A day in the park

Today the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) had its open day at Lembah Kiara Forest. First stop - the taxi stand where many a trip starts with a lively consultation among drivers along with lots of gestures and mention of landmarks along the way (in this case a big IBM sign).

At the bird watching group's table we were given a "garden birds seeking humans" to participate in a bird counting exercise tomorrow. We plan to give it a try. I didn't mention that my one and only foray into bird watching was a failure. While everyone else was discussing the color of a bird's beak I was still trying to find the bird.

Edo & Muni A happy future ahead

Next was stream ecology activity. Edo, an undergraduate student in marine biology, and Muna, a Phd student, were two of the guides. We went into the streams with nets to seek very tiny fish and shrimp. Doug ended up with a donated fish (donated by Muna) - barely visible and too small to photograph. Doug later found out he had actually contributed a second fish. We tested the water for acidity, water clarity, and oxygen. I am not sure that the results in our local park would have been as good; on the other hand no sane person would venture into its lake.

Close to the stream was rope climbing (we passed on this). The woman seemed doomed not to get off the ground. Remember a picture records only a moment in time. Once the woman figured out the strategy she passed the man quickly - to shouts of "girl power" and suggestions that the man been eating too much nasi lemak.

We then at a visited the partners' booths. MYCAT is to conserve Malaysia's tigers. It gets everyone involved by distributing a hot line number where people can report restaurants that serve endangered animals, outlets that sell products made from them or pet shops that sell them. We had a short conversation about shark fins - still legal here but public awareness seems to be growing. The young woman was quite a sales persons for both their fund raising products and their projects.

I bought a small woven purse from Mang Tha, a project for Chin women refugees. Refugees who seek asylum here are not granted legal status, so their life is difficult (to say the least). We will visit the center soon and learn more about the project. Our final stop was at Wild Asia. We only spent a few minutes but their site's comment about why volunteer says a lot: "Learn about the complexities of getting things done in Asia! Gain an insight into conservation issues from people who are passionate about their work."

Our last activity was a nature walk through the jungle. In addition to our guide we had about five scouts, who were really good at helping small children and old ladies along the trail. Another guide filled in details especially on the banyan tree - including mentioning a village in India where the villagers have formed a bridge from its roots.

The park's rubber trees growing in the forest are supposed to be retired, but as the price of rubber has increased they are subject to poaching. No more buckets to collect the latex but plastic bags - the rubber isn't as good, but the work is less and requires less skills.


Next on our list - join MNS. It will expand our world and our appreciation of Malaysia.