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By: RIPAD NYL
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| Sunday, 25-May-2008 14:21 |
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Motivational camp at Berakas Forest recreational park
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http://www.youtube.com/ripad2008
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| Saturday, 26-Apr-2008 07:42 |
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Khatam Al-Quran Ceremony
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| Saturday, 22-Mar-2008 05:39 |
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Harvesting paddy at Kampung Mungkom, Tutong
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Harvesting paddy at Kg Mungkom
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Harvesting paddy at Kg Mungkom
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Harvesting paddy at Kg Mungkom
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| | View all 12 photos... |
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| Thursday, 7-Feb-2008 06:02 |
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Visit to Ulu Temburong National Park
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Team building activities at Trandie Marina Resort
There was a sense of urgency as both teams tried to pass the hula hoop round the circle without letting go of their hands. Occasionally, someone would falter and others would burst out laughing as they saw the funny side of manoevering their bodies through the hoop. But still they persevered, encouraging each other not to slow down.
"Incredible, they have beaten their time again," Hj Hussein told me as we watched the activity.
"But who actually won?” I asked, still unsure about the outcome of the game.
"They both did”, he added with a smile, "Both teams improved on their times".
"Oh I see........"
It suddenly dawned on me that Time Tunnel was not an activity where the teams had to win by getting the fastest time. It was more about teams beating the clock. And this they did successfully, in every round, first with one hoop, then two.
As I watched the two teams from Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Arabic Religious Secondary Girls School (SUAMPRIPAD) compete in two other activities, I was reminded of my last visit to Trandie Marina Resort or Trandie in Kampung Batang Duri, Temburong some 18 months ago. I had taken part in the flying fox and abseiling. Back then I had a great fear of heights and water but these two thrilling activities partly helped me overcome some of my worst fears. In the process, I learnt about teamwork and trust.
Under a management headed by Hj Hussein Ahmad, Trandie offers a number of exciting in-house team-building activities for participants with little or no previous experience. Before any activity, participants are given a safety briefing and training session where they are taught the use of various devices as well as correct skills and techniques. Then, under the watchful eye of trained and qualified instructors, participants confidently try out activities such as flying fox, abseiling, wall climbing, swimming, body surfing and white water rafting.
Trandie also runs a number of mentally and physically challenging team-building exercises for corporate clients and groups. These exercises, disguised as tasks, promote teamwork and synergy among participating teams to produce better work, ideas and skills.
The modules of the exercises are shaped with the concept that learning is not gained solely from Trandie's instructors but from the participants own experiences, creativity and innovative ideas. These exercises include activities such as flying fox, abseiling, obstacle course, spider web, millipede walk, tower jelly, river crossing, trekking, blind men walk, canopy walk, trust fall, and Jacob's ladder.
First established 13 years ago as a lodging house, Trandie can easily accommodate up to 26 people with the construction of new facilities and upgrading work on its hostel. Some of the recent additions include two tree-houses located some 100 metres from the hostel for guests who want to experience the novelty of living in a tree-house. There is also a platform specially built behind the hostel to facilitate bird-watching activities.
Trandie also offers various packages for vistors who want to visit attractions at the Ulu Temburong National Park such as the canopy walkway and waterfalls as well as other attractions in Temburong such as the Batang Duri Park, longhouses and the Bukit Patoi Forest Recreational Park.
In order to conserve the rich bio-diversity of the rainforest, Trandie has embarked on a project to develop the place as an educational base for various plant species. Currently, it is growing more than 25 ginger species, various medicinal plants and a wide variety of orchids.
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| Sunday, 29-Apr-2007 06:01 |
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SUAMPRIPAD EMBARKS ON TREE PLANTING AND LANDSCAPE PROJECT
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Students from Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Arabic Religious Secondary School took time off from their studies last week to embark on a "Tree Planting and Landscape Project" aimed to improve the environment and beauty of the school.
The project was initiated by the Eco Club together with the Peer Group Helpers or Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya (PRS) of the school in conjunction with the school's upcoming 40th anniversary celebrations and World Earth Day on April 22.
The school was assisted by staff from the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation, MInistry of Developement who came to the school at the start of the project to offer their advice on the suitability of plants and maintenance of the landscaped areas.
The department also donated some 130 saplings and ornamental plants to the school while teachers and students brought more than 200 saplings and flowering plants for the project.
