Biophilia

Today in our environmental science class at Champlain, we observe the wonders of biodiversity (well, at least in the plant kingdom). The Botanical Gardens covers 185 acres of land within Montreal, so you can actually get a little lost if you're not familiar with the place. In these photos you just get a little taste of what you might see if you visit - the animalistic curves of bonsais in the Chinese garden, the wisdom of the willows, and the hundreds of species of blossoming and brilliantly vibrant flowers.

After an hour and a half of walking around the grounds, the field trip was over and it was time to go. The Botanical Gardens is one of those places where you can spend a whole day there and still not see everything. So I stayed after with a few other students to check out the greenhouse exhibit, which was the real display of just how diverse plant life can be. One moment you're walking in a room full of cactus of all shapes and sizes, elephant foot trees and desert flowers, and in the next room you're in the middle of a steamy rainforest with exotic fruits and blooming orchids. In orchids alone, there are over 20,000 known species, and for each orchid there is a distinct specie of insect that spreads its pollen for reproduction. If that specie of insect were to die off, then the orchid would soon follow. It's really incredible if you think about it.