Lyv A Life

Public Viewing Laboratory, more commonly known as Turtle Laboratory, is a new project of Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) through a collaboration with The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort. The purpose of having Turtle Lab in a resort is to educate the in-house guests about sea turtles and introduce them the sea turtle conservation effort. This lab also serves as a research station, whereby experiment related to sea turtles will be conducted. Meanwhile, it is also a platform for SEATRU to reach out more people in order to create a connection between the scientist community and the society.

There are two experiments on-going in the lab, which are digging activity and swimming activity of the sea turtle hatchlings. The in-house guests are able to view the entire experimental setup of both experiments and observe the hatching process from the outside of the lab, making this as a “Public Viewing Laboratory”. On behalf of SEATRU, I was appointed by Dr Uzair, the supervisor of my Master Degree (also the current team leader of SEATRU), together with Dira to initiate this project and run the lab from planning to execution. Starting from 15 April 2018, Turtle Lab is officially my working space (lab+office)!

Marine Conservation Counter is attached with Turtle Lab. It displays the preserved samples of sea turtles and corals to allow the in-house guests to have a close-up observation on the physical appearance, while it helps the in-house researchers and marine biologist to explain better. Balqis, the in-house marine biologist, is the person-in-charge for Marine Conservation Counter. Having Turtle Lab and Marine Conservation Counter side-by-side, three of us are working really closely. We share our knowledge on sea turtles and corals with the visiting guests. During the conversation, the guests also learn a lot about the marine issues such as plastic pollution, ocean warming etc. Turtle Lab and Marine Conservation Counter are the places for public education, outreach, and raising awareness on protecting our nature. Other than getting tan skin and sunburn during the vacation at Redang Island, the guests are also bringing these knowledge back home!

Upon the completion of the experiment, the hatchlings in the laboratory will be set free. To enhance the engagement with the guests, we hold turtle hatchling release together with the guests. Other than having hands-on experience on handling the hatchlings, the guests are educated about the proper way of interacting with wildlife like sea turtles and the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by SEATRU during the release event.

Turtle Lab has been running for four months and so far, we are receiving very positive response and feedback from the in-house guests. Every visitor is impressive for a laboratory established in a resort, especially the parents. They are very glad that their children get to be exposed to the scientific knowledge of sea turtles and the conservation effort done in Malaysia. Despite of the challenging part, I enjoy working at Turtle Lab as I love talking with people, especially about sea turtles! Through conversation, a lot of idea and opinion can be exchanged between one another and sometimes, and it could even build a friendship!

NOTE: The words highlighted in orange will be the topic of next article. Stay tuned to find out more!

IMG_20180816_090311 (2).jpg — Turtle Laboratory and Marine Conservation Counter.

IMG_20180816_090102 — Only the authorized personnel (Balqis, Dira and I) are allowed entering the lab. The guests can only view the lab from the Marine Conservation Counter. This is also the space where we interact with the guests.

IMG_20180816_085904 — The videos looped on TV help the guests to understand better during our explanation.

IMG_20180816_085847 — My working desk (in front of the whiteboard). The oven is used to heat up the sand, vermiculite and perlite, allowing them to be reused for the next batch of experiment (It’s not for cooking turtle eggs or baking cake!).

IMG_20180816_103329 — Experimental setup for my research on digging activity.

: We recorded these information (batch number, nest number, hatching success, how long the eggs have been incubated in the lab, and the hatched day) for every batch of eggs.

IMG_20180816_103214 — The “hot spot” for guests to take photos of the baby turtles!

IMG_20180816_103151 — The guests are always excited to check on the progress of hatching activity!

IMG_20180816_091805 — When the guests saw these preserved corals, the first question that they will ask is “Why there are so many bleached corals out there?”

IMG_20180816_091754 — The guests also like to ask, “Are these real?”

Met these two Japanese guests, Jun (left) and Aya (right) at the lab. Knowing that they would like to taste the local food and they can’t speak English very well, I decided to help them by being their translator and brought them to a restaurant. We communicated with simple English, body language, and even Google translate. They were impressed when I am able to speak a little Japanese. We had a great time together!

Tali (left) and Maddie (right) from UK came to Turtle Lab every day during their vacation to see the baby turtles. Tali also told me that the information and knowledge (e.g. the biology and life cycle of sea turtles) that she learnt from Turtle Lab will be presented in her school project of the summer break.

A hand-drawn turtle by Clea from France, a 11 years old girl and I love her drawing so much! Her brother, Luca and she stayed at Taaras for 2 weeks and they came to the lab every day to learn about sea turtles. She can’t speak English (we need her mum to be translator or Google Translate), but the language is no longer a barrier when someone is very enthusiastic to learn!

Have you ever imagined yourself living and working on an island? It’s not about one or two weeks, but at least 6 months.

