under which two guides were waiting. They brought the caving equipment: helmets with flashlights and gloves. They explained how to properly use the equipment and how to be safe inside the cave. One major thing was the “Three Points of Contact” rule, which states that one must have at least three points of contact inside the cave. An example is a person whose two feet are on the ground and one hand is on a wall. John, one of our guides, gave us a tip, “When you have your fifth hand (aka your posterior), you cannot fall.”
This was a first-time experience for a lot of us. We didn’t know what to expect inside. The first thing we did was take a picture of the whole group at the entrance, and afterwards, crawled into a tight space. So far, it was a strenuous start.
When we crawled for around 20 feet, we reached a place where we could sit and stand. There, the guides talked to us about their organization- Southeastern Cave Conservancy. Basically, they purchase caves like these in the southeastern part of the United States and try to preserve it as much as they can. This enables tourists like us to visit and explore the caves. These two guides and the other two, who were waiting for us deeper in the cave for pictures, were voluntarily devoting their time for us. We were very appreciative of them. When asked how often school field trips are, the guide said, “We get them at least once a month.”
Along with having a fun and adventurous experience, we were learning a lot of things as well. We learned that the writings on the wall were long ago written by the members of the Cherokee nation who used to seek shelter in this cave. The cave was also full of vandalism by people who were not authorized to enter. These people wrote their names on the wall with spray cans; some broke off stalactites that were attached on the wall and took it home as souvenirs; and some even made figures made out of clay from the ground.
The guides said that when visiting places like these, it is important to know that we don’t want to meddle with it since it is often isolated from humans. We want for the future visitors to witness the original structure of the cave. Cave formations, such as stalactites, stalagmites, and cave popcorn, grow very slowly and usually takes multiple generations to recover. Our tour guide stated, referring to the broken stalactites, “While these will grow back, we won’t be around to witness them in their former glory. They regenerate quickly in geologic time, but very slowly (around 1 cm. annually) in human time.”
As we got deeper and deeper inside the cave, we saw less vandalism, which is a good thing. Also, the temperature got colder. At one point, our tour guide, John, told us that we could leave our jackets on the main trail [specifically to the rocks that he was pointing at] because we would soon get hot.
The cave trip was also great exercise. It involved climbing, balancing on mud-covered rocks, running up slippery slopes, and crawling. The most strenuous parts were when we had to climb up a wall — whose footholds were 3 feet off of the highest point on the lower floor, which was a jagged rock — and when we had to crawl through very low tunnels for several minutes. It would not be surprising if the height was around 1 foot. Because of the tunnel, two students stayed behind because they are very tall, and thus Dr. George stayed back with them and froze.
Eventually, the main group had to go back. The cave does loop around back to the entrance, but to use the loop would require much more crawling. Thus, we all happily chose to retrace our route.
Due to rain outside, the way back out was much muddier. There were even tiny streams of water flowing through that was not there the first time we came through. When we all exited the cave, we finally saw why it was named “Howard’s Waterfall Cave”.
Caving is a special experience. For Ms. Willard, caving has been part of her life for more than a decade.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do, so I like to share the experience,” she said. While her students were introduced to caving through her, caving “was always something I wanted to do. So, honestly, one day, I just looked up ‘cave tour’… It just happened. A google search.”
Her favorite part of caving is how it feels. She described it as loving “the smell of being inside, which sounds really weird, but it feels damp. I like crawling around. I like the small spaces. It’s just fun.”
Being inside a cave is unlike any other sensation. You are underground, and yet you still feel just how insignificant you really are. The Earth is a very vast, interconnected place.
“I think I have shared this with you guys (the APES class),” Willard said. “ I have no shame of telling this story. The first time I ever went into Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, I walked down the steps. (And I was with a large group of people because it was a big tour cave). But, I have never felt so small. It is so massive. And it’s just indescribable. How wonderful and how amazing this planet is. And so, I actually cried a little bit. It’s overwhelming in the best possible way. I will never forget that moment because for the first time, I got a glimpse of how small I am compared to how big the Earth is and what’s out these- it’s just beautiful!”
While the APES class of 2020 did not go inside a very open, grandiose cave, we were still able to feel how disconnected we are from nature. “Out of all the things I could probably share with students, it’s probably one of the things that gets chosen last. Most people, you know, caving is not on their bucket lists and things to do, but once you’re there, you see how cool it is. And, I think it’s important to bring awareness to certain things that are being threatened. Be aware of what’s around you.”
For most of us who went to this caving trip, we could definitely say that it was one of our best experiences in life. It was full of discoveries, adventures, and bonding with classmates and teachers in which the relationship got closer.
It is also important to preserve and raise awareness for our environment. With the increasing human population and more demand for resources whether those are trees, air, water, and plastics, or many others, we have to remember that this is our only home in which we have to take care of. If you don’t know where to start, you can do as Ms. Willard did: search up “cave tour,” and let your search engine do the rest. Today is the right time to take action. Not the next day, month, year, or decade.
