Going to the Jungle

Have you ever planned on traveling far, far away, and never return? This was my brilliant
eight-year-old idea after I watched the movie, The Jungle Book. I fell in love with the characters,
the plot, and especially the setting. Living in a huge jungle with no parents telling you to clean
your room sounded like a great getaway to me. I still have a fascination with jungles; in
particular, rain forests. I hope one day, I can travel to at least one of these beautiful forests:
● Tongass National Forest-United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongass_National_Forest
● Amazon Rainforest-South America (Largest forest in the world!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest
● Daintree Rainforest-Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daintree_Rainforest
● North Western Ghats-India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Western_Ghats_moist_deciduous_forests

Rainforests cover less than 3 percent of the planet, but we genius humans decide to destroy over
31,000 miles of these forests each year. Which is not okay! This is due to the resources we use
on a daily basis. The majority of these resources come from the rainforest’s plants.
The rainforest is split up into layers. The top layer of the tree that holds the most wildlife is
known as the canopy. This is due to the overlapping branches clustered together from the
massive trees. Because of the thick branches that make up the canopy, the forest floor, which is
the bottom layer of the rainforest, gets only about 2 percent of sunlight. This leaves the ground
level very damp, dark, and humid. The forest floor is my favorite because of the wildlife that
inhabits it. Jaguars, mountain gorillas, and poison dart frogs are just a few creatures that live
here.
Have you ever thought about escaping to the jungle or traveled to one of these incredible forests?
You can find out more information on the link below!
October 7, 2020 – Written by Gina Zbinden

https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/