Sea Turtle Research Unit

SEATRU is an acronym for Sea Turtle Research Unit and it was created in the mid 80s with the specific goal of research on Sea Turtles. In 1993, SEATRU commenced conservation and research operations on Chagar Hutang, a roughly 350 m long beach north of Redang Island. Chagar Hutang plays a significant part in Malaysian Sea Turtle conservation as it represents the bulk of the green turtle nesting population in peninsular Malaysia. During the economic downturn in the late 80s (87/88) corporate sponsorship was scarce and thus was born the Sea Turtle Outreach Program (STOP) who's primary goal was to educate the public about sea turtles and in the process, provide means for the general public to adopt nests and turtles as well as participate as volunteers on the island, specifically on Chagar Hutang (CH). Since then, SEATRU's role have increased to encompass River Terrapin conservation and the name was subsequently changed to Centre for Turtle Research and Conservation (CTReC).

Sea turtle conservation is not unique to SEATRU as the fisheries department and WWF also has other projects such as in Malacca, Perak and also on other beaches on Terengganu. One significant difference is that SEATRU practices in-situ incubation, meaning the eggs are left where they are laid. This is made easier by the fact that CH is gazetted as a conservation site and is off limits to the public. In Perak & Malacca the nests are relocated to a hatchery nearby. Thus increasing irregularities and increase risk of damaging the eggs especially during relocation (But more about this later).

Sea Turtle Conservation work was not always the same as it was today. In the past, collection of sea turtle eggs was part and parcel of the fishermen's lives and most importantly, there was nothing to prevent collection of the eggs. As such, up till 2003, villagers were collecting the eggs for sale and consumption. To be fair, it's hard to condemn the activity as it supplements the income of the fishermen. In other parts of the world, Mexico for example, apart from educating the public the authorities also assisted the fishermen to look for other sources of income such as eco-tourism and so on therefore reducing the reliance on egg collections. Anyway, due to this the primary means that SEATRU had of conserving the green turtle population was to buy the eggs from the villagers and this was not cheap. Each nest normally costs between RM 100 - RM 200 depending on the clutch and SEATRU would spend hundreds of thousands each year on the buyback.

However, a major breakthrough was made in 2004 when the local government announced the establishment of turtle sanctuaries on all major nesting beaches on Redang. This included Chagar Hutang, Ma' Daerah and Ma' Kepit. The latter 2 are under the purview of the Fisheries Department and are smaller compared to CH. Since then fishermen are no longer allowed to collect the eggs. As such, things were pretty much different when I first volunteered in 2003 compared to my 2nd time onwards. With the reduced expenditure in buying the nests, SEATRU was then able to improve the facilities on CH such as new quarters to replace the decaying ones, toilets, solar power.




Pre-2006 Toilets... :-) These have since been replaced so don't worry.






Pre-2006 Bathroom. Yes... They've also been replaced... :-)





Pre-2006 Quarters. Yes Yes Yes... New Quarters now... Balinese style... :-)




Told you... Spanking new volunteer quarters as at 2006. The male volunteer quarters are adjacent to the female ones... Girls... whisper softly cos' we can hear what you are saying... :-)





New Solar Panels. But don't expect TV or Astro... These are mainly for lighting and necessary equipment.





New Staff Quarters. For those of you who've been there prior to 2006, these quarters stand where the volunteer quarters and kitchen used to be.




The dining area and kitchen with the office in the background





Alright, that pretty much covers the program... but how do you volunteer? Well, you have to register. Nesting season starts early March till end October so registration normally opens on the CTReC Web site in February and you have to be fast... and I do mean FAST cos' the slots sell like hot cakes!!

So... for those of you who are interested, do check out the Web site next year... :-)

Compromise

How often have we gotten into an argument with our loved ones or our friends and colleagues with neither one willing to give way? Can any one of us say with honesty that we have never been in an argument?

Compromise is part and parcel of interpersonal relationships. It's a crucial part of marriage, work and life in general. From my own personal experience and also from observing situations at work I do feel that many a conflict could have been resolved if one party had just stopped to consider the point that the other was trying to make. In relationships, I myself have been guilty of imposing my will and sometimes just being plain stubborn. Of course I do have my point sometimes.

Where work is concerned, it's pretty much the same where both parties want to make a point but neither one is willing to concede his or her point. I have seen this in negotiations with certain customers where they insist that they are right although we have clearly stated the negative implications of going their way. Such disputes also occur between developers and the quality assurance team (QA) where the QA frequently argue that developers don't do sufficient testing and the developers have the impression that the sole mission of the QA was to make life a living hell for them. However, if both parties would just sit back and think, they would realise that both parties aspire for one thing... to deliver a good product. I suppose this is the main reason why a project manager or leader is required to moderate and make decisions in the event of a deadlock.

In relationships, most if not all of us would have had arguments with our significant other sometimes over silly little things and sometimes over significant issues. But again, right or wrong, both parties should realise that continued arguments would serve neither party. In the end, both will be unhappy. Sometimes, in an effort to resolve the dispute, why not just take a step back and consider the other party's argument and consider compromising.

