PENCINTA ALAM - Malaysian Nature Society

PENCINTA ALAMNEWSLETTER OF THE MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETYMarch 2013www.mns.myGREEN LIVING COLUMNREDUCING PAPER USE AND WASTAGEby Wong Ee LynnEven if all paper products were recycled,there would still be a need for paper to bemade from virgin resources, as individualpaper fibres can only be recycled a finitenumber of times (generally 5–10 times). Assuch, paper waste prevention is the mostpreferable means of reducing the environmentalimpacts associated with both papermanufacturing (including the demands onland and forest resources) and paperrecycling.Here are some of the most importantways of reducing paper waste:AT HOME AND IN YOUR DAILY LIFE:1. Terminate subscriptions to junk mail, catalogues,magazines, newsletters and newspapersin print form and subscribe to electronicpublications instead. Only print outarticles that you will need to refer to again, orbetter yet, copy and paste them into aMicrosoft Word (or other word processingprogram) document and save the soft copyunder a folder for articles and reference materials.Review the folder periodically and deletearticles you no longer need or are no longerrelevant, to reduce memory/hard disk space.2. Request your bank, credit card company andtelecommunications service providers to sendyour bill via email instead of by post. Switch toonline banking to reduce paper waste and theneed to drive out and find a parking space.3. In the bathroom, use only as much toiletpaper as you need, and do not take more thannecessary. This also applies when you areusing bathrooms outside of your own home,e.g. in shopping malls. An average tree weighs500 kilograms and produces up to 200 kg of toiletpaper. 83,048,116 rolls of toilet paper areproduced every day. 27,000 trees are choppeddown daily in order to manufacture toilet paper.4. Use kitchen cleaning cloths, rags and dishclothsinstead of paper towels to clean up spills.5. Use a handkerchief instead of paper towelsor tissue paper. An exception may be made inthe case of infectious illnesses such as coldsand influenza.6. Purchase products with the least packagingpossible. Purchase in bulk, refillable packagingand refill packs whenever possible. Avoidsingle-serve packaging.7. Bring your own reusable shopping bagswhenever you go out (not just for groceryshopping) so you can eliminate both paperand plastic bag wastage.8. Give gifts in reusable shopping bags (orget creative and wrap gifts in cloth napkins,bandannas, new diapers or blankets) to eliminatebuying giftwrap, boxes or paper bags.Save and reuse giftwrap and gift bags.Photo credit: Pyo Ng1

9. Send e-cards instead of greeting cardsduring the festive period. Send festive orbirthday postcards instead of regular cards,as postcards are smaller in size and do notrequire envelopes.10. Use reusable, washable tablewareinstead of disposable party products whenentertaining at home.11. Dine in at restaurants whenever possibleto reduce the need for takeaway packaging.Bring your own takeaway food containerswhen you need to take away food and drinks.12. When eating out, use a cloth napkin orhandkerchief instead of paper napkins or tissuepapers, or just use the sink or washstand when done.13. Try to reduce visits to fast food outletswhere food is served in paper and styrofoampackaging by default. Even taking baby stepssuch as requesting for a children's meal to beserved directly on the tray without the cardboardbox, or for your drink to be served withoutthe customary plastic lid and straw, is apositive action.14. Do not purchase post-it notes and memopads. Instead, make your own using scrappaper and the backs of receipts.15. Reduce the use of your credit card as itnecessitates the printing of multiple receiptson non-recyclable thermal paper.16. Since almost all contact information canbe found on the Internet these days, printedphone directories and business directoriesare redundant. Therefore, there is no need toacquire one.17. When subscribing to a business, tick theboxes requesting them not to add you to theirhard copy mailing list and not to share yourparticulars with other businesses. This will cutdown on the amount of junk mail you receive.18. When entertaining at home or organisinga party or gathering, eliminate the need forpaper party favours, door gifts and invitations.Invitations can be sent electronically, withe-mail reminders to remind invitees of the date.Less wasteful door gifts or favours can includepotted plants, homemade treats, cloth shoppingbags, or cloth bandannas/handkerchiefsin themed colours. Face painting and temporarybody art can replace paper hats and partyfavours at a children's party.19. Decline packaging from product retailersand manufacturers whenever possible. Shoeshops are usually very happy when youdecline shoe boxes and plastic bags. Mobilephone and electrical appliance retailers areoften able to just deliver the products andwarranty cards to you, sans box.They can thenreuse the box for the next customer. All youhave to do is ask.20. If you or your family members are avidcrafters, save flattened boxes, labels, toilet rolltubes and packaging in a container for yourarts-and-crafts projects to reduce the need tobuy construction or scrapbooking paper.21. Switch to reusable and washable diapersand feminine hygiene products to reduce theneed for disposable products.22. Purchase more whole foods to reduce theneed for packaged or instant foods. Making acake or salad from fresh products often doesnot require very much more time or preparationthan making one from a boxed mix.23. Buy used books, or borrow from friendsor the library, if you do not have an e-reader.It is unnecessary to purchase latest bestsellersas you can often find the same booksin charity sales and thrift stores withinmonths. For the same reason, considerdonating books you have already read tocharitable organisations and communitylibraries.24. Repair broken items, e.g. cellular phonesand electrical appliances, whenever possible,to reduce the need for new products and newpackaging.25. Do not purchase calendars, notebooksand greeting cards from charities justbecause they are ‘for a good cause’. Considermaking a donation and gently advising thecharity (via e-mail, perhaps?) to reduce thenumber of calendars and other productsprinted, especially when it comes to timelimitedproducts such as calendars andannual diaries, as fewer consumers rely onsuch products these days. If you work orvolunteer for any such organisation, considerlowering the production volume of such products,or switching to more practical productsand merchandise for fundraising purposes.Sponsorship certificates, e.g. for animaladoptions and the sponsorship of projectsand needy children, are a feasible alternativeto the sale of merchandise for fundraisingpurposes.2

REDUCING PAPER USAGE AT WORK ORIN SCHOOL/COLLEGE:1. Always make double-sided copies.2. Set computer defaults to print doublesided.3. Reuse paper printed only on one side inthe fax machine, for draft copies and for internaldocuments.4. Preview documents before printing. Usethe print preview to spot formatting errorsand blank pages. Proofread first and use thegrammar & spellcheck to avoid errors that willcause documents to be reprinted.5. Save e-mails, minutes and other documentsonto hard disc. Delete margins, duplicates,contact details, logos, footers andanything unnecessary, and resize and realignthe font and paragraphs to take up the leastspace possible. It makes for easier readingand if the need to print it arises, less paperwill be used.6. Promote a ‘think before you copy’ attitude.Consider sharing some documents with coworkers.Print only the number of copiesneeded for the meeting, don't make extras.7. Print or photocopy only the pages youneed, and only the number of copies youneed. There is no need to make extra copiesfor standby. If it is in the disc it can bereprinted as and only when needed.8. Save a copy of important documents intoyour hard disc or e-mail folders. Create foldersto keep everything organised and retrievable.Review the folders every month anddelete documents you no longer need.9. Saving documents in soft copy may evenmake your life easier! You can just copy andpaste from documents, than refer to the printedcopy and type everything from scratch again.10. However: Don't be a pack rat and saveeverything to disc, especially when the informationis readily available elsewhere! Keep yourinbox and hard disc tidy and organised. This willsave memory/disc space and prevent the needto buy additional disc storage or thumb drives.11. Examine the reports and documents youprint regularly to see if people still need them.Many times, they are created for someone whohas left or who does not need it anymore.12. Remove printers from desks and move themto a central location where one printer will sufficefor many people. This will reduce wastefulprinting as people will decide it is too much hassleto print unnecessary and personal items.13. Have an inter-departmental competition tosee which dept uses the least paper. Give eachdept a fixed number of reams of paper a week,and mark the packaging, e.g. with Dept X #1, #2and so forth for each ream. At the end of eachweek, reward the dept that has the most unusedreams of paper remaining. Of course, you willneed to take into account the fact that someoffice departments, say, the Legal Dept, willneed to use more paper than the others.14. Impose a fine on those found to be wastingpaper, e.g. crumpling up once-used paper andtossing it into their wastepaper basket whenthey should be putting it back into the printertray for drafts. Even crumpled paper can bereused as memo pads.15. Give members/subscribers/customers/clients the option of going paperless and ofreceiving newsletters, correspondence, cataloguesand other documents via e-mail. Ofcourse, this is not possible where there arelegal issues, e.g. acceptance of contract,admission of liability etc. In those instances,resize and reformat before printing and printon both sides if you can. If a hard copy isgoing to be sent to you, then don't print outthe email.16. Unplug the fax machine and request thatthe sending party e-mail instead. That way,you have more control over whether somethingshould be printed, and you can resizeand reformat it before printing. This will alsoeliminate junk mail by fax. At least try tounplug the fax machine after official officehours.17. Keep copiers and printers in good repairand make it policy to only buy copiers andprinters that make reliable double-sidedcopies. Let your copier maintenance personknow when a copier is performing poorly(toner is low, jams frequently, etc.). Regularcopier maintenance is important, especially ifthe toner is low. Copiers are often used untilall the toner is gone and that wears downmachines. A copier that works well is lesslikely to jam and this helps save paper.18. Not all recycling agencies or local authoritiesaccept shredded paper for recycling.Therefore do not shred more paper than isnecessary. Use the shredder only for confidentialdocuments.3

TURN YOUR TRASHINTO CASH FOR THE NEEDYRecycle your trash at the following welfare homes andyou stop good money from going to the landfill. Pleasedonate your aluminium cans, plastic containers, steelcans & paper (glass not accepted) at the following locationsany day from 8 am–7 pm, unless stated otherwise:KlangRumah K.I.D.S. (3373-3400)St. Barnabas Home (3372-8191)Pusat Kasih Sayang (3372-1723)Pusat Cahaya Kesayangan (3379-9440)Petaling JayaSpastics Centre (7958-2393)PuchongPure Life Society (7782-9391)SelayangRumah Amal Cheshire (6138-7118)You may also exchange your recycleables forredemption coupons at the following locations:Petaling JayaTaman Jaya: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays,4:30–6:30 pmJohor Baru Giant, Plentong: every day except Mondays,1–6 pmPlease clean and dry all your cans and bottlesbefore depositing at these centres. Please bundle andtie all papers.TrEES (03-7876 9958)treateveryenvironmentspecial@gmail.comwww.trees.org.myMOUNTAIN GOAL ADVENTURE CONSULTANT (742912-V)Website: http://www.mymountaingoal.comE-mail: goalus@mymountaingoal.com; tel. 03-40248896Everest base camp via Gokyo Lake trek, 24/09/2013–09/10/2013 (16D/15N)Experience the culture of the Sherpas en route to Khumbu village. Enjoy a climb to the scintillatingKalapattar (5545 m /18190 ft), one of the most spectacular vantage points in the Everest region.Explore enchanting views of Everest, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu and many othertowering peaks.Two free training trips will provided for the Everest Base Camp trip.Further info: http://www.mymountaingoal.com/everestkalapattar.htm or 016-6375622 (Thong)Mt Rinjani (3726 m) trip, 29/08/13–02/09/13 (5D4N)Mt Rinjani is the second highest volcanic peak in Indonesia, part of the celebrated 'Ring of Fire'. Thedramatic landscape has been created over millions of year of cone-building, violent explosions, anderosion. Forested slopes rising directly from the sea create their own weather pattern and act as watercollectors for the whole of Lombok. A model for ecotourism in Indonesia, the community-based activitiesare focused on the Rinjani Trek Centre in Senaru, the most popular starting point for the tough trek.Developed with New Zealand Government assistance since 1999, the Rinjani Trek Centre embodiesthe unique partnership of the National Park, tourism industry and local communities that has beenforged to manage and protect the Rinjani mountain environment.One free training trip will provided for the Mount Rinjani trip.Further info: http://www.mymountaingoal.com/RinjaniRegion.htm or 016-6375622 (Thong)4

ECO KIDSFUN NATURE FACTSCompiled and edited by Wong Ee Lynn(gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com)1. Some male Spotted and Bluegill Sunfishmate by taking on the appearance of afemale sunfish. Male Spotted and BluegillSunfish generally fall into 3 categories: Thefirst category consists of the strongest males,which mate in the normal manner; thesecond category consists of smaller maleswhich fertilise the eggs of the female sunfishwhen the stronger males are away; and thefinal category consists of gender-bendingmales, which get in between the male andfemale sunfish during mating by taking on theappearance of a female sunfish, and thenmating with the female sunfish himself!2. Plants are reported to be the first livingbeings to conquer terra firma (i.e. solidEarth). Plants appeared on terra firma morethan 400 million years ago, followed byanimals about 360 million years ago.3. The Japanese snow macaque acquires itssocial rank from that of its mother. This typeof acquisition of social rank is unusual inmammals. In most mammal societies, theposition of males in the group is acquired byforce, e.g. by fighting off other males.4. Shrimps can change sex as they grow older.The shrimp is a hermaphroditic animal and canbe both male and female.5. The Earth's magnetic field comes from its nucleus.TheEarth's nucleus has a liquid exteriorwhich is responsible for the Earth's magneticfield, and a solid interior which has a temperatureof more than 5,000 degrees Celsius.6. One-third of the surface area of the Netherlandsis below sea level. It is estimated that thealtitude of this country has dropped by 2 metressince Roman times.7. At 36 cm (14 inches) long and weighing 3.6kg (8 pounds), the Goliath frog is the biggestfrog in the world. The Goliath frog's habitatrange is mainly in Cameroon and EquatorialGuinea.8. The unusual thing about wheat, rice andbarley is that they are self-pollinating plants.This characteristic undoubtedly played animportant role in the domestication of theseplants several thousand years ago, since itmade them easy to propagate.9. The wombat, an Australian marsupial, has anunusual reaction to fear–it gets the hiccups!10. The sky is blue because of ozone molecules.An English physicist, Lord Raleigh, answeredthis age-old question in 1899. When theSun's light meets molecules ozone in the atmosphere,light scatters, masking the othercoloured rays and giving the sky its blue tinge.Top to bottom: Bluegill Sunfish, Goliath Frog,Japanese Macaque and Australian Wombat(Images sourced from Wikipedia)5

AlN on silicon based surface acoustic waveresonators operating at 5 GHzD. Neculoiu, A. Müller, G. Deligeorgis, A. Dinescu,A. Stavrinidis, D. Vasilache, A.M. Cismaru, G.E. Stanand G. KonstantinidisThe fabrication and characterisation of surface acoustic wave resonatorsoperating in the gigahertz frequency range are presented. Thedevices were fabricated on thin AlN layers deposited by magnetronsputtering on high resistivity (100) oriented silicon substrates. Usingdirect writing e-beam lithography, well defined interdigital transducerswith 300 nm finger width and spacing have been obtained. On-wafermicrowave measurements have demonstrated a narrow bandstop frequencycharacteristic with high rejection at approximately 5 GHz andan electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.53%.Introduction: Most acoustic wave type resonators used in mobile communicationsystems are manufactured on materials such as quartz, zincoxide, lithium tantalite or lithium niobate. The resonance frequenciesof acoustic devices manufactured on these materials are typicallyrestricted to values below 2 GHz, mainly due to line-width size limitationsimposed by conventional photolithography and acoustic materialproperties (for surface acoustic waves – SAWs) and to micromachiningtechnology critical thicknesses (for the film bulk acoustic resonators –FBARs). An important task for the future development of acousticdevices is an increase in their operating frequency to satisfy thedemands of next generation mobile communications systems andsensor applications. The need for new SAW filters operating at higherfrequencies is anticipated to increase owing to novel commercial applicationsin the 5 to l0 GHz range. For example, at 5 GHz, a strong motivationfor research is the development of wireless local area networks(WLAN, HYPERLAN) for high-speed computer interconnections.Recently, the development of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductortechnologies has opened the perspective for manufacturing SAW andFBAR devices for application in the gigahertz frequency range, monolithicallyintegrated with active devices such as HEMTs and distributedcomponents. AlN is known to have high acoustic velocity amongpiezoelectric materials and a substantial electromechanical couplingcoefficient. Good mechanical and dielectric properties, together withchemical and thermal stability, make this material suitable for monolithicSAW integration.High