Last summer, the 22-year-old found herself in the jungles of Borneo with a Canadian-led expedition of international scientists who rediscovered a rare species of monkey thought to be extinct.

The find (of the endangered-but-not-extinct Miller's Grizzled Langur) was published in the American Journal of Primatology this month, but Street was in Borneo in July when scientists in her camp first realized what they had caught on their camera traps.

"They didn't want to get too excited because they weren't a hundred per cent sure," she said, "but you could tell they were trying to hide their enthusiasm.within a couple days they had talked to a few other people and realized what it was."

Street, a UBC anthropology grad, had been in Borneo for nearly seven weeks with Ethical Expeditions, a field school through Quest University in Squamish.

For four of her seven weeks she had accompanied scientists on a transect and biodiversity study of a little-explored piece of jungle called the Wehea Forest-land the local population has been working to protect since 2004.

Although the transect was only about 19 kilometres in a straight line, Street lugged her 40-pound pack over some treacherous and muddy terrain.

"It was quite difficult," she said. "The trails were pretty steep, and on our first day of hiking we went for 13 hours."

By the end, Street was the only female student to complete the trek.

During the biodiversity study, the group hiked for a day or two and then set up a base camp to study the surrounding flora and fauna.

As a student, Street helped by netting bats ("When you hold them, they actually calm down quite a bit") and setting up small mammal traps, which yielded mostly rats.

With the help of an Oregon tree climber who joined the expedition, the students were even hoisted above the canopy for a chance to observe the creatures there.

While the jungle boasts its fair share of dangers, including poisonous snakes and bugs, Street said she wasn't afraid.

"It's actually surprisingly calming there even at night," she said.

That being said, she was quick to add that tent zippers were always securely fastened to keep out jungle bugs.

"There was a couple of pretty gross ones," she said.

But bugs won't be keeping Street out of the jungle.

Being part of the expedition that completed the first transect of the Wehea Forest and rediscovered the Miller's Grizzled Langur has ignited her passion for field work, and Street plans to return to Borneo in March.

She will spend at least six months there as a research assistant helping scientists follow a group of Red Langurs through the jungle before returning to Canada to pursue graduate studies in anthropology.

cnaylor@chilliwacktimes.com