MNS KB Trip Mount Serumbu. Pictures taken by Fazilah Shahren.

September 2020 Outdoors Event

Information about the trail:
Mount Serumbu, also known as Mount Peninjau, was home to the earliest settlement of the Serumbu Bidayuhs some 300 years ago. It is located in the Peninjau highland areas and is famous as Rajah Brooke heritage site by Rajah James Brooke who built a mountain retreat high up in the hills situated not far from there. This hilly area is also well-known because of the Wallace Trail which is reported to be the same way the Borneo adventurer, Alfred Russel Wallace, took to study the flora and fauna in the area.

Group Picture

MNS Trip Beccari Discovery trail 23 sept 2020

 Our first MNSKB trip this year. We have more exiting trips planned and if you like to join, feel free to become a member since its only open to registered MNS members.

Bungo Range, project from MNSKB. Pictures taken by Jason Teo.

Bungo Range VIew From Village:

This is how Bungo Range looks like from the village, as you can see, it is a very impressive plateau.

Pitcher plants:

We were able to find 3 species of pitcher plants on the trip

Showing us the local wear:

Our guide was kind enough to show us the outfit he made himself and use during special occasions like festivals.

Strangling figs:

Bungo Range has a very healthy number of figs and large trees, as shown in the photo.

Poster Giving:

Our attempt to raise awareness by giving villagers posters of hornbills and sharing with the villagers why hornbills are important .

 

Thirty Members of MNS KBranch completed an Honorary Wildlife Ranger Training Course at Matang Wildlife C from 9th-11thJuly 2019

Honorary Wildlife Rangers play important roles in managing protected areas such as national parks, and help to monitor illegal activities, such as poaching, by reporting such activities to SFC.

They can be the eyes and ears of enforcement and compliance of laws, as well as promoting conservation in their own areas of contacts.

The Critically Endangered hornbill in Malaysia. by Jason Teo

To my fellow Malaysians, do you know that one of our hornbills, namely the Helmeted Hornbill, is now critically endangered? To give you an idea how serious this is, it is one stage away from being "extinct in the wild", and two stages away from being "totally extinct". 

So, how can you and I help? 

1. Spread the awareness. 

Tell your family and friends about this magnificent bird. Most of the time, it is not because people do not care, but people are not aware. Like panda conservation, things will get better if we all start falling in love with it. 

2. Be the eyes and ears of the authorities, such as Sarawak Forestry Corporation, in its research, enforcement, protection and conservation efforts.

Report if you witness hunting of Helmeted Hornbills or selling of any Helmeted Hornbill-related products. Conservation efforts will only succeed  if  ordinary citizens like us, and the authorities work together. 

Together, we can make a difference.

Talk on Reforestation in Sarawak

Dear members and friends,

This time we have a Talk on Reforestation in Sarawak

Date:          Thursday 5 March 2020

Time:          7.30-9.30 PM ( Please be on time)

Venue :     Islamic Information Centre (Lower Baruk)

                  Jalan Ong Tiang Swee (behind Swinburne University)

Entrance:   Free of charge but donations are always welcome.

Speaker:    Tim Hatch

Please register before 5March to secure your place by email mnskuching@gmail.com.

Reforestation in Sarawak - Challenges and Solutions

To date all reforestation in Sarawak and worldwide has been largely confined to the planting of monocultures of usually non-native species. The rarity of planting material of the desirable indigenous species poses a particular challenge but these are now being overcome by novel and cheap methods which will be outlined together with evidence of the suitability and rapidity of growth of many local species.

About the speaker.

Tim Hatch came to Sarawak in 1977 to join the Agriculture Department where he worked on the problems of Shifting Cultivation and Soil Erosion for over five years. He then set up a landscaping and grassing company which evolved into a large biotechnology company of which he is the Research Director. Tim now dedicates himself to the cause of replanting and restoring the great forests of Sarawak and has recently set up a Facebook Page called ‘Rescuing Borneo’.

Regards,

Cynthia Lobato

MNSKB Secretariat