quality AlN films on SiO 2 /Si and GaN films on sapphire havebeen reported [1]. Thin-film GaN on silicon FBAR structures resonatingat 6.3 GHz have been recently demonstrated by the authors [2]. The GaNfilm thickness was lower than half a micron and FBARs were fabricatedusing silicon bulk micromachining. The up to date best performancesregarding SAW structures manufactured on WBG semiconductorsare published in [3]. Based on AlN/diamond layered structures ande-beam lithography, SAW devices with the fundamental frequencyaround 5 GHz were obtained.This Letter presents the fabrication and microwave measurement ofSAW devices fabricated on AlN thin film grown on high resistivitysilicon with a resonance frequency in the range of 5 GHz. Thedevices are two-port resonators composed of two identical interdigitaltransducers (IDTs) placed in an acoustic cavity bounded by two distributedreflectors. The IDTs and the reflectors have fingers and spacings300 nm wide and were obtained by e-beam lithography. The resonatorswere designed for coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line technologyand have a narrow bandstop (notch type) frequency characteristic.process was developed by direct writing, using an E-line equipmentfrom Raith GmbH. A 200 nm thin PMMA resist layer was depositedand then patterned by e-beam lithography. The Ti/Au (10 nm/90 nm)metallisation was realised using e-beam evaporation and the metal liftofftechnique, which resulted in very well defined digits. The submicronpatterning process on AlN and GaN is not trivial, because it is verydifficult to lift-off the gold, owing to the charging of the undopedAlN or GaN surface during the e-beam lithography [4].The SEM photo of the SAW test structures (including IDT details) ispresented in Fig. 1. Based on the modelling approach presented in [5], atwo-port SAW resonator with a narrow bandstop frequency characteristicwas designed. The resonator has two identical IDTs for the inputand output ports, connected between the central conductor and theground planes of the CPW lines in a balanced, symmetrical topology.Each IDT has 40 fingers (20 pairs) with a width of 300 nm and afinger spacing of 300 nm (the spatial periodicity is l ¼ 1.2 mm). Thedistance between the edges of the IDTs is 30.3 mm (103 times l/4).The IDTs are placed between two distributed reflectors with 40fingers connected in short circuit (the electromagnetic wavelength ismuch larger than the SAW structure dimensions). The gap betweenthe IDT and the reflector is 2.7 mm (9l/4). The length of a singlefinger is 48 mm.Fig. 1 SEM photo of manufactured AlN SAW structureInset: IDT detailsMicrowave measurements: S-parameter measurements were performed‘on wafer’ with an Anritsu 37397D network analyser equipped withSUSS Microtec probes. Fig. 2 shows the frequency response of the transmissionof the SAW structure with a frequency step of 0.5 MHz. Thecentral frequency is 5.035 GHz, corresponding to an acoustic velocityof about 6000 m/s. This value is close to that reported in [1] and [6]for thin AlN layers, but grown on different substrates. In our opinion,the ripples in the frequency response in the vicinity of resonance aredue to multiple transit reflections between reflectors. The ripple periodicityis about 70 MHz, corresponding to spacing of 86 mm, which isclose to the distance between the two reflectors (83.7 mm).–40–45–50Fabrication: Aluminium nitride films were deposited in a sputteringdeposition system equipped with a magnetron cathode. First, the sputteringchamber was evacuated below 2 10 24 Pa. A mixture of highpurity argon and nitrogen (99.999%) was then admitted throughneedle valves. The partial pressure of nitrogen was 25% from the totaldeposition pressure. The (100) oriented high resistivity silicon waferswere etched, before deposition, in argon plasma for 15 min, toimprove adhesion of the deposited layers. The 1.4 mm thin AlN filmswere sputtered at a constant RF power at a rate of 13 nm/min. Thefirst fabrication step was the patterning and deposition of the microwaveCPW transmission lines and measurement pads. For this, conventionalphotolithography, e-beam metallisation (Ti/Au 20 nm/200 nm) andmetal lift-off were used. For the IDT patterning, a nanolithographicalS 21 , dB–55–60–65–704.6 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.4frequency, GHzFig. 2 Frequency response of S 21 for AlN SAW deviceAlN thickness ¼ 1.4 mm, l ¼ 1.2 mmUsing measured data for the S 11 parameter (reflection) the single IDTinput conductance and susceptance are extracted and presented in Fig. 3.The results are in good agreement with those obtained by means ofELECTRONICS LETTERS 5th November 2009 Vol. 45 No. 23Authorized licensed use limited to: Universita degli Studi di Roma. Downloaded on November 14, 2009 at 06:29 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Calendar of ActivitiesAll events, times and venues are correct at time of printing. For latest updates, contact your favourite Special Interest Group or check the MNSwebsite regularly. Booking priority will be given to the organising branch’s members unless stated otherwise.March 20132 March (Saturday)Raptor Watch Promotion Booth at AeonJusco, Seremban 2In preparation for this annual public awarenessevent, the Negeri Sembilan and Melaka Branchis organising a display in Tesco Stores inSeremban to be manned between 10 am and 8pm. With the support of Negeri SembilanTourism we are expecting this to be bigger andbetter than before!The aim is to pass to the public an invitationto the annual Raptor Watch on 9/10 March2013. The booth will have a photographic displayof birds and other wildlife with pictures ofevents attended by MNS members in 2012.We are looking for volunteers, so if youenjoy talking to people about your love of allthings natural, come along!Venue is provisional and will be confirmedwith the management of Aeon Jusco soon.If you can spare a couple of hours, pleasecontact either Kok Chow Hioong by SMS onlyplease on 013-2929618 or kchioong@live.comor Stephanie Bacon (cooltek@streamyx.com)3 March (Sunday)Raptor Watch Promotion Booth at AeonJusco Melaka BandarayaIn preparation for this annual public awarenessevent, the Negeri Sembilan and Melaka Branchis organising a display in Jaya Jusco MelakaBandaraya, to be manned between 10 am and8 pm. With the support of Melaka Tourism weare expecting this to be bigger and better thanbefore!The aim is to pass to the public an invitationto the annual Raptor Watch on 9/10 March2013. The booth will have a photographic displayof birds and other wildlife with pictures ofevents attended with MNS members in 2012.We are looking for volunteers, so if youenjoy talking to people about your love of allthings natural, come along!Venue is provisional and will be confirmedwith the management of Aeon Jusco soon.If you can spare a couple of hours, pleasecontact either Kok Chow Hioong by SMS onlyplease on 013-2929618 or kchioong@live.comor Stephanie Bacon (cooltek@streamyx.com)10 March (Sunday)Beginner Photography Course duringRaptor WatchVenue: Tanjung TuanTime: 2.00 pm, 2.30 pm & 3.00 pm)Course fee: RM10.00The Photo Group will be conducting a photographycourse during the annual Raptor Watchwith a 3-session beginner photo course of 1/2hr classroom followed by an hour's practicaloutdoor session. Those interested may registerwith the Photo Group counter at the venue orAll events, times and venues are correctat time of printing. For latest updates,contact your favourite SIG, check theMNS website regularly or join theeGroup by sending an e-mail to:mnselangorsubscribe@yahoogroups.comcall Alex Foong (012-2893133) or George Ng(012-2682067) to secure a place. Each sessionwill be limited to a small group for effectivelearning, so do register early to secure yourselfa slot.16 March (Saturday)FLORA group walk around theLake GardensCome and join the FLORA group for a morningwalk around the Lake Gardens (Taman TasikPerdana) and acquaint yourself with some ofthe common, and not so common, indigenousand introduced plants found there. It will be aneasy and leisurely romp around the Gardensthat will probably last for 3 hours. Hence it issuitable for the entire family. Please meet at 9am at the car park facing the Bukit Aman PoliceHQ.The starting point for the walk will be theentrance gate directly opposite the MuseumPerkhidmatan Awam.For more details, please contact Lim Koon Hup(016 5912472) or Yee Chee Leong (0162727888)7

29–31 March (Friday–Sunday)Jim Thompson's Disappearance TripOn Easter Sunday 1967, 46 years ago, JimThompson, the man behind the restoration ofthe Thai silk industry, disappeared while onholiday in Cameron Highlands. Many theorieswere offered to explain how and why Thompsonvanished while on an afternoon walk: kidnapping;CIA assassination; starting a new lifeunder a new identity; knocked down by a carand buried; hostage of the Communists, etc.This MNS Nature Guides walk will retraceJim Thompson's footsteps that fateful day, fromwhere he was staying to where he was lastseen. We will then look at the most likelyscenario – lost in the jungle – and some of thepossibilities if this was the answer.In 2010, an MNS member retraced thejungle routes alone to see the terrain and conditionsthat Jim Thompson would have faced if hewas lost and spent the night in the jungle alone.What he found was illuminating.This