Project Orion II - Rovering with Turtles
Project Orion (PO) II was held for 14 days, from 26 Jun 2010 to 10 Jul 2010, with a total of 8 group members. This is my first overseas trip that allowed me to participate in community services, as well as environment-related activities and mini-projects. PO II was held in Setiu Province, Terengganu, Malaysia.
After some intensive background work done in Singapore, the group proceeded to the actual location and started our adventure. Throughout this trip, I get to make friends from this trip, I also got to know and understand each other better. The sincerity and kindness expressed by the villagers from Kampung Mangkok had left a deep impression on me. I learnt a great deal from them, not just from their culture but also the daily lifestyle. This trip made a city boy like me experience things that I had never done before in my life. From staying in a village, interacting with the kids and to flying a kite, these are the few examples that made me realised how simple life can be and yet truly enjoy it everyday.
Being able to witness how hatchlings struggle for their survival had inspired me to strive hard and do my best in the things I do. Even though turtles lay hundreds of eggs during their mating season, the chances for a handful of the hatchlings to survive in the sea much lesser. This has made it clear to me that they are very fragile and might not have to chance to survive until the next century.