by Cheam May Choo

We are pleased to announce that we have recently received a grant from Kemaman Bitumen Company Sdn Bhd for a forest restoration project. ( Our deepest appreciation to them ) This project is actually a continuation of what we have done all along, albeit in a different area. It is about the conservation of the highland forests in Cameron Highlands focusing on the mossy forests on the upper reaches of the Sungai Terla water catchment area (largest  water catchment area in Cameron Highlands). This area includes the forest reserves of Sg Terla,Batu Gangan and Ulu Ichat. The total land area of these 3 forest reserves is 3133 hectares and they form the eastern slope of Gunung Irau in the Titiwangsa range( the main range of Peninsular Malaysia). As this area is more than 1400 metres above sea level, the highland forests here are predominantly cloud forests or mossy forests. It houses a large biodiversity of flora and fauna many of which have yet to be identified and remains a crucial water catchment area. Site (101’21 degrees to 101’24 degrees East) and ( 4’32 degrees to 4’35 degrees North).

The programme would include:

1. Awareness creation activities such as mossy forest reforestation ,interpretive walks, bird watching, insect talks, photography sessions .
2. Research and documentation-Providing a base for students of institutions of higher learning to do their research on our Cloud Forests and publication of these findings online and in print.corybas carinatusanoectochilus albolineatus

Benificaries would be:

1. Students from local primary and secondary schools
2. Students and researchers from institutions of higher learning
3. Community groups
4. Participants from government agencies
5. Other interested groups and individuals

For those who are interested in joining these activties please contact us. Sponsorship will be given to local students.

by Cheam May Choo

For the year 2017, reforestation activities were mainly carried out  in a new site in Batu Gangan, Kuala Terla while the site in Gunung Brinchang, our biodiversity centre was used for research.

1. Batu Gangan site in Kuala Terla

On 24^th of May 2017  REACH was awarded a grant of RM 50,000 to restore 2 hectares of reclaimed forest in the Batu Gangan forest reserves under the Greening of Cameron Highlands project. The site was located at the far reaches of our largest water catchment area, the Sungai Terla water catchment area.For this grant we had to plant 1200 endemic trees in 6 months from July to December 2017.

The Greening of Cameron Highlands project is basically a project formed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment NRE (which also includes involvement of NGOs) to undertake rehabilitation and  restoration of encroached forests reclaimed by the Government  following the crackdown on illegal land clearings and foreign workers which started in 2014.

The first few visits in May and June 2017 were mainly to recee the area. Subsequently  we constructed a toilet and a covered area for participants. As this site was already a secondary forest we had to clear some undergrowth in order to plant the trees. We made many visits in June and July 2017 and we were assisted by 3 French volunteers namely Tom, Aurelien and Pablo and our local volunteers Dr Liau Tai Leong, Siva Das, Utaya Kumar, Roy Margaret, Encik Khairil Anwar, Ros Benjamin, Saraswathi Munusamy, Geogina Khong, Gopindran, Danial Harikh,Rajeswaran, Amizal and Kahfi.

In October and November 2017, schools joined in and they included SKConvent, SJKC Bertam Valley, SJKC Tanah Rata and SMK Ringlet. In all we made a total of 17 visits. Every visit was documented.

A video depicting these efforts can be viewed at  Restoration of disturbed forests in Cameron Highlands

The trees planted were mainly from seeds propagated many months earlier. Some were from wildings. The species include Ara,Geruk, Merpauh,Medang Serai, Medang Payung, Kelat, Ratsamala, Eugenia and Rhododendrons.

2.Gunung Brinchang site

Only one group Data Dimension came to do reforestation at this site ( 13th August 2017)as the area is almost entirely reforested. Data Dimension has been supporting us for many years and 2017 was no different.

For the coming years we hope to continue our work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmnent to restore our highland forests.

by Cheam May Choo

In the months of August and September 2017,  due to logistic difficulties our reforestation programme slowed . However we managed to complete the toilets and the covered rest area in time for the students who would be coming in the following months.  Site preparation continued with undergrowth being cleared.

Date: 3rd October 2017

31 students and 3 teachers from SK Convent, Tanah Rata planted 100 saplings. The facilitators were Mr Satya from EcoCameron , Saras and Vebry. Trees included Ara, Rhododendrons and Eugenia. At 8 am students were picked up from Tanah Rata and they reached the site around 9 am. After a briefing by Mr Satya , they planted the trees. Light refreshments were served and by 12 noon they headed back. This programme would be similar for all the other schools.