This is our Home

Check out Home by Director/Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Bird Rescue

My mil house is surrounded by sawah bendang. When talking about sawah bendang eco-system, there are many creatures and animals living in it. The most common is birds. You name it.. bangau, laying-layang, king fisher, owl, enggang putih, etc.. It’s all around the bendang. Last CNY holidays, I managed to get up close and personal with one particular bird. That morning, I spotted a bird standing at the parit. My hubby told me it’s a Burung Puchong. (I assumed it’s ‘HE’). It seems like he was preying for a fish. I quickly grabbed my camera and get as close as possible. I was quite surprised when the bird remained stationary although I was like 5 meters away from him. Usually birds will fly away if they see humans coming to them. Then I saw him struggled as I approached closer. No wonder he didn’t fly away because he was actually trapped!! His beak was stuck.

So my mother in law and hubby rescued him from his misery and placed him on the ground. He was weak and exhausted. He didn’t attempt to fly away from us at all. There was something stuck at the end of his beak. Something like a net debris. My hubby wrapped him with a cloth and gently took it out from his beak. He looked a bit relieved after that. Still he didn’t fly and remained calm. After some time, he hid his head under his wing and took a nap. I guess he was tired. He might be trapped at the spot since last night and need to restore his energy for flying. We left him alone. After a few hours, he was already conscious. I thought he would be jinak ler after the rescue, but I was wrong. As I walked towards him, he started to flap his wings and flew off. Hmm.. told you that they would fly off...

Trapped

Poor bird

Free at last..

"I'm tired"

Hijau

Hijau - Zainal Abidin

Bumi yang tiada rimba
Seumpama hamba
Dia dicemar manusia
Yang jahil ketawa

Bumi yang tiada udara
Bagai tiada nyawa
Pasti hilang suatu hari
Tanpa disedari

Bumi tanpa lautan
Akan kehausan
Pasti lambat laun hilang
Duniaku yang malang

Dewasa ini kita saling merayakan
Kejayaan yang akhirnya membinasakan
Apalah gunanya kematangan fikiran
Bila di jiwa kita masih lagi muda
Dan mentah
Ku lihat hijau

Bumiku yang kian pudar
Siapa yang melihat
Di kala kita tersedar
Mungkinkah terlewat

Korupsi,opresi,obsesi diri
Polusi,depressi,di bumi,kini

Oh..anok-anoktokleh meghaso mandi laok
Besaing,maing ghama-ghama
Ale lo ni tuo umurnyo bejuto
Kito usoho
Jauhke dari malapetako

Ozon lo ni koho nipih nak nak aghi
Keno make asak
Hok biso wei,pasa maknusio
Seghemo bendo-bendo di dunio
Tokleh tehe
Sapa bilo-bilo

By Zainal Abidin

Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff

I found her in TIME's Heroes of The Environment 2008. I like her clear and simple way of explanation on how the environment is affected from A-Z in producing a stuff. She also shared her consumerism theory and the adverse impact of it. After watching her online film, now I think that I really have TO THINK before buying any stuff especially the unnecessary ones. Have a watch.

Wanna know more about her, just visit http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Sungai Balok Project- Clipping #2

The Star Online > Southneast Thursday October 23, 2008

SK Assunta Convent wins scrapbook contest

KUANTAN: The team from SK Assunta Convent won the category for primary schools in the Sungai Balok Scrapbook Competition this year.
The event was initiated by members of the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM) Responsible Care Programme Eastern Zone (RCPEZ).

Well done: Winners of the primary school category posing with Kuantan district education officer Fauziah Abdul Rahman (pink tudung) and Mohd Ali (black songkok) at the prize presentation in Kuantan on Thursday.

The team’s members were Elyssa Tan Mei Qenn, Alysha Nicole De Cruz and Shenise Charles Daya. The winner in the secondary-school category was a team from SMK Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom comprising Nurshuhada Abdul Samat, Fatin Afifah Rozali and Sofia Zulaika Zahri.

Among the guests present were Department of Environment (DOE) assistant director Azuri Azizah Saedon, Kuantan district education officer Fauziah Abdul Rahman and CICM eastern zone chairman Mohd Ali Harun.

In his speech, Mohd Ali said that CICM’s Responsible Care Programme was a global initiative to promote improvements in safety, health and the environment, and provide effective channels for dialogue, understanding and cooperation between the industry, the Government and other stakeholders.

“The programme was launched in 1994 and there are 92 chemical companies which are signatories.

“Six codes on community awareness and emergency response, pollution prevention, process safety, employee health and safety, product stewardship and distribution have been launched,” he added.

On the scrapbook competition, Mohd Ali said the objective was to promote and educate the future generation on the importance of mangrove forest conservation.
The competition was organised in collaboration with the Kuantan district education office, DOE and Kuantan Municipal Council, he added.

Sungai Balok was adopted in August last year to improve community awareness on chemical industries in the Gebeng Industrial Estate.

Last year, RCPEZ organised activities such as a raft race, cleaning up of Sungai Balok, releasing fish, plating trees along the river and erecting signboards to encourage the public to keep the river clean.

© 1995-2008 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Sungai Balok Project- Clipping #1

The Star Online > Southneast Saturday July 19, 2008

Students go on river cruise in scrapbook contest
By ROSLINA MOHAMAD

KUANTAN: About 100 primary and secondary school students from 10 schools were taken on a river cruise and mangrove walk at Sungai Kuantan recently.
The students were participants in the Sungai Balok Scrapbook Competition, an event initiated by members of the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM) Responsible Care Programme Eastern Zone (RCPEZ).