trip will take place in the area of hisdisappearance and the subsequent police andarmy search.There will be a short talk and presentationon Friday evening.We will stay at the place where Jim Thompsonwas last seen and those who are braveenough can also spend a night in the jungle (optionalbut in company).Note: We arrive on Good Friday evening likeJim and disappear from Cameron Highlands onEaster Sunday afternoon like Jim!This trip is open only to MNS members orthose who are prepared to join up.To book please email John Chan at greenjohnchan@gmail.comCost RM 2207 April (Sunday)Bird Watching trip Sekinchan & environsOpen to all MNS members.After the unique ex-mining landscape of Bidor,this trip we will visit different habitats again.In the morning, we will bird in the vast ricefieldsaround Sekinchan for waterbirds such asherons, bitterns and hopefully also raptors suchas harriers. We will then proceed to the coast inthe hope of catching some waders in their morecolourful & ID-able breeding plumage, beforethey fly north home to their breeding grounds.You can have your picnic whilst wader-watching.Meet @ 7 am at the mosque beside policestation (on the left, northbound, Kuala Selangorto Tanjung Karang trunk road) after crossing thebridge at Tanjung Karang town.Bring along binoculars, plenty of drinkingwater & light snacks. Wear dull coloured clothes& comfortable shoes. Hat/umbrella is a must.The event will end around noon. Seafoodlunch (at own expense) at Pasir Penampang inKuala Selangor will be a nice ending to the trip.To be environmentally friendly, we encouragecarpooling. If you need a ride or have space inyour car, please let us know. Call (aft. 8 pm) orSMS (any time) Mr Liung @ 012-3127998 or MrAndy @ 012-3993193, to register or for moreinfo. Hope to see everyone there.Nature Photography CompetitionMNS Natural History Photographer of theYear 2013Photo Group will be organizing a QuarterlyPhoto Competition beginning with the theme'Creatures', followed by 'Flora' and 'Landscape'.This competition will start from 3 April on aquarterly basis with book prizes for eachtheme. From all the submissions received inthe year, we will select the Best Image andwill name Him/Her 'The MNS Natural HistoryPhotographer of the Year'. There willalso be 5 honorable mentions beside theGrand Prize.This Open Photo Competition is open to allpaid-up MNS members only.For submission details, contest regulationsand more information, please visit the MNSPhotogroup web page (http://www.mnsphotogroup.org)8

MNS HQJKR 541, Jalan Kelantan,Bukit Persekutuan, 50480 Kuala Lumpur(just before the Seri Perdana turn-off onJalan Mahameru)M–F 9 am–5:30 pmT: 03-22879422 F: 03-22878773mns@mns.org.my www.mns.myMembership: Leong Wee ChinBranch Committee MembersJOHOR BRANCHc/o Vincent Chow32 Jln Molek 3/11, Tmn Molek,81100 Johor Bahru; www.mnsj.org.myBlog: www.mnsj.org.myChairman Vincent Chow 019-7557755vkkchow@yahoo.comVice Chair Wee Soon Chit 012-7112112soonchit@hotmail.comSecretary Zalinah Sarpananggun_firama@yahoo.co.ukKEDAH BRANCH5, Belakang Hospital, 09300 Kuala Ketil,Kedah; kedahmns@yahoogroups.comChairman Kalaimani a/l Supramaniam019-4733505, maniria@yahoo.comVice Chair Nordiana binti Zainordin012-5377914; nz1808@yahoo.comSecretary Mohammad Fauzi bin Baharom013-5215025;mfauzidesaman@yahoo.com.myKELANTAN BRANCH204, Jln Sultan Yahya Petra, 15150 KotaBharu, Kelantan. shown@streamyx.comChairman Aweng a/l Eh Rakaweng@umk.edu.myVice Chair Mohd Razali bin Che Ali017-9386015; calmoraz@yahoo.comSecretary Wong Mei Lin 019-9109073;meklawa@gmail.comLANGKAWI BRANCHmnslangkawi@yahoogroups.comChairman Eric R. Sinnaya 019-4499142morahols@gmail.comVice Chair Teoh Cheng Kungwildlifeplanet@gmail.comSecretary Daisy Jeyarani a/p Samueldaisy_samuel_2005@yahoo.comNEGERI SEMBILAN/ MELAKABRANCHc/o Cooltek, 350 Jalan Woodland,Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club,Ayer Keroh, 75450 MelakaChairman Lim Ming Hui012-2760327, limmel05@yahoo.comVice Chair Kok Chow Hioong013-2929418, kchioong@live.comSecretary Stephanie Bacon012-2175590, cooltek@streamyx.comPAHANG BRANCHF-4-4, Jalan Padang Golf, 25050 Kuantan.mnspahang@yahoo.comChairman Noor Jehan bt. Abu Bakar019-9525588, versed_anggerik@yahoo.comVice Chair Jean Wong 017-9379688jean9688@yahoo.comSecretary Chow Mee Foong 019-9515169chowmeefoong@yahoo.comPENANG BRANCHNature Information Centre (NIC),673-B Jalan Kebun Bunga,10350 Penang. 