There is a tradition at TRACC to down tools on Sundays and just find fun things to do. It's always a bit of a surprise waiting to see what the crew will think up to entertain us with on Sundays. This week was a double treat as the dive masters chose two separate islands to explore from the water.
19.3.17
9.3.17
Visit from Ross School - New York
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 |
27.2.17
Week of extreme training
This week the TRACC camp has been dominated by advanced training with 3 courses taking place throughout the week. These were the EFR (Emergency First Response) the rescue and the dive master courses. The TRACC Tech diver Iena has been kept extremely busy but so have most of the other members of the TRACC team who have been acting as either people needing rescue or people being hysterical because they know someone needs rescue. Of course it was all acting and nobody actually was in distress but the acting was very authentic and anyone walking past would have been forgiven for being a little confused about the all the action.
19.2.17
Week 1 in paradise for a new media intern.
Well it’s been approximately one week since I arrived at the beautiful
tropical Pom Pom island to help out as part of the Tracc program. So
today I must ignore the lure of the water, the call of the marine world
just a short walk across the sand. Tracc is a very special destination
for many reasons, the camaraderie, scenery, diving, snorkelling and the
great food. However one thing above all sets TRACC (Tropical Research
And Conservation Centre) above any other holiday destination I could
think of. At best when we go to a reef resort all we can hope for is to
have zero negative impact on the marine environment. This includes not
touching the bottom, wearing marine friendly sun screen, and removing
all rubbish. TRACC takes zero impact one step further by it’s visitors
having a positive impact on the marine environment. It’s always great to
see a turtle relaxing on the sea floor but it’s that extra bit special
when you see the turtle sitting amongst a part of the reef which the
team has restored.
2.2.17
An incredible intern experience
On Monday I finally had to bid TRACC farewell. It was about the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to do. My days at TRACC have been some of my happiest and I am so incredibly greatful for the opportunity to be the social media intern at TRACC this summer.
1.2.17
Local staff at TRACC
Day to day life at TRACC is only made possible by the dedication and help of our incredible local staff. They are behind the scenes cooking, cleaning, filling our tanks, building, and maintaining our camp. We are so greatful for all that they do for us, and are proud to employ local to ensure money is going into the local economy to support local families. I had a chat to a few of our staff about their jobs and why they like working at TRACC.
30.1.17
Farewell Diniy
Diniy (or Dinley or Dino or Gino or D Dawg) has been a science intern with us here at TRACC since September. This guy is radicool and has been absolutely bomb to work with here at TRACC along with all the other volunteers. He has a passionate, hardworking and reliable presence and will be sorely missed when he heads back home to Brunei. I had a chat with Diniy this week to get his reflections on his time here at TRACC.
27.1.17
Sunday funday trip to Kulapuan
Last Sunday we went om our Sunday Funday trip, this week we chose to go to Kulapuan. The trip was a great opportunity to visit the local village on Kulapuan, as well as explore a new dive site. (See my post about the film crew visit to learn more about the Bajau people who live on Kulapuan). We have a lot of volunteers at the moment so it took quite a lot of coordination to get everyone from Pom Pom with food and dive gear- but we made it there and back, alive and in one piece!
The first boat left at 7.30 with seven volunteers who were undertaking a survey of the intertidal zone on the island, lead by our A Level teacher, Allia. They looked at the large reef flat at Kulapuan by walking along a 100m line perpendicular to the shore with a one metre by one metre quadrant. It was an excellent learning opportunity for the volunteers in marine science methodology. The group found low biodiversity in the tidal zone, but high mass of certain species such as perrywinkle snails and brittle stars.
The rest of the group arrived at about 10am. We split into two groups. The first group went walking around the island and to the local village. They were able to see the Bajau people, and buy things from the shop. TRACC has a strong relationship with the village and the people. One vary noticeable thing at the village is the huge amount of trash littering the ground and floating in the sea. Most of this trash gets washed up from the mainland daily. There is no ability to dispose of the trash on the island, as the people are unable to transport it to Semporna. It is a major issue, and we hope to have more clean up days throughout the year on Kulapuan.
