Now that this project is wrapping up, I wanted to reflect on what I learned about helping the elephants because I learned so much. I hope you enjoy this final post for this project.
a. What challenges did you overcome throughout this inquiry project? How did you go about
overcoming these challenges?
A challenge I had to overcome was blog post number three. It was difficult for me because I had trouble finding sources because it wasn’t a commonly discussed topic; although elephants are important to our environment, it isn’t a well-known fact. I found it difficult to locate reliable sources that clearly explained their role in ecosystems. Many websites either repeated the same basic facts or focused more on tourism and conservation campaigns rather than the scientific reasons elephants are important. Due to this, I took extra time to compare different sources and find information that had a good explanation of how elephants help maintain our ecosystem.
b. How did this inquiry change the way you think?
This inquiry changed how I viewed the travel industry, our ecosystem, and cultural importance. Reading about cruel elephant-related practices made me realize how much travel companies are willing to sweep abuse under the rug and profit off of animals. It made me frustrated to know that countries like Thailand, Nepal, or Malaysia still allow abusive tourist attractions. Although these activities contribute to their economy, it is no way to treat animals of any kind, and there should be protective laws in place because elephants and many other animals are going extinct for this exact reason. I knew that elephants contributed to the ecosystem, but I wasn’t sure how they did. For example, elephants eat and dispose of their dung after walking for a while, which helps with agriculture. It opened my eyes to how many moving parts there are in our ecosystem and how we need to protect our animals if we want a bright future on earth. Elephants are meaningful in many different cultures. They help people celebrate, or they’re a symbol of hope or peace. Being a symbol of hope or peace can help people navigate difficult times. Overall, it changed the way I look at the importance of all animals.
c. How did this investigation impact your future decisions?
This investigation inspired me to want to work even more to help the elephants. In blog post five I read about many different charities or organizations that help wildlife from bad situations. It made me wonder if this is something I’d like to do in the future because I’ve always been passionate about helping animals. Reading about the work that they do made me more interested in the work I was doing, and it made me more knowledgeable about my topic. It also made me realize that there are so many organizations doing great things and that donating where you can could change someone’s life. For all of the above, this project has significantly impacted my future.
d. What impact will this investigation have on others locally and/or globally
I don’t believe my research had a global impact, but that wasn’t my goal for this project. I wanted to inform others about the abuse in the travel industry and the effects of climate change. Even if it wasn’t global, I wanted to make someone question their actions before doing them. For example, if you were going to Thailand and someone else in your travel group booked an elephant washing or riding activity, I would want you to think back to my post and hopefully turn down the opportunity and have the chance to educate someone else on the topic. On top of that, I would be happy even if I saved one elephant just a little bit of pain. Or if you were going to buy a plastic water bottle, you’d think to use a reusable one to help our environment. Out of everything, I loved reading everyone’s comments and educating others.
Doing this project was very fun and interesting. I got to connect with others through learning something of value. Thank you to everyone who commented on my posts. I always appreciated feedback on what I did right and what I could do better. I hope the research had an impact on you, like it did on me.