Borneo Rhythms of Rimba Wildlife Festival in Sandakan

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SANDAKAN: Future Alam Borneo (FAB), in partnership with Protective Action for Wildlife in Sabah through Education (PAWSE) initiative, is presenting the 2nd Borneo Rhythms of Rimba (ROR) Wildlife Festival 2015 next month.

This colourful, two-day outdoor festival brings wildlife and rainforest conservation content to the public, in a unique ‘experiential education’ format.

FAB’s aim is to translate important conservation science and knowledge into holistic and accessible experiences. Unforgettable experiences that will encourage people to truly value the natural heritage and take on a more conscientious and sustainable responsibility.

Themed ‘Biodiversity and Our Future’, ROR2015 is inspired by the unique ecosystems here as well as the breadth of amazing people and ideas that will be coming together for this effort.

The festival will be divided into four zones – Conservation and Environment, Adventure, Creative and Music.

The Conservation and Environment zone will feature presentations by some of the most important conservationists and scientists, at the forefront of Sabah’s and Malaysia’s environmental sphere, as well as international speakers.

To add to the ‘experiential’ factor, the three following zones bring interaction, creativity and pop culture into the conservation message.

The highlight of the Adventure zone is the presence of the Moab Monkeys from Utah, US. Known for their record breaking feats and out-of-this-world/extreme highline and base jumping experiments. Three of their members will be bringing their 2014 Mothership Space Net Penthouse concept to Sandakan in the form of a Human Nest.

The Human Nest is a 20′ x 20′ web, rigged to the four points of the Sepilok rainforest and suspended over the lake. The public will have a chance to be cradled in it, and consequently understand the importance of the forest habitat to tree dwelling life forms such as orang utans, sunbears, birds, insects and much more. If our planet loses its trees, the complex/intricate ecosystem/web of life and the very air we breathe would be irreversibly damaged.

The Creative zone will be bursting with exciting diversity and colour through a multitude of offerings.

Salad Dressing Landscape Singapore will be creating a forest canopy-top cinema; building a complex structure high above the trees, and under the stars and moon. The prime screening will be the fictional pirate tale of Sandokan, a well-known and -loved story by Europeans, and inspired by elements in a Borneo past.

Also featuring will be content from Borneo Eco Film Festival as a run-up to the BEFF 2015 festival in October. The cinema will only be a limited-access concept at ROR, but the public will be able to participate in it by the way of the RDC canopy walkways and towers.

Bringing colour and festive cheer to ROR2015 is Wintercroft masks UK. The couple have offered four unique Bornean animal masks for the festival goers – the sunbear, clouded leopard, pygmy elephant and Bornean rhino.

Sabahan artists such as Cracko Art Group, Pangrok Sulap, jewelry designer Jonathan Yun, children’s book illustrator Evi Shelvia, and Carolyn Lau of Seksan Design will be offering a mix of workshops for the public to further encourage an appreciation of the environment.

And last but definitey not least, FAB has brought together a host of musicians in the music segement who all have a message of hope and inspiration for us to reflect on.

ROR2015 will offer a whole variety of fun and inspiring content to get everyone involved and interacting.

The public contributes to Future Alam Borneo’s ongoing projects and the festival platform by purchasing ROR2015 tickets of RM30/adult and RM10/children (above five years old)/youth/students. Tickets entitle you to both days of festival entry, and one of four special Borneo ROR animal DIY masks from http://www.wintercroft.com.

More information on www.futurealamborneo.org or on Facebook – Future Alam Borneo.