wetlands
a publication of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Vol 9 No 3

otters: water puppies of the reserve

Hillgrove secondary school adopts the reserve

singapore's first wetland reserve:
what does this mean?

reintroduction of
native mangrove flora

some interesting notes on
the sunbirds

volunteer training at mawai eco camp

Commonwealth secondary school student volunteers

home on high
  
volunteer training at
Mawai Eco Camp
by halilah ahmad
education officer
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve organizes volunteer training for all confirmed volunteers as part of their incentive since 1998.

Apart from SBWR volunteers, staff also join in these outings to inculcate rapport between volunteers and staff working in common nature areas of Singapore. In total, 30 people signed up for this year's trip to Mawai Eco Camp on the 12th and 13th Oct 2002.

Mawai Eco Camp is situated by the Sedili river of Mawai Lama and north of Kota Tinggi. Mr Tay Kheng Soon, a Singaporean architect and a former Singapore Scouts Commissioner, designed it. The camp was built over a freshwater swamp by the Orang Asli who were the aborigines from Endau, Johore. Materials used were from the nearby forest and the camp was completed in late 1998.

The weekend trip - Day One We set off to Mawai from Newton Hawker Center carpark early at 8 am and reach the famous Corner's Jetty at approximately 11 am. A boat, with a seating capacity of 12 took us in batches to the campsite.

"The botanist E J Corner has written an excellent chapter in his book, 'Mangrove and freshwater swamp of South Johore' on this particular area. His private concrete jetty still stands, next to the fig tree (90 years old), which he mentioned in his above book in 1917." Extract from the Synopsis of Mawai Eco Camp.

The programme started of with a safety briefing followed by a sumptuous lunch. 2 local cooks were engaged to prepare food and drinking water for the whole group throughout our stay. We were told that the main source of water in the camp is collected from rainwater that went through a natural soil filtration system. Therefore, drinking water had to be boiled before consumption. We make our beds after lunch.

Mawai Eco Camp is designed for the outdoor enthusiasts and one of their objectives is to teach campcraft within the jungle atmosphere. The sleeping quarters is a replica of the army / commando beds on raised platform. The sleeping quarters can accommodate 80 people, 40 at each side separated by a partitioned walkway where informative posters and books are placed for reading or references. Interestingly, the camp is also equipped with some traditional musical instruments for the users to entertain themselves with. We were divided into 3 groups for the day's boat ride up Sedili River. Sutari, our guide, explained some of the common flora and fauna that thrived along the river. Riverine crocodiles are said to be present too. We saw fishermen doing recreational fishing for the freshwater river prawns and a few of birds of prey flying up in the sky. A lone Dollarbird was seen standing proudly on a branch above us.

Meanwhile, the more energetic ones had fun getting wet while maneuvering their way through the obstacles course back at the camp!

For the next activity, we were 'treated' to a rather muddy walk across a nearby freshwater swamp forest. We were introduced to many typical freshwater swamp plants and sampled a few edible fruit and shoots.

The group was again sub-divided into 3 smaller groups for a boat trip to see the fireflies. Unfortunately, the tide was receding and the boat could not go further the river. However, we still managed to see some healthy population of fireflies.

To end the exciting day event, we had a barbecued dinner followed by a campfire where some of us sang through the night.

The weekend trip - Day Two The day's event was rather free and easy. Most of us chose to go bird watching with Sunny. Some stayed behind to laze, enjoying social interaction within the jungle ambience of the camp.

We had a late breakfast when we returned to camp. After that, we were treated to a 'show- and-tell' session on how the Orang Asli set trap on animals for food.

While waiting for lunch, some of us tried our hands at sketching with pencils, under Pui San's guidance.

We concluded our camping activities at about 1330 hrs and headed for the Hutan Lipur Panti (Panti Forest Reserve), which was about a 15 minutes bus ride away. Joseph gave us interesting insights on the life of trees and plants living in the forest.

We headed home soon after and reached Singapore at approximately 5pm.

Post trip
All participants said they enjoyed the 2 days trip and some thought that it would be better if the trip were extended for one more day. Some pesky ticks and bugs bit most of us though most of us did not mind them "saying hello". Overall, we met our objectives of learning new things in an unfamiliar environment. Rapport among all participants was very good and many new friendships were formed.

Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves and it had been a fruitful trip for all!
   
© Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve