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Mindful Hiking, Palauan Style

  • Article
  • High School
  • Middle School
  • Less than 30 minutes
  • Recreation
  • Culture
  • Hiking
  • Mindfulness
  • Observation
  • Palau
Mindful Hiking Palaun Style PDF preview
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In this essay, learn about observing the forest with a special form of forest hiking: omelisebekl.

Mindful Hiking, Palauan Style

Mindfulness and Conservation

In this article, you will learn about observing the forest, Palauan-style. You will also learn how scientists use these same skills to learn new things about Pacific Island forests.

 

The people of Palau have a special form of forest hiking. This form of hiking is something anyone can do, but they must be mindful to do it correctly. When you are mindful, you are paying careful attention, and you are aware of what is around you. This form of hiking is called omelisebekl.

 

When Palauans hike in a forest, they pay close attention to what is around them as they hike. They identify where things are, they note the name of things they are seeing, and how they might be used. For example, a hiker might notice a tree that could be used for the beams in a house. They might notice a breadfruit tree, which has many uses, or a tree whose flowers can be used in a traditional ceremony. They may just be curious and observe a tree that they had not noticed before.

 

Two kids pause on a hike to observe an old tree.
These girls are practicing omelisebekl, a mindful form of forest hiking. FIND Outdoors photo by Jessica Nickelsen.

Omelisebekl is a way to hike while carefully observing and learning about nature around you. You do not need to be Palauan or to be in a Palauan forest to hike in this manner. Anyone can practice this form of hiking.

 

When it is time for a Palauan village to build a traditional meeting house, for example, a villager can say, “There is a tree near the river that would be good for building.” If women are collecting flowers for a ceremony, someone might share, “I know where there is a blooming Osmoxylon tree.” By hiking in the omelisebekl manner, the people of Palau become well acquainted with, and therefore can better care for, the natural resources that support them physically and culturally. This interaction between people and plants helps to sustain Palau’s natural ecology.

 

In Palau, over 82 plants are found that can be used as medicine to treat all kinds of illnesses or conditions. The fruits and flowers of over 100 plants provide food for wildlife, especially fruit bats and fruit-eating birds. One of Palau’s culturally important trees is the Osmoxylon tree, whose flowers are used in special ceremonies. One such ceremony is the Palauan Omengat ceremony, which is a traditional ceremony that honors women who have become mothers for the first time. You can see that by practicing omelisebekl, Palauans support and promote their cultural traditions as well as care for their natural environment.


Science and Omelisebekl

Palauans engage in a form of forest hiking called omelisebekl. Does it surprise you to learn that scientists make discoveries using the same careful observation skills?

 

Recently, a team of scientists used careful observation skills within Palau’s Ngardok Nature Reserve to make an exciting discovery about a new species of Osmoxylon tree. (Read more about Ngardok Nature Reserve here.)

 

Ngardok Nature Reserve is a biodiversity hotspot in Palau. A biodiversity hotspot is an area whose biological diversity is exceptionally large. Some areas of a biodiversity hotspot may be in danger from threats such as development or climate change. These areas are of special interest to forest scientists.

 

A tree growing in a rainforest with large, three- or five-lobed leaves.
Osmoxylon ngardokense, the new species discovered in Ngardok by scientists. USDA Forest Service photo by Amanda Uowolo.

A forest area in Ngardok Nature Reserve was included in an international program to scientifically study and observe the world’s forests over time. This program is called the Forest Global Earth Observatory, or ForestGEO.

 

 

The team of scientists studying Ngardok Reserve work with the USDA Forest Service. While they were collecting information about the forest, they observed something interesting about an Osmoxylon tree growing there. Although many species of Osmoxylon trees have been identified in the past, no one had observed this species before. This species, named Osmoxylon ngardokense, is found only in the Ngardok Nature Reserve.

 

 

Amanda Uowolo, one of the scientists, remarked about the team’s discovery:

“This new tree species was such an exciting discovery for all of us involved in this project. When we begin scientific studies like this, we do not always know what we will discover and that is what makes field research so exciting.”

 

This team, like the Palauans who hike in the traditional omelisebekl manner, carefully and mindfully used their observational skills to discover a new tree species.

The cover of the 'Pacific Islands' NI journal cover. The main image is a color photo of a green jungle.

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Pacific Islands - Vol. 1 No. 21

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  • PDF preview of 'Mindful Hiking' FACTivity.
    In this FACTivity, you will practice omelisebekl in a forest or natural area near you, or in your schoolyard or backyard.

    FACTivity – Mindful Hiking, Palauan Style

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Hiking
    • Mindfulness
    • Observation
    • Outdoor Activity
    In this FACTivity, you will practice omelisebekl in a forest or natural area near you, or in your schoolyard or backyard.
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    Mindful Hiking, Palauan Style

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  • Education Standards
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Standards addressed in this Article:

The Common Core Standards are educational benchmarks in the United States that outline clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade, aiming to ensure consistency and coherence in education nationwide.
  • Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  • Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
  • Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
  • Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
  • Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
  • Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
  • Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
  • Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  • Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
  • Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
  • Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
  • Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium's portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
  • Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
  • Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
  • Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
  • Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
  • Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
  • Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
  • Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
  • Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
  • Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
  • Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
  • Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
  • Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
  • Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
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  • PDF preview of the Cultural Essay Lesson plan.
    This lesson plan can be paired with any of the cultural essays from the Hawai’i-Pacific Islands edition of Natural Inquirer. After a brief introduction, students will read the cultural essay...

    Lesson Plan – Cultural Essay

    • Lesson Plan
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Social Science
    • Culture
    • Human Impacts
    • Reading for Information
    This lesson plan can be paired with any of the cultural essays from the Hawai’i-Pacific Islands edition of Natural Inquirer. After a brief introduction, students will read the cultural essay...
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    Hawaii Pacific Islands - Vol. 1 No. 16

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    In this lesson plan, you will use the visual thinking strategy to elicit prior knowledge before reading a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article. This can be used with any Natural...

    Lesson Plan – Visual Thinking Strategy

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    • High School
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    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • Picture Description Strategy
    • Visual Thinking Strategy
    In this lesson plan, you will use the visual thinking strategy to elicit prior knowledge before reading a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article. This can be used with any Natural...
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    SPLAT! Protecting Pine Trees in the Western United States from Beetle Attack

  • PDF Preview of the ^-W Questions Lesson Plan
    In this lesson plan, students will read a Natural Inquirer article and write short summary notes from each section. Students will then create “6-W Poems” that reflect their understanding of...

    Lesson Plan – The 6-W Questions

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    In this lesson plan, students will read a Natural Inquirer article and write short summary notes from each section. Students will then create “6-W Poems” that reflect their understanding of...
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    Part Of

    Show Me the Money: Promoting Sustainable Forests in the South

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  • Additional Resources

Additional Resources

  • ForestGEO

    The Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) is a global network of scientists and forest research sites dedicated to advancing long-term study of the world’s forests. The network recognizes the importance of collaborating with local institutions to strengthen science capacity in an era of rapidly changing landscapes and climate to understand and predict forest dynamics.

    Visit Website
  • USDA Forest Service: Discovering a new species

    Read an Inside the Forest Service blog post about discovering a new species in Palau.

    Visit Website
  • Pacific Worlds: Omelisebekl hiking in Palau

    Learn more about this hiking style.

    Visit Website
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