GROUP PHOTO: UCSI University students participating in the fun and fruitful to Talang-Satang trip

Students having an eagle eye view of the marine turtles nest adoption

UCSI lecturers supporting the adopting programme as part of their CSR

KUCHING: 19th of July 2014 (Saturday), students from UCSI University Sarawak Campus took an educational trip to the protected island of Talang-Satang National Park with the intention to understand the importance of sea turtle conservation and to participate in the Sea Turtle Adoption Program. The students were greeted by Mr Andrew Simon and Mr Karim Aban, park officers who shared their experience and explained to the students on hatchery management. Alongside with it, the students were taken on a tour of the hatchery on the Talang-Satang Island. 

They shared their concerns on the current situation of marine turtles and their depleting numbers, thus creating awareness on the need of marine turtle protection, particularly the Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) and the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys Olivacea). 

The management of Talang-Satang National Park is placed under the adminstration of the Sarawak Forestry which regulates and protects the National Parks and Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biodiversity Conservation and other protected areas in Sarawak. Their main vision is to achieve global recognition in tropical forest conservation and products with the mission to conserve, develop and market products and services while maintaining a balance of economic, environmental and social interests. 

According to Mr Ting Hui Bun, lecturer, the exposure to sea turtle conservation is a part of students’ learning experiences and its crucial aides and nurturing the present generation. Just before leaving the island, the staff members of Talang-Satang Island instilled the students with values that would enriched their lives on the importance of the nature – “To save the turtles; preserve the turtle environment and protect the species; and become a turtle volunteer in this conservation work” and “Leave nothing behind except your footprints”. To commemorate the event, the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management (FHTM) adopted a nest and a turtle as part of their CSR program.