Five of the RCPEZ companies involved in the programme were BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd, Eastman Chemical Sdn Bhd, MTBE (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd/Polypropylene (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Polyplastics Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd and WR Grace Specialty Chemicals (M) Sdn Bhd.

The programme was held over two days with pupils from primary schools attending on the first day and those from secondary schools attending the next day.

Field study: An official showing a mangrove tree stalk to students to create awareness on the environment during the trip at Sungai Kuantan recently.

According to BASF Petronas corporate communications senior executive Lee Sow Kheng, the students visited Sungai Kuantan and the mangrove area instead of Sungai Balok because it was not feasible to go to the latter.

“Sungai Kuantan was picked because of the available facilities. There is a boardwalk in the mangrove area and a boat ferry service.

She said the competition's objective was to educate the younger generation on the importance of mangrove conservation.The participants were given an opportunity to see the mangrove habitat during the boat ride and it was a good experience and eye-opener for them, said Lee.

“They had a clearer picture on how to complete their scrapbooks on topics such as what the mangroves mean to them, the importance of mangrove conservation and its impact to the ecosystem.

“By exposing them to the natural setting, we hope to enhance their awareness and make them appreciate the environment,” she said.

She added that the project was organised with Department of Environment, Kuantan Education Department and Kuantan Municipal Council.The contest's prize-giving will be held in October.

Sungai Balok was adopted in August last year to improve community awareness of chemical industries in the Gebeng Industrial Estate.

Last year, RCPEZ organised activities such as a raft race, cleaning up of Sungai Balok, releasing fish, plating trees along the river and erecting signboards to encourage the public to keep the river clean.

© 1995-2008 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Secret Treasure of Kuantan

In the busy town of Kuantan, lies an undisturb sungai and mangroves that cater amazing biodiversity. Most of Kuantan folks may not have realize its existance and its contribution to the ecosystem. Even I didn't know about it until my team had to do a recce there for an environmental program about one month ago and it was truely an invaluable experience.

Me and other environmental practitioners in Gebeng had to organize a program for school children. This is a continuation from last year's initiative- Balok River Adoption Program (BRAP). Last year, we had beach cleaning, planted trees at Pantai Balok and released anak ikan at muara Sungai Balok. This year the committee decided to organize Scrapbook Competition for school children. The theme is on mangrove or 'Hutan Paya Bakau' at Sungai Balok. Schools selected for this competition mostly reside near Balok area. In order to give them some ideas and insight of mangrove, we decided to bring the kids for a mangrove tour. So, that was when Sungai Kuantan River Cruise came into the picture since the mangroves for both rivers are more or less the same. We did a recce to check out the route, time taken for a cruise and of course to experience the biodiversity.

The original route of the cruise starts from Jetty Sungai Kuantan- Tanjung Lumpur- Mangrove Tour. But opted to head straight for the mangrove. Along the journey, we passed by perkampungan nelayan and Jeti Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM). It is claimed to be the longest fish jetty in Malaysia. This jetty is used to unload the sea catch from the fishermen's boat. Our tour boat stopped by at one the fishermen's boat and guess what? They gave us a pail of fresh fish for free!! The river is not just served as a port for the fishermen, but it is also a source of income for small boatmen. The river bank by the mangrove is a famous spot for udang galah. Orang Melayu cakap 'Lubuk Emas' ler..

Jetty LKIM

Kids searching for udang galah

During the cruise, we were accompanied by Cik Hafizah from Majlis Perbandaran Kuatan (MPK). She is our tour guide. We thought she was just another ordinary MPK personnel but we were wrong. She proved to be a knowledgable officer and truely an expert at her job. She explained to us in details of each paya bakau species from its physical properties to its usage. Not just the flora at her finger tips but fauna as well. Did you know that muara sungai and mangrove area is a favourite mating spot for dolphins? Yes, you can spot them here especially in musim tengkujuh (monsoon season) but it's very rare ler. Apart from dolphin, other animals live in this ecosystem are Mudskipper, Sang Ketam Batu which has one clamp bigger than its other and can appear in various colours- green, blue, red, Sang Helang (eagle), Sang Buaya (croc) namely Buaya Tembaga, Buaya Katak and Buaya Julang and Sang Memerang (otter). But of course we didn't sighted any crocodile ler on that day. According to our boatman, you can check out the crocs in the evening at Sungai Belat (part of Sungai Kuantan) when the river water is at low tide or during musim tengkujuh when the water is cold. So, they usually will resurface to get some heat. Otters were also not to seen during the recce. Pictures and brief description of the bakau species can be viewed at my Fotopages.

On the day that we had to take the school children for the tour, I came early to do some preparation on site. One of the school came early too and we just lepak at the pavement along the Sungai Kuantan. While mesmerizing the beautiful river by the mangrove, suddenly from far I saw a group of creature running by the river bank. At first I thought it was monkeys (yeah.. the rabun environmentalist) but then I saw the creatures stood up like a meerkat. It was otters!!! I called the school kids to check it out and they were all excited as I was. It was my first time to watch a group of otters at its natural habitat. How cool is that?? Terasa seperti Jeff Corwin sekejap.. hehe.. Sadly, no pic is available. By the time I got my hand steadily on my camera, they were out of sight. Damn.. fast moving otters.

The mangrove tour for the school children went well. They really had fun and excited to witness the amazing biodiversity at Sungai Kuantan. I believe they have gained more info and have clearer picture on mangrove ecosystem. Good luck kids with your scrapbook!!! Can't wait to see the outcome in September, the judgement time :-D