The "Tree Planting and Landscape" project is one of the many projects undertaken by the Eco Club this year. The club will participate in a Serasa Beach and Brunei River clean-up as well as a mass tree planting project in the future.
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| Sunday, 29-Apr-2007 05:45 |
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TURTLES IN TROUBLE
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"It's beautiful, just like a batik print", Hj Arif, my colleague, commented on the Hawksbill turtle.
"Its head looks more like a cobra", added Mazali bin Ahmad, hatchery assistant at the unit.
Their remarks prompted me to have a closer look at the turtle. True, the creature certainly looked striking with its distinct colouring and conspicuous snake-like head.
The incident took place during my recent visit with a group of 35 form four students and teachers of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Arabic Religious Secondary Girls’ School to the Serasa Aquaculture Unit opposite the Royal Brunei Yacht Club in Serasa Beach. The trip was one of the activities organized by the Geography Department of the school aimed to create awareness about marine turtles as well as conservation efforts made by the government to protect these creatures.
On arrival we were given a brief talk on turtles by Hairel Hj Simpul, Senior Fisheries Assistant at the Fisheries Department. He provided us with interesting bits of information about turtles, "secrets" about them that we would never find in any textbook.
According to Hairel, marine turtles have existed for nearly 300 million years. Ironically, many traits that made them an evolutionary success like long life-spans and slow reproduction make them vulnerable to human pressures today. More than a third of the world's marine turtles are threatened with extinction. All seven species of sea turtles are endangered. Of the seven species, three, the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) land and lay their eggs on Brunei beaches.
Olive Ridley turtles are the most common species in Brunei. Named after their olive-coloured shells called carapace, they are the smallest of all sea turtles. Females lay eggs when they are about 10 to 15 years of age. Baby turtles called hatchlings are about 3 to 4 centimetres in length while an adult can measure up to 800 centimetres and weigh up to 50 kilograms.
The Hawksbill turtle gets its name from its distinct beak-like mouth. Its head tapers to a point and its lower jaw is V-shaped, adding to its hawk-like resemblance. Its carapace is covered in thick overlapping scales called scutes which are amber-coloured and richly patterned with radiating streaks of brown and black. Hawksbills are beautiful, medium-sized sea turtles with adults measuring up to 1 metre in length and weighing about 80 kilograms.
The Green Turtle, actually does not look green from the outside. Its carapace can be shades of black, gray, olive green, yellow or brown with a radiant pattern, stripes or irregular spots of black and white. Its belly is creamy white or yellow. The Green Turtle owes its name to the green-coloured fat tissue under its shell due to its diet of sea grass and algae. While hatchlings are just 1 centimetre long, adults can grow to more than 1 metre and weigh up to 200 kilograms.
Turtles are collected for pets, food and medicine; their shells are sold as aphrodisiacs; their habitats are disappearing; and pollutants contaminate their eggs. Sea turtles face the additional threats of marine debris, collisions with ships, and becoming entangled in fishing nets and other equipment.
As turtles feel the heat of climate change due to global warming, they could go the way of the dinosaurs. Most turtles have environmental sex determination - the temperature during an egg's incubation determines whether the turtle will be male or female. A global temperature increase of just a few degrees could eliminate males of many turtle species, and then the species themselves.
Unlike what we previously thought, turtles are also vulnerable to diseases, just like humans. During the talk, we saw a picture of a turtle with tumours. Hairel told us that his "baby" (turtle with tumours) survived after the tumours were removed. Later, we saw his "baby" swimming inside a tank, looking very much alive.
Following a short question and answer session, the students took the opportunity to identify, touch and feed the turtles.
In Brunei, all sea turtles are protected species, although enforcement is a problem. There are beaches where turtles are known to nest but gradual development of the coastal areas has meant that there are fewer suitable sites for them to lay their eggs.
Even those that land on beaches at night to lay eggs fall prey to poachers who sell their eggs at a high price on the black market.
As we bade farewell to Hairel and his colleagues at the unit, he expressed his hope to educate more young people about turtles through school visits and volunteer programmes. It is crucial that the mindset of the people be changed if efforts to save these creatures are to succeed. He also extended an open invitation to anyone who wants to have a first hand experience with turtles to come and have a look for themselves as the unit is open every day throughout the year.
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