Nature preservation on wings

IT has become quite common for young people to spend less time, participating in outdoor activities, but more time, playing electronic games and browsing social media indoor with their mobile phones and computers.

While it’s admittedly harder getting them to unplug from virtual world and re-connect with the real world, two young nature advocates, Batrisyia Teepol and Ng Jia Jie, believe bringing nature to the Internet is one way to connect mellinnials to both worlds.

Batrisyia, a Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) field trainer, feels nurturing interests in nature should start from a young age — with constant exposure to interesting and easy-to-understand topics.

“For example, climate change. It’s real and young people should be made aware of it through positive information on climatic changes, global warming, and the need for less pollution. This will send a powerful message on the necessity to raise awareness of enviromental care.

“Personally, I was inspired by an incident during my teen years. My father had saved a bird, trapped in a net, near my house at Kampung Padang Kerbau, Pujut.

“It recovered fully three days later and was freed. There and then, I started to take a keen interest in protecting wildlife, especially those vulnerable to human activities,” the 22-year-old said.

 

 

Zoology degree

She took up bird-watching as a hobby and her passion for wildlife conservation led to the purusit of a degree in zoology at Unimas.

She studied animal science and through field trips, learned to understand and appreciate the importance of sustainable and safe habitats to wildlife.

“Whenever I had the chance, I would share interesting facts on birding and topics relating to nature with my friends. Though they often told me I was different from ordinary teenagers, mt friends still supported me in pursuing my interests,” she recalled.

Batrisyia said ‘weird’ was how her relatives and friends described the single-minded extent of her passion for conversation but then she always has strong opinions when it comes to protecting the environment.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect nature. I always thought it is something that has to be done but few are prepared to take the first step. So I tell myself why not give it a try?”

Presently an active MNS bird surveyor, Batrisyia noticed there was now only a handful of young people taking an interest in environmental issues.

“I want to reach out to more people of the same age or even younger. I could use catchy phrases and eye-catching photos online to capture their attention. Whenever possible, I would blog interesting contents relating to birds and nature on my social medial account.

“Netizens, my friends among them, have expressed interests and even enquired about joining our birding event. It has spurred me to do more —- like organising talks in schools,” she enthused.

 

Nature conservation

Her internship at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sandakan, Sabah, has taught her a lot about promoting nature conservation and helped with her other internships at Bako-Buntal Bay in Kuching and MNS.

With her zoology degree, she is now serving as an intern at Bako-Buntal Bay, studying shore-birds in the Conservation Leadership Programme under the wings of BirdLife International.

Bako-Buntal Bay, a semi-circular bay, bordering Gunung Santubong to the west and Bako National Park to the East, is one of the wintering sites for migratory waterbirds.

Apart from being the first site in the country to be inscribed on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network in 2012, it’s also the first flyway network, established in Malaysia.

“My work at Bako-Buntal Bay is birds surveying, understanding the situation, tracking and managing data before making recommendations to the Sarawak Forestry Department and the government,” Batrisyia said.

Her internship at MNS is more than bird-watching as it also involves field works and learning to identify different species of birds.

“When we have ‘ID’ a new arrival, we’ll start collecting data on its species. We also take note whether its numbers have increased or decreased. The species identified could have come from countries like Alaska and Russia — we know from their tags,” she added.

Batrisyia hoped she could set an example to her peers and younger people as a nature advocate, strongly believing it’s crucial for the younger generation to understasnd and appreciate the importance of preserving nature.

“When I am collecting data, and knowing the numbers of some of the birds are declining, I feel sad because once they are gone, it’s forever — we cannot find them anymore. It’s very sad because the future generations may not know about them or see them in real life, except in books and photos.

“Every living thing is a part of the ecosystem but it’s humans who are actually consuming the Earth’s resources excessively.

“Other creatures are merely doing what they have to survive. Instead of ‘disturbing’ other animals that want to survive and live, it’s time to ask why can’t humans stop hunting them,” she stressed.

 

Social media sharing

Ng Jia Jie, a MNS trainer, opined that a modern way to catch the attention of the young was through social media.

“Blogging the information and sharing it on social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a good way to connect many young users, especially when they spend a lot of time on the Net,” Ng, fondly known as JJ, said.

According to Pew Research Centre, for more than six months in 2017, 30 science-related Facebook pages had drawn millions of followers. There were over 130,000 science-related stories which Facebook users tended to like, read and share.

It’s not hard to imagine how impactful the messages liked, read and shared by millions around the world have been.

Pew Research Centre is a non-partisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.

It originated from a research project in 1990 before going through several transformations. Now, it focuses on public opinion polls, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.

“I do know there are enthusiasts and talents who are good at doing this — which I am also now learning. It’s important to share all this information and present it in an interesting way so that it can spread as far as possible,” JJ said.

The 21-year-old from Kuching pointed out that it was crucial learning to understand birds, their importance to the ecosystem and how some species were slowly being driven to extinction due to human activities.

 

A paradox

“First of all, birds keep the ecosystem in balance such as by pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, scavenging carrions and recycling nutrients back to nature.

“I find it paradoxical that whenever a new or rare species is discovered, there are also plenty of others on the verge of extinction.

“If you were to ask someone who had been bird-watching since 40 years ago, he or she would tell you some species used to be so common but have now become so rare. It’s a wake up call that humans have been taking nature’s gift for granted,” JJ said.

MNS, he noted, provided local nature and bird-watching enthusiasts a platform to learn about birding through its waterbird workshop — which was JJ’s first MNS activity.

“While making friends at MNS, I was told many stories by senior birdwatchers. According to them, hornbills used to fly around freely but have become endangered and will disappear from Borneo island without protection.”

JJ who has a diploma in animal health from UPM, Bintulu, plans to study veterinary medicine and hopes to open a wildlife rescue centre.

“Birding is my hobby but I hope I can do more — like rescuing wildlife. I believe both work the same way towards conservation,” he said.

JJ and Batrisyia attended the Shorebirds Watching Course at Kampung Masjid, Kuala Baram, last December.

And JJ who has been showing a keen interest in birding since a teenager, has won several prizes in local bird races held at Borneo Highlands Resort.