The other group went out for their first dive of the day. We went right down from the newly built jetty. It was a lovely dive site with a lot of hard corals. There was a current we swam into to begin with, then we let it carry us back along the reef. We saw turtles, a few nudibranchs, and a white moray swimming along the coral. We came up from the dive and took our gear off. The air was very calm. Then, within about five minutes there was a shift, and the wind started howling and rain started pouring down. We made the decision to go back to Pom Pom and the next hour was spent packing up the boat in the pouring rain, and trying our best to keep warm with body heat and milo!! It was a crazy weather shift from the morning, but with patience and a good sense of humour we got everything packed up and headed back to Pom Pom, arriving just as the rain stopped..!
It was a full on and exciting day, and everyone sleeping extreamly well that night. Huge thanks to our amazing boatman, volunteers, and staff for the day.
The first boat left at 7.30 with seven volunteers who were undertaking a survey of the intertidal zone on the island, lead by our A Level teacher, Allia. They looked at the large reef flat at Kulapuan by walking along a 100m line perpendicular to the shore with a one metre by one metre quadrant. It was an excellent learning opportunity for the volunteers in marine science methodology. The group found low biodiversity in the tidal zone, but high mass of certain species such as perrywinkle snails and brittle stars.
Hanging out in the intertidal zone after the survey
The rest of the group arrived at about 10am. We split into two groups. The first group went walking around the island and to the local village. They were able to see the Bajau people, and buy things from the shop. TRACC has a strong relationship with the village and the people. One vary noticeable thing at the village is the huge amount of trash littering the ground and floating in the sea. Most of this trash gets washed up from the mainland daily. There is no ability to dispose of the trash on the island, as the people are unable to transport it to Semporna. It is a major issue, and we hope to have more clean up days throughout the year on Kulapuan.
Customer service at the village shop
The other group went out for their first dive of the day. We went right down from the newly built jetty. It was a lovely dive site with a lot of hard corals. There was a current we swam into to begin with, then we let it carry us back along the reef. We saw turtles, a few nudibranchs, and a white moray swimming along the coral. We came up from the dive and took our gear off. The air was very calm. Then, within about five minutes there was a shift, and the wind started howling and rain started pouring down. We made the decision to go back to Pom Pom and the next hour was spent packing up the boat in the pouring rain, and trying our best to keep warm with body heat and milo!! It was a crazy weather shift from the morning, but with patience and a good sense of humour we got everything packed up and headed back to Pom Pom, arriving just as the rain stopped..!
It was a full on and exciting day, and everyone sleeping extreamly well that night. Huge thanks to our amazing boatman, volunteers, and staff for the day.
25.1.17
A busy week of conservation at TRACC
This past week has been a busy one for conservation. We have had a lot of volunteers coming through with a huge amount of passion for undertaking conservation diving each day. The energy has been incredible and I am feeling very sad that my time at TRACC is so near to ending. But enough of that. I thought I would give an overview of the conservation we have been undertaking recently and how it is helping our reefs at Pom Pom.
To begin, last week we spent some time out snorkelling along our house reef, surveying the number and state of all of our bottle reefs. We split house reef into four segments so that we can rotate our conservation dives through each section to keep better track of our work over time. This information was then collated onto our data base.
We have done a lot of bottle reef maintenance this week. This involves snorkelling and collecting baskets of broken, but living coral from the sea floor. This is coral that has broken off due to stormy waters, or by tourists that have knocked coral and broken it. After collection we get kitted up in our dive gear and go back into the ocean. We take the coral and attach them with wire to the bottles on the bottle reef. Between six of us we attach about 60 pieces of coral in 30 minutes at a depth of about three metres. The idea behind the reef is that the bottles provide a stable base for the coral to grow from, rather than just dying on the sea floor. Having more coral helps the ecosystem in so many ways- providing new habitat for marine animals, and stability for the reef.
