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Indian Students Enjoy the Wonders of Borneo
November was an exciting month for us as we
welcomed our first school from India onto our Wild Orangutan Adventure
programme. The students from Bangalore International School learned all about
orangutans whilst visiting the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre before
taking in a bird’s eye (or orangutan’s eye!) view of the rainforest from the
40m tall canopy walk at the Rainforest Discovery Centre. They were also
privileged to receive a guided tour of the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre,
where they met world famous sun bear expert Mr Wong Siew Te, and handed over a
donation to help further his vital work to rescue and rehabilitate sun bear
back into the rain forests of Borneo. A heartfelt thanks go out to the students
and teachers from BIS, it was great fun having you and we hope to see you again
next year!
Welcome back to American International
School, Hong Kong
Last October we were happy to welcome back
the fantastic students from Hong Kong’s American International School both to
Zoo Negara and Borneo. Everyone in the group contributed hugely to our
projects, starting at Zoo Negara by designing and making enrichment toys for
the animals as well as giving the baboon and macaque enclosures a re-vamp.
After a visit to SKyTrex Adventure, we
headed over the Borneo where staff and students alike got stuck in
removing invasive water hyacinth from the Kinabatangan River, planting trees to
reconnect fragmented forests and spending time in the local school teaching
English and playing games. As always, big thanks to the teachers from AIS who
work so hard to make the trip happen every year. We can’t wait to have you back
next year!
July 15th 2011 -World's First Enrichment Education Centre Opened |
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 July was an exciting month at Zoo Negara as we helped launch South East Asia’s very first Enrichment Education Centre. Built using money contributed by the zoo as well as a substantial amount donated as part of our adult volunteering programmes, the centre will serve as the hub for enrichment activities around the zoo as well as being used by the education department for some hands on education programmes for visitors and students. Behavioural enrichment is widely regarded in zoo circles as being vital for the physical and mental wellbeing of captive animals. Enrichment may take many forms, from simple food enrichment (like hiding an animal’s food in its enclosure) and social enrichment (making sure social animals are able to interact with other of their species), to complex devices design to work the brain and body, for example our life sized termite mound made for the chimps (see picture, left).
Enrichment also provides a novel opportunity for people to learn about animals. Designing and making enrichment requires an understanding of and animal’s ecology and natural history, and so we use enrichment in most of our education programmes as a way to develop students’ knowledge of a species and its behaviour in the wild.
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May 19th 2011 -Singapore Students Raise Cash to Replant Rain Forest
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This month also saw the return of the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) from Singapore. Last year 25 students from the school help us plant up 250 tree saplings as part of the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life Project- an ambitious undertaking that aims to replant and reconnect fragmented rain forests and provide a viable long term habitat for endangered wildlife including orangutans and pygmy elephants. Staff and students were pleased to revisit their patch of forest and find 242 of the original 250 trees still surviving and many thriving and reaching heights taller than any of us! Once again students worked hard and helped us plant a further 260 saplings. If this wasn't enough, it turned out that the students had also been working hard back in Singapore, and through various fundraising activities had brought with them a huge RM4800 (USD1,595 ) to help us in our efforts to replant Borneo's rain forest. The money is a welcome contribution and has allowed us to immediately start paying local people to help maintain the trees that we plant to better ensure their survival. A proportion has also been set aside to help in funding elephant proof fencing that will protect the trees until they are large enough to withstand grazing by the ellies and other wildlife. On behalf of everyone here a Wild@Heart, a BIG thank you to ACS for their commitment and generosity to our project, and to the survival of the forests, wildlife and communities of Borneo! 
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May 3rd 2011 -Turning Turtle in Terrenganu
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 On April 29th we were pleased to welcome 10 enthusiastic students from the International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as they became the first group to partner in turtle conservation as part of our Turning Turtle programme. Together we embarked on a fun packed two days of activities, from mangrove tree planting and a beach cleanup, to an all-night turtle nest patrol and a kite making session in which the local villagers shared with us the art of making "wau" kites.
A highlight for all was the challenging activity of constructing two terrapin traps to be used by the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) in their ongoing river terrapin research projects. These endearing little animals are an important part of the riverine ecosystem in Malaysia, yet very little is known about their ecology. Researchers at the TCC hope to place radio tracking devices on a number of terrapins and track them for the next two years, comparing data collecting from both wild caught terrapins and those raised in captivity at the centre.
Given a heap of PVC pipes, plastic netting and buoys, the students got to work on constructing the traps. The tricky bit was creating the wooden platform on which the terrapin must step before sliding into the trap and being collected later by the researchers, and the students had to work within the limitations of the budget and materials available. However by late afternoon we had two fully functioning traps! All that remained was to check out the boyancy,which we tested by wading out into the river. Nothing like a nice cooling dip in the river at the end of a hard day's work! After a few adjustments and a bit of fine tuning on the original design, the traps we ready to be deployed for real. They are currently floating out in Setiu river, Terengganu, ready to catch unsuspecting terrapins as they come up to bask!
 
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| March 27th 2011 -Young action heroes needed to save the planet!
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An award-winning Queensland production company have come together with National Geographic Entertainment to produce an exciting 3D action documentary aimed at saving the world's rain forests before it's too late!
Project Borneo 3D is looking for 10 passionate, adventurous and courageous young leaders to participate in the project of a lifetime -a mission to stop deforestation in Borneo, create a permanent home for orangutans AND at the same time star in a 3D action documentary.
The 10 "action heroes" will live in the Bornean rain forest for 5 months, working with acclaimed scientist Dr Willie Smits and Orangutan Outreach and reporting to a global network of young people. The project aims to connect millions of people world wide who have said "Enough is enough! Deforestation has to stop!"
For more information and details on how to apply visit www.anactionmovie.com. Applicants must be aged 18-35. |
