Dunumadalawa forest reserve is situated closer to the Kandy viewpoint. It was a great honour to go to a forest which was forbidden in the past. Field trips are a requirement for children to learn about nature, our endemic animals and plants. This visit further helped us to learn the history of Dunumadalawa and Kandy.
Once I woke up on the 14th of September, I was overwhelmed with the excitement of visiting the Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve. At 6.00 am, I said “Goodbye” to my father after reaching school. Our team left for Dunumadalawa at 7.00am.
A brief stop at the Kandy viewpoint helped us to absorb the marvelous view of the city. After a walk of about 1km, we reached the entrance of the forest. Our teacher led us to an extremely huge treehouse at the entrance. This place got crowded with the grade 5 classes of our college. Many boys came up and sang songs, told some stories, and delivered speeches.
A forest officer came and shared some valuable information about this historical place. He explained to us the meaning of “Dunumadalawa”. In the past, soldiers from the king’s army went to the Dunumadalawa forest. The word ‘madalawa’ means ‘large place’. The trees from this forest were used to make bows and arrows which make the word “Dunu”, He continued, “In the merciless reign of the British, there was a time where the water level of Kandy City was decreasing. Many people suffered without water and some even died. A British man named Walker made the Dunumadalawa Lake which would supply water to Kandy. It was created between 1875 – 1876 with a depth of 50 feet and length of 145 feet.” He told us there are countless numbers of green vipers, 7 leopards and 3 cubs in the forest. He said, “We found the details by fixing cameras at different places”. I was petrified. After he shared the information, he said that littering in the forest was strictly prohibited. Then we had our breakfast and began our thrilling journey.
We were first given a leech repellent. As we started walking, it started to rain. We put on our raincoats and our guide broke a branch following a tradition and entered the forest.
I was overwhelmed seeing a steep hill. It was hard to go down the hill, I slid and hit Thenuka in the back. While we were walking, I was almost lost, but I caught up with the others. We trekked through the forest and reached the Dunumadalawa Lake. It was big as he had told us. Our guide said that it can carry 65000 gallons and we crossed the bridge and went to the other side of the forest.
The grass was very high, and we were scared whether there were green vipers hiding among the tall grass. We journeyed further and crossed an area near a waterfall. Some boys had seen a leopard behind the waterfall, but I didn’t see one.
Once we resumed walking after a water break, I saw a crowd of boys straying from the group. I shouted to the others asking to go right and I too went right and caught up with the others. Those who went in the wrong direction came about 10 minutes later. Teacher kept them in front so they will not get lost again. We climbed another hill and took a break and journeyed to a treehouse. I climbed to the treehouse which was totally terrifying. Climbing down was the hardest part I have ever experienced.
Next, we journeyed to Roseneath Ela. Here, we had chicken fried rice for lunch. For our dessert of Watalappan, we queued up with our empty lunch boxes. Then it started to rain. We put on our raincoats and went to the other side where we lined up to go to the bus.
As children, we learned that we have a common responsibility to protect our endemic animals, plants, our natural forests and jungles and all other geographical places. This was an epic journey I was proud to experience.
Thank you, my dear teachers and the administration of Trinity College, for providing us with such a wonderful experience.
By Jineth Indumina Athapaththu (Grade 5C)
