UNITEN ICE STUDENT CHAPTER

ICE GREEN CAMP 2011 22nd July 2011 24th July 2011 Report

ICE GREEN CAMP 2011

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Figure 1: Tanjung Piai, Johor National Park

ICE Green Camp is finally in UNITEN atmosphere again after nearly two years of absence. This event is the second of such kind organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Uniten Student Chapter. It was held on 22nd till the 24th of July 2011 at the Tanjung Piai, Johor National Park, the southernmost tip of mainland Asia. The theme of the camp is Green Gone Wild, with emphasis on creating awareness among participants on how nature is important to us in our daily activities. This years camp is unique as the camp venue is located in the middle of a mangrove forest reserve. We departed from UNITEN at 3.30pm in the afternoon and reach at the camp site at nearly 10.30pm at night. The long journey on the road was not a dull one at all as participants were busy mingling among themselves and making new friends. There were also amazing sceneries along the road to the camp site.

Although it was late at night, the participants were in full of excitement when told that they will be starting their first activity soon after they have settled down their belongings. We were greeted warmly by the staffs of national park standing by the entrance to welcome us. Participants were ushered into a hall whereby the national park personals were ready to begin the first activity which is the night walk. A short presentation of what to expect in the night walk was given by the park ranger. It gives the participants a brief overview on what are the animals that they will encounter around the park at night as well as safety precautions for them to follow. It was indeed an amazing sight as we saw bright lights from passing ships waiting to berth at the respective ports. Along the journey we encountered many nocturnal creatures such as snakes, owls and insects. The park rangers were sharp and quick to highlight to us of any interesting animals. The solo night walk is the event where every participant is waiting for. It is both frightening as well as exciting for everyone as not many has been in the forest alone at night. There were park rangers stationed at certain check points to ensure the safety of the participants hence safety was never an issue. The event finally comes to an end at 1.30am and all participants were ushered to their respective tents. The second day started of early with a wakeup call at 6 am in the morning. Breakfast is served at 8am and the days activity starts right after that. Among the major activities planned for that day are, the mangrove exploration walk, mud trail, mangrove forest clean up and last but not least, BBQ night and campfire. Mangrove exploration walk was conducted by the national park rangers where they expose the participants to the different species of plants and animals inhabiting the mangrove swamp. The personals were well versed in what they are explaining hence at the end of the exploration, all participants return with bountiful of knowledge on how the mangrove functions to keep the balance of nature. This event lasted approximately an hour before we proceed to the forest clean up activity. At first sight, we were shocked to see that there were many plastic bottles and polystyrene strewn all over the forest floor. Hence all the participants grouped together and with the assistance of the park rangers, we conducted a cleanup activity on a section of the forest. We did our best to collect as much rubbish as possible and we manage to collect up to nearly 50kg of rubbish. There were all kinds of waste material that landed on the forest floor due to the tides and the pollution from the passing ships and other human beings. It took us about another hour before all of us adjourned for lunch. In between we had some free time to explore the forest wherever we wanted to. There are many facilities around the park such as the observation deck which gives us a birds eye view of the entire national park. It was indeed a fantastic place for bird watching enthusiasts. During lunch time, we gathered at the verandah to feast together at the wonderful food prepared by the national park and to our surprise, we are not alone. There were many monkeys surrounding us awaiting some kind humans to pass them some food. But we were warned by the park rangers not to do so as the monkeys might come back asking for more. As we eat, the park personals stand guard to prevent the monkeys from bothering us.

After lunch, participants were asked to change into their track suit and a shirt which they are willing to part with to the rubbish bin as we are going to the parks mud trial. At first glance there were doubts in the hearts of the participants as it involves a lot of mess but after looking at how much fun their friends are having, most of the campers joined in the trail. It was indeed a challenging as there were some parts of the obstacle course where the mud was deep down to a persons waist. Nevertheless, all participants went back with a happy face. After cleaning up, the next activity is the camp fire and BBQ night. Participants were feasted with loads of food such as chicken, fish and fried rice as the main course. All of us feasted together outdoors and chatted till its nightfall. We started our campfire with full of jokes and laughter and then we proceeded with some camp fire games. All this was done under the open sky where there was a magnificent view of bright shiny stars. Since there were a lot of foreign students that joined this camp, they also took this opportunity to share part of their culture with us through their stories, songs and jokes. All campers adjourned to their tents after the campfire. On the last day, the national park staffs joined in to conduct the closing ceremony whereby they help us create a banner with all the participants handprints on it as a symbol to commemorate our effort on the preservation of nature. We had a photo session and lastly we bid good bye to each other and headed off to UNITEN. The campers finally arrive at campus around 7pm and went back to their own homes. It was a memorable adventure indeed. All in all, Green Camp 2011 is a successful project by UNITEN ICE Student Chapter. Participants showed greater enthusiasm and interest in environmental issue after the camp. May all these Green Camp participants continue their green journey, impacting the people around them and being the change agent to cultivate the Green Nation. A big thanks to Ir. Dr. Ooi Teik Aun, ICE Country Representative of Malaysia; Dr. Chua Kok Hua, UNITEN ICE Student Chapters Advisor, UNITEN ICE Student Chapter Executive Board Members; Green Camp 2011 Organizing Committee; as well as the sponsors for Green Camp 2011 such as G&P Professional Sdn Bhd, Avira Sdn. Bhd., Nestle and ECPI for making this project a success!

Figure 2: Group discussion

Figure 3: Tanjung Piai Mangrove Tree Forest

Figure 4: Mangrove Exploration Walk

Figure 5: Participants in the forest

Figure 6: Wild Run

Figure 7: Wild Run

Figure 8: Participants enjoyed with the mud

Figure 9: At the southernmost of Mainland Asia

Figure 10: Tanjung Piai, Johor, Malaysia

Figure 11: Multiracial friends

Figure 12: Barbeque time

Figure 13: Friends forever

Figure 14: Hand printing session

Figure 15: Handprint

Figure 16: Colourful Hand

Figure 17: Mangrove & I banner

Figure 18: Group picture with Tanjung Piai Johor National Park staff

Figure 19: Green Camp 2011 Organizing Committee