We also went twice to an area of the island called lobster wall to collect some soft coral. Here, there is an area where there is a lot of soft coral growing naturally. We collect pieces from this area that are loose and attached to rubble. We fill up the bottom of two crates with the coral. This only takes about 15 minutes and gives us the chance to go on a fun dive to see the beautiful wall (and our lobster friends!). We then take the soft coral to an area on our house reef where we have dropped some nets. We place the coral under the net. The coral will grow and create a new carpet of soft coral along the slope- an area that is otherwise made up of broken dead coral.
We spent one morning at the wreck dive site collecting gorgonian sea fans. We cut off small branches of the fans, or broken pieces that are on the ground. The fans are beautiful and delicate, and when you see it above the water it has the most incredibly vibrant colours. We took them down to the igloo shaped reefs we have in house reef. We attach the pieces with zip ties to the structure. The fans grow well on this structure, and we even discovered one fan that had attached on its own.
Apart from these projects, we made and dropped about 24 bottle reefs, and did some mad jetty jumping! It was a really satisfying, busy week. I find it absolutely incredible how much I have learnt about different ways of creating reefs in the past two months and how much we have achieved. Planting corals has also been so awesome for my buoyancy in the water.
To begin, last week we spent some time out snorkelling along our house reef, surveying the number and state of all of our bottle reefs. We split house reef into four segments so that we can rotate our conservation dives through each section to keep better track of our work over time. This information was then collated onto our data base.
We have done a lot of bottle reef maintenance this week. This involves snorkelling and collecting baskets of broken, but living coral from the sea floor. This is coral that has broken off due to stormy waters, or by tourists that have knocked coral and broken it. After collection we get kitted up in our dive gear and go back into the ocean. We take the coral and attach them with wire to the bottles on the bottle reef. Between six of us we attach about 60 pieces of coral in 30 minutes at a depth of about three metres. The idea behind the reef is that the bottles provide a stable base for the coral to grow from, rather than just dying on the sea floor. Having more coral helps the ecosystem in so many ways- providing new habitat for marine animals, and stability for the reef.
A time lapse photo showing the growth of branching coral on the bottle reef over three months
We also went twice to an area of the island called lobster wall to collect some soft coral. Here, there is an area where there is a lot of soft coral growing naturally. We collect pieces from this area that are loose and attached to rubble. We fill up the bottom of two crates with the coral. This only takes about 15 minutes and gives us the chance to go on a fun dive to see the beautiful wall (and our lobster friends!). We then take the soft coral to an area on our house reef where we have dropped some nets. We place the coral under the net. The coral will grow and create a new carpet of soft coral along the slope- an area that is otherwise made up of broken dead coral.
Our net of soft coral growing on the slope
We spent one morning at the wreck dive site collecting gorgonian sea fans. We cut off small branches of the fans, or broken pieces that are on the ground. The fans are beautiful and delicate, and when you see it above the water it has the most incredibly vibrant colours. We took them down to the igloo shaped reefs we have in house reef. We attach the pieces with zip ties to the structure. The fans grow well on this structure, and we even discovered one fan that had attached on its own.
Gorgonian sea fans growing on our igloo reef
Apart from these projects, we made and dropped about 24 bottle reefs, and did some mad jetty jumping! It was a really satisfying, busy week. I find it absolutely incredible how much I have learnt about different ways of creating reefs in the past two months and how much we have achieved. Planting corals has also been so awesome for my buoyancy in the water.
Dropping bottle reefs
Loading up the bottle reefs into the kayak
20.1.17
Semporna Shopping Trips
Twice a week TRACC goes to the mainland to Semporna to pick up weekly supplies and new volunteers. Pom Pom island is very isolated, with no local village or town, so all food, drinking water, gas, reef making supplies, general camp and building supplies, and individual personal things must be brought over from Semporna.
