Last month 28 students and staff from the Departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology along with 6 Malaysian students from local universities, travelled to the Danum Valley Field Centre in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo for this year’s tropical field course.
The course is a great opportunity for students about to start the third year of their undergraduate studies to experience tropical rainforest ecology and conservation. Whilst on the trip the students conduct their own research projects and gain hands-on experience collecting field data.
Professor David Edwards, Professor of Plant Ecology and Head of Tropical Ecology and Conservation group at the Department of Plant Sciences, is one of the field course leaders. He said, “The tropical field course immerses students within the Bornean rainforest, where they get first hand experience of tropical ecology and the conservation challenges facing these forests and their unique biodiversity — an opportunity which proves truly life changing. Throughout the course, students build expertise in independent research and transferable skills from developing testable questions to field-based sampling and effective project management."
“Field courses are important because they provide hands-on experience in the outdoors, developing essential practical skills like project design, sampling, and data collection. They can be challenging and fun simultaneously — helping students develop a stronger connection to and appreciation for the natural world,” said Professor Christine Miller, Professor of Biotic Interactions and a course leader from the Department of Zoology.
Students reflect on their experience
Three students reflect on their experience of the course.
Angie Campbell
(Natural Sciences, Clare College)
Travelling to Borneo has by far been the highlight of my degree, so it’s difficult to do it justice in just a few paragraphs.
Before we’d even landed in Lahad Datu airport, the oil palms sprawling in every direction offered a stark introduction to the scale of human impact on the landscape. The view was strangely captivating, even though I understood how insidious the encroachment of these plantations upon native forest could be. It seemed surreal that Danum Valley was just a few hours’ drive away, one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world juxtaposing the uniformity of this monoculture.
I often feel that people underestimate how fundamental plants are to many of humanity’s most pressing issues, but their importance was manifest in Borneo. The oil palm plantations form the base of a global commodity chain, and the forests we’d explore over the next ten days are not only beautiful but also store masses of carbon and harbour extraordinary biodiversity.
Over the course of the trip, we learnt a huge amount from our professors and the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) research assistants, some of whom have been supporting students and researchers for over 20 years. They provided us with the guidance we needed to undertake our own research. Our project allowed us to directly investigate the impacts of forest rehabilitation on carbon stocks and biodiversity, an objective closely aligned with my interest in nature-based solutions.
It was really uplifting to be surrounded by so many people working to protect and understand the fauna and flora which are so unique to these forests. I’m aware of how challenging conservation can be, but the trip gave me a lot of hope for the future. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible.
Read more about Angie’s experience: Tropical field course: Angie’s story
Archie Block
(Natural Sciences, Lucy Cavendish College)
This was the first time I’d ventured out of Europe, and so I had a lot of uncertainties, but Borneo was an unforgettable experience from start to finish.
In Cambridge we get taught about all these amazing ecosystems and their global relevance, but their unique and diverse nature is often hard to imagine. It’s not until I ventured into the heart of these environments, and experienced the fantastic array of biodiversity present, that I fully understood the significance of places like this.
I also experienced what it takes to carry out research in these types of environments, and this was great for putting my academic learning into perspective. It has made me realise how much I enjoy fieldwork, and so I now have a focus on incorporating fieldwork into as much of my future studies and career as possible.
My group project in the final 5 days of the trip really stood out as a highlight. It was with a great bunch of people and focused on a topic that I genuinely cared and was excited about.
A karaoke night on the final day of the trip was then the perfect way to finish it off, with plenty of jaw-dropping performances from staff and students alike!
In my view the trip could not have gone any better. I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend it and for the support from the staff in Cambridge who helped to set up and make sure the course runs smoothly, as well as the supervisors who were on the course itself, and the local guides at Danum Valley, who were invaluable during our treks through the jungle.
Patrick Cosgrove
(Medical Sciences, Pembroke College)
The highlight of the course for me was experiencing such a new and rich environment; I'd never done anything like this before. I had seen almost none of the animals before, and we were able to experience so much of the rainforest through different activities such as day walks, night drives, and insect light catching.
An unexpected highlight for me was the food - although it didn't vary much day to day, they served some of the best rice and tofu I'd ever had!
The course will complement my studies by providing me an insight into what life is like doing fieldwork and gathering data. I'm a third-year medical student doing my part II in Zoology, so I had never experienced university fieldwork before.
I plan to continue into clinical medicine, but the fieldwork aspect of this course has encouraged me to take a greater interest in the research aspect of medicine. Experiencing how data is actually collected and analysed has shown me how dynamic and rewarding the research process can be.
Plant Sciences field course fund
This course is only possible thanks to the generous financial support of our alumni and friends.
Field courses are a key part of our undergraduate teaching. They help students put the material from their lectures in context, develop a spirit of curiosity, and engage with each other and their teachers in a more informal environment.
We would like to offer as many students as possible the opportunity to attend these courses and increase the diversity of those who can benefit.
The Plant Sciences field course fund provides support to those who would otherwise be prevented from attending due to financial limitations.
Find out more about how to donate.
Image: Plant Sciences student Angie Campbell during mist netting and bird ringing in Danum Valley on the tropical field ecology course 2025.