It is understandable that this can be difficult as it is not possible to always compromise. In this aspect, I suppose both parties have to be reasonable. God knows that conflicts can easily be averted if we as individuals can be more compromising... :-D

Crazy Horse Memorial

Mention Mount Rushmore and everyone will know it... Well... either that or the mountain with 4 Presidents' Head... :-) Mention Crazy Horse and 99%, if not 100% of you will go "Huh?!"... "Kuda Gila?". Crazy Horse is not literally a horse that has gone off his bonkers but in fact, one of the great native Indian war leaders alongside Geronimo and Sitting Bull... Ha Ha... Who??!!

Although these great people from American History were from different tribes; Oglala, Apache & Sioux respectively, they share a common goal... Fighting for their tribe's survival and ancestral lands in the face of the onslaught of the white settlers. You can get an idea of what these people were faced with from movies such as Dances With Wolves and Geronimo.

Anyway, it was during my University days that I drove down to South Dakota with a few of my friends and it wasn't till we went to Mount Rushmore that we heard of this ongoing project to carve another monument dedicated to the American Indians similar to Mount Rushmore. I have always been in awe of native american indian culture so before you knew it we were driving up the road to the the monument's visitor centre.

Like Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial is being carved out of a granite hill... Think it's easy? Think again. They use dynamites and precision engineering. Work commenced on the face in 1987 and 10 years later, they have just completed the face of Crazy Horse. Long way to go. But I think it's really interesting that you are able to see it in progress. They have a Web Cam at the visitor centre that will allow you to see the progress of the carving so check it out at the official Crazy Horse Memorial Web Site.

If you have the opportunity to visit the monument, don't miss it...

Save Our Sea Turtles

A cause that's very close to my heart ever since I volunteered for my first wildlife conservation trip back in 2003. I was introduced to it by my friend, Sam and since then I have returned almost every year. Come this June I will be returning as a Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) Volunteer to Chagar Hutang for my 5th time.

The first time I went, it was to experience actual conservation work and didn't really know what to expect and of course, it would be my first trip to Pulau Redang. But since that first trip, every return trip has been a journey of discovery... The landscape changes, the people change, the fellow volunteers are different but I guess if I were to list them, the following would be some of the reasons why I do it...

1. It's a worthy cause. Give back to mother nature.
2. Nature at it's best. Fresh water, fresh sea air...
3. Imagine watching a turtle crawling up the beach to lay it's clutch of eggs... trust me, it's a sight you will never forget.
4. Making new friends. My first trip there, I met 4 other volunteers... They are now some of my best friends.
5. Cutoff from the rest of the world... Can you imagine customers not being able to reach you on your handphone? Woo Hooo.... This alone is reason to go...
6. Your own private 300m long beach. It's all yours... Tourists are not allowed.
7. Of the people I have met there, 50% have or are planning to go again. I have gone 4 times and I am planning to go again.
8. It's way cheaper than Orca, Rhino or Tiger conservation.
9. Genuine Kampung, fisherman cooking...

One hope that I have is that I'll be around in 15 yrs time and when I return, some of the new turtles crawling up the beach to nest for the first time will be one that I have watched hatch and crawl from their nest to the sea back in 2003.

Well... I'll write more about my journeys in subsequent blogs... Till then, you can find out more about the program at the Turtle Research & Rehabilitation Group.



Volunteers 2003 (L-R): Sam MJ, PA Lim, Ng Poh Ling, Man (Staff), Eric, Ng Ai Ling, Shiaw Yang, Slyvester (Research Asst.)





Volunteers 2005 Top (L-R): Sam MJ, Cherng (RA), Ean, Mei, Shiaw Yang, Eric.... Bottom (L-R): PA Lim, Staff, Morita (RA)






Volunteers 2006 (L-R): PA Lim, Yee Suan, Hooi Hun

Volunteers 2007 Top (L-R): Felina, Nurul Radiah, Adie (Staff), Man (Staff), Ai Wa, Sang Sang, Karen.... Bottom (L-R): Seik Ni, PALim

Immobility

Groaaaannnnn... This is officially my 2nd day without my trusty 'steed'... Fortunately Sulyn's been kind enough to offer me rides to and from the office the past 2 days and tomorrow as well...
It's depressing having to dish out the sum of money but the thought of having a my 10 year old car look brand new... well.. at least on the outside, is keeping me away from depression... :-) I've pretty much been collecting nicks, dents & scratches as I hate how everytime I get the car fixed, new scratches will appear very soon (touch wood)... There's some pretty mean looking dents all around but none as bad as the one I acquired on Saturday... and the roof's also showing signs of rust bubbles... So I thought what the heck... Might as well invest in getting it fixed and repainted... There goes 2k....

Mechanic told me he'd get it done latest by Tuesday... Hope I can frackin' last till then... It's weird though being a passenger... I've been so used to driving people around and I guess I like having my hands at the wheel... But oh well, at least I can have a couple of minutes more shut eye while Sulyn drives...

Thanks Sulyn!!!