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Activities Report 1999 Sept Newsletter

CHILDREN NATURE CAMP (29 - 30 MAY 1999) 



      The camp, held for the twentieth time at the Papan Nursery attracted only twenty-two participants, mostly from the Kinta district. Two hailed from Klang while Philip Leong and Lee Su Win proudly sponsored four orang asli children from Tapah. Besides the sixteen volunteers, headed by Camp Manager, Mr Ng Chang Chai, ten boys from the SM Menglembu Nature Club (KPA) also turned up to help set up the Blind Trail activity.
      By 1.30pm, the participants and their parents had already flocked into the ghostly Papan town and gathered in front of the Chinese Temple. As we could not set up the MNS signboards on time (the parents were too eager to go in), Phaik Imm had to lead the entourage in to the campsite. Yes,
to the wrong path! Luckily she managed to turn back before the third vehicle followed suit.
      Much to the dismay of the volunteers and the enthusiastic parents, the gate to the nursery was locked. Apparently the guard had left minutes earlier to attend a kenduri. We had to do the regis-tration outside the gate. The KPA boys then climbed over the gate so that we could pass the
luggage in. What about the children? We guided them in through a gap below the fence at the stream. Meanwhile the parents had to leave, disappointed at not being able to inspect the area — where the chldren would sleep, bathe, have their meals, etc. (wonder if the parents slept well that night?).
      For this camp, a few new activities were introduced. "Guess Me" was where the children were blind-folded before being led to different stations to guess the sounds (group activity). On the second day, birdwatching turned out to be a fruitful one as the children managed to see two species. Two Crimson-backed Woodpeckers posed long enough for the twenty-two pairs of eyes while only a few managed to have a glimpse of a black and yellow broadbill.
      For once the children laid down Power Ranger to follow Encik Yunus, a forest ranger for jungle trekking. Along the way, En. Yunus introduced a few herbal plants and trees. They trekked long the river to the water catchment area. The children had a few encounters with leeches. One boy inno-cently picked up a leech with his gloved hand and asked a horrified volunteer if it was a kind of  worm! The half-hour climb took them to the waterfall where they had a short rest before climbing higher and then descending. The slopes were rather steep for the young trekkers but all of them made it to the "finishing line" outside the gate. For the Blind Trail activity the children were again blindfolded and had to cross the stream three times. They had to feel their way with the aid of the rope. The first part was rocky and many had to be assisted. The second part was the easiest as it was sandy ground and the third part was the deepest. This activity tested the children's self-confidence.
      The other activities retained were Treasure Hunt, Night Walk and Picture Composition. According to Mr Ng the camp had been well run even though the response had not been as good as before. As a matter of fact, there was a drop of 50% in participation this year. I believed this was mainly due to the economic downturn and not so much as lack of publicity.”
      Some new activities had been introduced in this camp as compared with the past years. New ideas and changes must be made to ensure that the children went home with a better understanding of the working of nature, the importance of preserving our forests and water resources.
     Well done to Yuat Wah & company for the nature education activities. I also noted that this camp enlisted fewer helpers — probably to keep a tighter budget. Needless to say everyone had to work harder. Many thanks to all other helpers involved in the camp. At the end of the camp, many asked if they could come again next year.  So, see ya next year?
(Report by Ms. Ng Kit Wan who was one of the instructors during the 2-day camp) 

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Created on 3rd Sept 1999