It is not uncommon for new people to arrive at the TRACC campsite when the boat returns from Semporna with fresh supplies. New people are quickly assimilated into the TRACC community. However this week it wasn’t one or two new people arriving but 30 new people arriving as the Ross School stopped by Pom Pom island as part of their Borneo field trip. A video record of the Ross School visit is also on youtube.
Ross School Visit to TRACC
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| Boats arriving with students from Ross School |
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| Students enjoying sunset on their first evening at Pom Pom Island |
It was a
vast change in dynamics because now the TRACC team were outnumbered
almost 2 to 1 with people new to camp life. Luckily the students and
teachers were eager to jump in and learn about life on a tropical
island. Traveling is always exhausting so we were impressed that at the
end of a long day the students managed to stay attentive through the
induction and some opening presentations.
The Ross school was with us for a total of 3
days and we managed to fit a lot into a short period with many
presentations covering things such as dangers to watch out for in the
marine environment, the importance of mangroves, the impact of palm oil
on the environment, issues caused by shark finning and many more.
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| Alessio talking about palm oil. |
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| Cameron giving presentation on mangroves |
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| Sitting around campfire at night |
On the morning of their departure we managed to catch up with some of the teachers and students and it was great to hear that they took a lot out of their short stay with us. Everyone had a slightly different highlight although a common theme was that everyone really enjoyed their time at island of Kalapuan. We traveled in 3 boats from Pom Pom island to Kalapuan island and docked at the house of one of the locals there. The temperature seemed much hotter at Kalapuan than at Pom Pom island as we were sheltered from any wind. Despite the tropical heat the students and teachers jumped in with a number of activities including making cement to be used to build artificial reefs, a beach clean where the local kids helped out and a walk around the island. The highlight for many of the TRACC team was watching the students dance with the local children. Despite being very young or perhaps because of it the locals were amazingly fast learners and could instantly mirror the dance moves the Ross students where doing.
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| Dancing with the children at Kalapuan Island |
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| Giving some treats to the kids who helped with beach clean |
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| Building bottle reefs to help restore the coral |
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| Ross school students helping out with beach clean |
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| Fast learners local children dance with students |
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| TRACC team with Ross School team. |
