Heng King Wey, The Star 29 Jun 08;
Being selected for the International Tropical Field School Programme 2008 has certainly kept me busy for the past seven weeks of my semester break. Discovering Malaysia and its diversity in ecology and biodiversity alongside 10 other international students from University of Victoria (UVic) Canada and National University of Singapore (NUS) was indeed an experience of a lifetime.
Our field trips took us all over Malaysia; I went to places that I’d never gone and would probably not have gone on my own. We visited various national parks around Peninsular Malaysia, mangrove forest reserves in Matang, Perak, the Tasik Bera wetlands and oil palm plantations in Pahang, limestone forests and caves in Perlis, coastal areas of Penang and Pulau Redang, Terengganu. It was a fun-filled educational field trip for all.
We had a first hand experience of the various ecosystems in Malaysia and how these ecosystems connect and become part of the culture and lifestyle of the local community.
Spending 24 hours a day for seven whole weeks with these students from Canada and Singapore was truly a journey of discovery. Seeing my own country from their perspectives has taught me to observe and understand more about why things are the way they are, and that really changed the way I looked at things around me.
During the trips, one of the Canadians from UVic, Kathryn Kozak, 23 (fondly known as Katie) made a pertinent observation.
“People often don’t notice the little wonderful things they have around them. They usually need someone else to point it out to them.”
We started our journey at the Matang Mangrove Reserves where we learnt about how the lives of the people revolve around the mangroves. Wood from the mangroves are used to make charcoal, and for export as well.
There have been efforts to replant mangrove trees because we have realised its importance economically and socially. We also planted propagules of the mangrove trees; it was a very fun and muddy replanting project to make up for our huge ecological footprints (the amount of the environment necessary to produce the goods and services necessary to support a particular lifestyle).
In our attempts to understand our surroundings, we even stayed at a hide in Taman Negara just to get a glimpse of large mammals that roam in the national park. We also camped on a quiet beach away from tourist spots in Teluk Mak Kepit, Pulau Redang and watched turtles come up to shore to lay eggs.
The highlight of my trip was following the baby turtles as they paddle into the sea during one of our night watches. It was really a heartfelt moment for me to watch these baby turtles, the size of mini chipsmore cookies, struggling through the sand, determined to get into the sea.
All the participants in the programme formed firm friendships as we discovered each other’s culture and learnt to accept each other for who we are.
Introducing Malaysia’s culture and food to my newfound friends was an interesting task indeed. From local spicy dishes to traditional cultures and beliefs, durians, the hot and humid unpredictable weather and squat toilets certainly gave us laughs and little jokes that we share.
I discovered that although we live regions apart, we are still similar in many ways as young adults trying to discover ourselves in the world.
Malaysia truly has one of the most amazing biodiversity around and who would have known there was so much to learn from my own “backyard”.
“Malaysia is such a wonderful place and has the friendliest people around. I will definitely be back,” said Brian Murray who celebrated his 22nd birthday with all of us on the trip.
I merely expected to come out of this programme with a better understanding of the ecology and biodiversity in Malaysia, but I realised that I have gained more understanding of myself and how we connect to the world around us.
