The Sahabat Hutan Bakau study tour to Penang was organized by Global Environment Centre and was funded by CIMB Community Link. The main objective of organizing the study tour was to give exposure to SHB members about environmental conservation works in other places and also to educate them as well. This study trip was accompanied by 31 SHB members, 2 Chinese community members from the village of Kuala Gula, 3 representatives from GEC, 1 Internship student from UUM and a reporter from a Chinese newspaper.

On Sunday morning at 0730, all participants gathered at SK Kuala Gula with happy and excited faces waiting for the bus to arrive. At 0800, we left SK Kuala Gula heading to Sungai Acheh, Penang. At Sungai Acheh, we met En Ilias Shafie, Chairman of Penang Inshore Fisherman Welfare Association (PIFWA). Later, he brought us to the PIFWA office for a briefing about PIFWA, what PIFWA does, and their achievements so far. After the briefing session, they brought us to visit their mangrove nursery and several PIFWA successful mangrove tree planting sites. The planting site at Sungai Chenaam with a total area of 4.6 ha which was planted from 2001 -2003 already reached almost 5 meters in height. They also showed us their successful project called “Projek Pembenihan Udang Galah”, which is under the supervision of the Department of Fisheries, Malaysia. PIFWA then brought us to their Sungai Sembilang mangrove tree planting site at Juru where our SHB group was involved in a tree planting event conducted here last year.

After leaving Sungai Sembilang, the next destination was Rima Pelangi Handicraft Centre located in Teluk Bahang. The purpose of this visit was to teach the SHB some skills on how to produce handicraft made from cockle shells. There are a lot of cockle shells available in Kuala Gula which are just sitting along the road side. This was an opportunity for the SHB members to learn and develop their creativity to produce unique handicraft made from cockle shells which will remind people of Kuala Gula. Kak Ton from Risma Pelangi Handicraft told the SHB that creativity is the most important thing to produce a unique and attractive handicraft.

The next day, Monday 20th July, we visited the Penang National Park which was located very near to our accommodation. The Penang National Park is managed by PERHILITAN and an officer gave a short presentation about the park upon arrival. After the presentation, we took a boat ride to Pantai Karachut to visit the Meromictic Lake and Turtle Conservation Project. Meromictic Lake was very special because it has 2 layers of water - saline water/sea water at the bottom and fresh water at the top. These 2 types of water do not mix with each other because their density is different. Later, we headed to the Turtle Conservation Project located around 1km from the Meromictic Lake and explored the area. We then headed for the canopy walk, which was about 260m in length and 10 meters above ground and had a good time experiencing the thrill of the canopy walk. From there, it was a 30 minute walk back to the Penang National Park entrance. The Penang National Park was a good learning experience to know more about other conservation types and enjoy and experience a different forest environment.

We then went to the Penang Butterfly Farm. It is the world’s first tropical live butterfly and insect sanctuary. Penang Butterfly Farm is more than just a tourist attraction. It is set up as a ‘live museum’ to educate the public as well as a research centre to develop breeding methods. At the farm, we found ourselves surrounded by a myriad of fluttering butterflies within a seemingly natural setting and it felt like we were in an enchanted wilderness, bejeweled with colorful gems of creation. The best encounter at the farm is undoubtedly the free papilions in the enormous enclosure.

This concluded the SHB study trip to Penang. It is hoped that with the new experiences and knowledge gained through the study trip, the SHB will be more proactive and initiate some new projects in Kuala Gula to better sustain their mangrove environment for the future.

 

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