Working on an island was once in my bucket list. At my first visit to Redang Island in 2016, I was amazed by the crystal clear water and white powdery sand. Spending 3 days 2 nights at Redang Island was not enough and I secretly wished that I could spend my whole life there. I imagined myself waking up early for the sunrise, having breakfast with the morning sea breeze, walking along the beach after work, diving/snorkeling during the weekend etc. Working on an island will definitely be stress-free and more fun than working in an office with boring work routine and I will not have frustration for the heavy road traffic before and after work.

My dream finally came true as I was appointed to set up a Public Viewing Laboratory in Taaras Resort which is located at Redang Island! At the beginning, I was very excited that I was given the opportunity to do my research on an island, rather than the university’s laboratory. As the official date was getting closer, I started to feel a little nervous. While everyone was telling me that I will be doing good, I started wondering how the life of living and working on an island would be.

“Reality is always cruel.” How hurtful but how true it is. In fact, staying for vacation is completely different from living on island! After being at Redang Island for almost four months, the reality proved that I was wrong for all the expectation and imagination I had.

⇒ Long working hour

I can’t wake up early for the sunrise as I never get enough rest. I struggle to get up from my bed every morning. My working time is stated to be 8 hours per day, from 9AM to 5PM. However, I always work for more than 8 hours. Sometime it could be 10 hours to 12 hours. Similar with running a business, you need to ensure your shop to be ready before customers walk-in. Before 9AM, the lab has to be cleaned, the information on the whiteboard has to be updated, the video loop has to be played on TV, the turtle eggs have to be checked and monitored etc. And my experiment is doing well! (my experiment is going on 24/7) It is normal that I skip my breakfast as there are too many things needed to be done in the morning. From 9AM to 5PM, my on-going work might get interrupted anytime as I need to attend the guests whenever they come into the lab. Of course, this lab could never be operated by one man. I have another research partner, Dira who is doing the same job as me. After 5PM, Dira and I have another responsibility to be done, which is feeding the handicapped turtle, Nabil and cleaning its tank. If we hold a turtle hatchling release, we end our hectic day when night falls.

⇒No weekend

I literally forget about the feeling of T.G.I.F because I need to work on Saturday and Sunday. I am only granted for a day off throughout a week and it is on MONDAY. I spend my day off by just watching YouTube videos, cleaning the room, doing laundry, having a nap, or simply refreshing the new feeds in Facebook and Instagram. Back in KL, I might be spending my afternoon in a quiet cafe, having lunch meetup with friends, watching movie at cinema, window shopping with my mum etc. But now, all I want is to get rest, recharge and appreciate the only day which I can have a break from work.

⇒ Limited food choice

As I was born and breed at KL, I am totally spoiled with the great variety of good food and those restaurants which can be easily accessed. Since the day I came to Terengganu, I had a culture shock and used a very long time to accept the fact of “I couldn’t eat good Ramen whenever I want”. I love Japanese food and my love for Ramen is undying! At mainland of Terengganu, there is not much food selection and restaurants and it is even lesser on an Island! At the third week upon my arrival to Redang Island, I was bored with the food provided in cafe. I started to appreciate for being at KL, which I used to complain a lot back then. Most importantly, I miss my mum’s cooking!

⇒ Unanticipated challenges

Before living and working on an island, Jason was asking me, “Are you sure for this? Are you ready for it? “. I answered him without hesitation, “YES, and I am going to make it happen as this is what I want! “. To be honest, I am not regretful of the decision I made that day, but I wasn’t prepared for what’s going on now and things are beyond my anticipation. It is challenge for me to start a Public Viewing Lab from a sketch. No one in SEATRU has done this before, me neither. No one can foresee how things will turn up, me neither. I have gone through the hard time, the heartbroken moments, and the nights full of emotions. I was drowned by the frustrating discussion with the management of the resort and the struggles of meeting all the expectation of the other parties (it’s not stress-free and fun like I thought!). I fall, stand up, and fall again. Sometimes, I would even doubt if I am on the right path and the self-denial could be serious as I would ask myself, “Why am I making my own life miserable? “. But I am still taking the challenge because I know staying within the comfort zone will never make me grow. These negativity was gone when I reminded myself once again, the reason I chose turtle conservation.

The points above are my personal experience and you might have a different one. This article may sound like I am complaining that working on an island is a bad idea. In fact, I just would like to share with you that living and working on an island is totally different from what you’ve perceived. Working on an island for 6 months makes me understand better on how conservation’s field work would be. Experiencing all these realities, I truly respect those conservationists who are constantly working on an island. I am still learning along the way and I believe this exposure and real working experience would lead me to somewhere I want to be.

NOTE: The words highlighted in orange will be the topic of next article. Stay tuned to find out more!