Semporna is a chaotic little seaside town, and anybody who has been their knows that if you can skip a stay in Semporna, it's probably for the best. Doing the shopping is an interesting experience to say the least. Different people take responsibility for the job each week. In my time here I have helped out four times. The last time decided to lead the shopping trip rather than just helping out. I remember lying down to go to sleep the night before, and thinking " oh god. what have I done?"
We leave Pom Pom at around 8.30 in the morning with our amazing boatman Pak Cik and any volunteers that are leaving TRACC. When we arrive at Semporna we sadly farewell our volunteers, before getting down to business. First up is remembering how to drive stick in a big white people mover van. After a few deep breaths we were off. I had been given a map marked out with places to go and my amazing sidekick Aisyah directed me on our way. We dropped off empty water bottles, filled us petrol canisters, found bags of cement and wheelbarrows, brought pillows and fans for new volunteers, found fresh local fruit and vegetables, bargained over fish and ice, dropped off the TRACC laundry, and flew through the supermarket with two trolleys buying our groceries. At about 1.30 we stopped for roti for lunch at Bismillah, before continuing on with the jobs. In the afternoon we met up with the new volunteers who all offered a hand at loading and unloading the van and generally being in awe at the madness of Semporna. Of particular help on the last trip was an Australian joker by the name of Owen Jones-Hawke.
By the time 4.30 swung around and we were back at the jetty with all volunteers safety found, I was well and truly ready to sit down. And with everything loaded onto the boat i relaxed into my seat and let the wind dry my face from the sweat of Semporna, as we drove back to our happy place.
The return the the island is definitely the best part of the day. We come into view of the jetty and see volunteers waving, and Monsoon howling at us to get onto dry land. The boat is unloaded and I relax into a chair with a cold beer.
Shopping day is chaotic, but the satisfaction of navigating a foreign town, and providing the camp with all we need for the week is secretly very satisfying. It is another necessary and important part of life at Pom Pom- fist pump to the volunteer who takes up the challenge next week.
Check out this clip I made of one of our tips on facebook- Semporna Shopping Video
Semporna is a chaotic little seaside town, and anybody who has been their knows that if you can skip a stay in Semporna, it's probably for the best. Doing the shopping is an interesting experience to say the least. Different people take responsibility for the job each week. In my time here I have helped out four times. The last time decided to lead the shopping trip rather than just helping out. I remember lying down to go to sleep the night before, and thinking " oh god. what have I done?"
We leave Pom Pom at around 8.30 in the morning with our amazing boatman Pak Cik and any volunteers that are leaving TRACC. When we arrive at Semporna we sadly farewell our volunteers, before getting down to business. First up is remembering how to drive stick in a big white people mover van. After a few deep breaths we were off. I had been given a map marked out with places to go and my amazing sidekick Aisyah directed me on our way. We dropped off empty water bottles, filled us petrol canisters, found bags of cement and wheelbarrows, brought pillows and fans for new volunteers, found fresh local fruit and vegetables, bargained over fish and ice, dropped off the TRACC laundry, and flew through the supermarket with two trolleys buying our groceries. At about 1.30 we stopped for roti for lunch at Bismillah, before continuing on with the jobs. In the afternoon we met up with the new volunteers who all offered a hand at loading and unloading the van and generally being in awe at the madness of Semporna. Of particular help on the last trip was an Australian joker by the name of Owen Jones-Hawke.
By the time 4.30 swung around and we were back at the jetty with all volunteers safety found, I was well and truly ready to sit down. And with everything loaded onto the boat i relaxed into my seat and let the wind dry my face from the sweat of Semporna, as we drove back to our happy place.
The return the the island is definitely the best part of the day. We come into view of the jetty and see volunteers waving, and Monsoon howling at us to get onto dry land. The boat is unloaded and I relax into a chair with a cold beer.
Shopping day is chaotic, but the satisfaction of navigating a foreign town, and providing the camp with all we need for the week is secretly very satisfying. It is another necessary and important part of life at Pom Pom- fist pump to the volunteer who takes up the challenge next week.
Check out this clip I made of one of our tips on facebook- Semporna Shopping Video
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