Palm Oil – It’s Complicated!

Palm oil, or oil palm as the locals refer to it, is a pretty contentious issue whether you live in Sabah or residence in the United States.  Over the past few days we’ve had a crash course into the history and contemporary growing and manufacturing of palm oil in Sabah region of Borneo, Malaysia. When taking … Read more

Looking Deeper into Borneo’s Biodiversity

  Our tour of the Forest Research Center operated by the Sabah Forestry Department began through the seed germination lab. Here they use various instruments to measure the best techniques to germinate tree species that are best for timber production and produce fruits for local wildlife. One instrument they utilize in a table filled with … Read more

Making it to the Mangroves

Day 5 and 6 On day 5 “Team Borneo”, our unofficial group name, embarked on a slight adventure through the Sepilok laut trail to reach the Mangroves at the Sepilok laut reserve. Despite the occasional struggles along the way due to the heat and humidity adding some difficulty to the already semi-strenuous hike, it was … Read more

A Walk with Sun Bears

“Look! Eyes in tree!” our guide pointed to the bank of the Kinabatangan River. All of us on the boat peered into the gloom, aiming our headlamps. Two large, orange ovals shone back at us. “What is it?” someone asked. “Sun bear,” the guide replied. I grinned in anticipation of observing more of these bears … Read more

A Look Into Malaysian Conservation

As a wildlife conservation enthusiast who has worked for a rehabilitation project in Africa, I was ecstatic about being able to see how Malaysia handled their animals. There were mixed emotions within the group, about whether animals should be kept in enclosures or not, but we popped over to the sun bear and orangutan centres to see … Read more

Day 2 on Paradise Island aka Borneo

Disconnected yet connected. Empty yet full. Uncomfortable yet comfortable. The first few days at the Kopel Eco Camp have been full of dichotomies. In a world where we are subjected to sensory overload on a daily basis, I feel so fortunate to be in such a serene and peaceful place. Initially, it was very disconcerting … Read more

Butterflies of Borneo and Beyond

We began our trip to Borneo with a 8 hour layover in the Singapore airport after 18 hours of flying across the Pacific. What better way to spend a long layover than to pay a visit to the beautiful butterfly garden in Singapore’s airport. When we first entered the butterfly garden, we immediately felt the … Read more

Tropical Restoration Ecology Class Heading to Malaysian Borneo

Fourteen University of San Francisco MSEM, ENVS, ENVA, and Biology students are heading to Borneo next week! Professor Gretchen Coffman will be leading this two week Arrupe Immersion Class from June 12 -28. Students will be working closely with locals conducting ecological restoration for wildlife habitat. The class will take place in Malaysian Borneo along … Read more

Adventures on our Way to the Field

Sabaidee from Central Laos! We have had many adventures on our way to the field – from loosing one of our bags with battery charging equipment to the dozens of government offices we had to visit in the last 4 days to get official government permission for our field work. (We just got word that … Read more