Project Managers Visit A Success!

Alpha One - Kg Ambong

Alpha One Project Managers Nick Bedford, Zoe Young and Claire Stuffins were escorted by Priscilla Oon of The Rotary Club of Luyang to visit the community at Kg Ambong where they finalised the plans for the projects in the village.

As well as assisting the community with the construction of the gravity water feed system, Alpha One will be assisting in the construction of bathing / washing tanks for the community as well as helping teach English at the local school and running conversational English lessons for any adults wishing to join in.

The staff and participants will stay in the heart of the village in the community hall which is currently in a very dilapidated state. A secondary aim of the project team is to work with the village members to improve the hall for community use. It is a truly exciting project with the potential to make a real and lasting difference to the community of Kampong Ambong.

Alpha Two – Batu Puteh

The Project Managers of Alpha Two, Bev Salmon, Amy Gaulton and Nicci Squires made the long bus journey to the banks of the Lower Kinabatangan River to visit the community of Batu Puteh.

They were met by Martin and Rosli of MESCOT, who they will be working alongside, as well as members of the community. They were shown around the Eco Lodge and discussed the tasks they would be involved in to complete it, which will include boardwalk construction, jetty completion and water tank strucutres.


They were also shown the lake and surrounding area where they will have the opportunity to assist with the clean up of Salvinia (an invasive weed) on the oxbow lake and reforestation in the surrounding area.

Alpha Three – Imbak Canyon

Kerry Stokes, Debs McMahon and Will Robinson, the very lucky Project Managers of Alpha Three began their mammoth trek in to Imbak Canyon with the resident rangers to assist in the continued construction of suspension bridge over the Kangkawat River - no small task I assure you!!

The group will stay at the Expedition Camp (where the BBC stayed to make the ‘Expedition Borneo’ television programme) and will use it as a base to move between the bridge construction site and out into the jungle of Imbak Canyon to do necessary trail maintainance.

The team will gain a greater understanding of the area and the importance of preserving it as a gene bank, an ideal site for essential research, and its integral role as part of the vital wildlife corridor connecting other conservation areas for mammals like Asian Elephant, Sumatran Rhino and Orang-utan.

Alpha Four – Danum Valley

Jon Watts, Georgina Moore and Kev Gambon travelled the furthest of all the Project Managers to visit the Alpha Four project site inside Danum Valley. There they met with the Danum Valley Field Centre manager Jimmy Omar, project liaison Khai Jail and head ranger Tity.

Based at Mengaris Camp, where they will complete some maintenance, the Alpha Four participants will survey an area deep in the jungle where they will start construction of a new camp for researchers to establish new plots, as well as clearing existing trails around the Danum Valley Field Centre and aiding research work that is ongoing at the centre.

The Danum Valley conservation area is a class A protection forest reserve and attracts high levels of interest from the international scientific community, including members of the Royal Society, and anyone with an undiscovered interest in forest research and conservation will have a magical experience whilst on project - and most people do fall in love with Danum.


Alpha 5 & 6 – Mamutik Island, Long Pa Sia & Mt. Kinabalu

Matt Mudford, Ben Price, Aaron Garside and Louise Baxendale of Alpha Five and Alpha Six combined forces to visit Mamutik Island where they established the area the participants would be living in whilst completing their PADI diving course. They also traveled down to Long Pa Sia where they discussed potential trekking routes with local guide Hanry & Noor. The teams will trek usupported through the virgin jungle of Long Pa Sia for approximately 10 days; they will explore new trails, be immersed in the rich traditions of jungle folk-lore and see many of the native jungle animals, including Mouse Deer and Wild Boar.

The Alpha Five team will trek in Long Pa Sia and then dive on Mamutik Island before meeting up with Alpha Six to climb Mt. Kinabalu, and the Alpha Six team will dive and then trek before the climax of climbing Mt. Kinabalu. For most of the teams it will be the most physically demanding part of the expedition, but rest assured it will also prove to be one of the most exhilarating.