04-2273673Open Mon–Sat, 7.30–11.30 am (pleasephone before visiting)http://www.geocities.com/mnspenang/Blog: mnspenang@yahoogroups.comChairman Tan Choo Eng 019-4484344chooengtan@yahoo.comVice Chair James Ooi Teik Kokjamesooiteikkok@yahoo.comSecretary Tan Pek Tao, Peggy 016-4200990tpeggypeach@yahoo.comPERAK BRANCH8, Jln Virgo, Star Park, 31400 Ipohmnsperak@gmail.comBlog: mnsperak@yahoogroups.comChairman Lee Ping Kong016-5655682, lpk682@yahoo.comVice Chair Leow Kon Fah 019-5634598,leow_kingfisher@yahoo.comSecretary Tham Yim Fong012-5220268, georgi8tham@yahoo.comSABAH BRANCHP O Box 12377, 88826 Kota Kinabalu, Sabahmns_sabah@yahoo.com.sgChairman Omar Abdul Kadir019-8110125, omar_kadir51@yahoo.comVice Chair Anna Wong 013-8560000anna888@ums.edu.mySecretary Shim Yen Lingmicesja@gmail.comSABAH (SANDAKAN) BRANCHLot 322, Lorong Pertama 17, Tmn Pertama,90000 SandakanChairman Chow Kok Cheng, Charles013-8866968 kcccharles@yahoo.comVice Chair Mohamad bin Bakar016-8309718Secretary Shane Ho Tshun Wei016-8310220 shanehtw@yahoo.comSARAWAK (KUCHING) BRANCHmnskuching@gmail.comChairman Anthony C. Sebastianaonyxenvironmental@gmail.comVice Chair Cheong Ah Kwan 019-8349499kwan_indutek@hotmail.comSecretary Chan Mei Ching, Zora Sharon019-8279881 zorachan76@yahoo.comSARAWAK (MIRI) BRANCHmnsmiri@yahoo.com;Blog: mnsmiri.blogspot.comChairman Musa Musbah 016-8746127sammua@yahoo.comVice Chair Yeo Hong Yan, Johndrjyeo@gmail.comSecretary Joyce Vikneswari Sivalingam012-4604609 jvsivalingam@hotmail.comSELANGOR BRANCHc/o MNS HQ addresswww.mns.org.my/selangormns.selangor@gmail.comE-group: malaysiannaturesociety@yahoogroups.comChairman K. S. Goh, Henry012-3669930 henrygks10@gmail.comVice Chair Mohala Santharamohana017-8896656 s_mohala@yahoo.comSecretary Gan Li Li 012-2074840pat_ganll@hotmail.comTERENGGANU BRANCH1926 Bukit Kubang Jambu,20050 Kuala Terengganumnsterengganu@gmail.comChairman Hj Wan Md Adnan Wan Ismail017-9861926 mnsterengganu@gmail.comVice Chair Wong Chee Ho012-2688545 cheeho@umt.edu.mySecretary Anuar Abdullah McAfee012-9481771 anuar@ms.kusza.edu.my9

Pencinta Alam is a monthly newsletter made possible by dedicatedvolunteers and contributors from the Malaysian Nature Society.Accuracy is the contributor’s responsibility. The Editor reserves theright to editt for length and content.Submissions: Articles including the author and photographers’ names(max. 500 words), advertisements, digital images (100 dpi & no largerthan 640 x 480 pixels & separately from article), etc. must reach theEditor by the 13th of each month (unless noted otherwise) via thefollowing e-mail address: tapir2005@gmail.com.Advertising rates:Classifieds: RM5 per column inch; Quarter page ad: RM30; Half pagead: RM60.All payments must be made to ‘Malaysian Nature Society SelangorBranch’. Please bank in cash or cheque to Maybank MBB account no014150307352. After banking in, please scan the slip and e-mail it toBernadette Chin at: berniechin118@yahoo.com or fax her at03-51928191 (Attention: Bernie Finance).Discount rate for ads paid in advance:3 adverts paid in advance – 5% off published rate;6 adverts paid in advance – 10% off published rate;9 adverts paid in advance –15% off published rate;12 adverts paid in advance – 20% off published rate.EditorsKhor Hui Min 017-8817714Kay Lyons 03-79814271Beng Beng Chan 019-3853591Have you been on an MNS trip? Why not share your experiencewith other members by writing an account of your trip andsubmitting it (preferably with photographs) for publication inPencinta Alam.Email your article to: tapir2005@gmail.comNature Owlet – The MNS ShopContact Number: +603 22873471Email: natureowlet@yahoo.com; tapir.shop@mns.org.myAddress: Malaysian Nature Society, JKR 641, Jalan Kelantan, BukitPersekutuan, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA.Google Maps: http://g.co/maps/q5k92GPS Coordinates: 3.1397°N, 101.6812°EBusiness Hours:Weekdays 0930–1730Saturdays 1000–1300Closed on Sundays, public holidays & during MNS events (come &support our booth there!)Our Shop offers a variety of products for nature lovers, outdoorenthusiasts & the general public:- A considerable selection of books on the environment, flora & fauna,children's books etc.- Eco-friendly stationery from O'Bon & ProGreen.- Clothing including T-shirts from NGOs, organic cotton T-shirts& Nukleus innerwear.- Sport optics products by Swarovski, Minox, Steiner, Leica, Nikon, Kowa& LensPen.- Outdoor equipment e.g. leech socks & products from Buff, Platypus,Deuter, Coleman, Mosi-Guard, Light My Fire, Sea to Summit,Ticket to the Moon, Trangia, etc.- Souvenirs & gifts such as paintings, mugs, badges, pins, cards,bookmarks, stickers.MNS members who show their membership card will receive a discountfor most items.Please visit & support the new FaceBook page of our MNS Shop! ShopAnnouncement on FaceBook Timeline: http://www.facebook.com/Nature-OWLetMNSOpening Hours/Contact/Location/Map: http://www.facebook.com/Nature-OWLetMNS/info10