Proposed FOPBGS activities for Jul to Dec 2019

Hi All,

Please be on the look out for the following activities planned for the rest of the Year 2019.

a) Vermi-composting Aug/Sept
b) Cooking: Nasi Kerabu -Sept
c) PPST -school activity -Sept
d) Bird Watching at the Gardens - Oct
e) Cooking: Capati making - Nov
f) Cooking: Lemuni Rice - Dec

Please check with the Mr. Zaki at the office or your email for confirmed dates.

Thank you and hope to see you there.

March Activity for Members- visit to an Organic Farm

We are having a trip to Mgreen Organic Farms in MBI Desaku, Kulim District, on Sat 16 March 2019. Meet at 10.30am at the Site. See location map posted. Visit should be about 1-2 hrs.

All interested please give your name to Zaki at Botanika Outreach or email botanika.penang@gmail.com by the March 10, 2019 as we have only places for 20 pax. There is no charge for this event. Transport and food are each own responsibility.

Directions:

Cross Penang Bridge, go north towards Sg. Petani. At the interchange of the N-S expressway and BKE, turn East onto the BKE heading to Kulim. Head East all the way past Kulim Hi -tech park and continue in the direction of Baling. You will pass the MBI Desaku main entrance and turn at the convention center junction. Go left and proceed to the Guardhouse entrance. Tell them you are visiting the Organic Farm . Park you car in front of "Golden Kingdom entertainment outlet"

January Events: Talk by Mr Samson Chong on Air Plants

The members’ event in January was a talk about Air Plants (Tillandsias) for beginners, by Mr Samson Chong, a local enthusiast. It was held at the Botanika Outreach on Jan 19^th from 9.30am to 1.00pm.  

It was attended by 18 members, with a diverse range of interests in Air Plants or Tillandsia.

The Agenda for the morning was divided into two sections  - a presentation on what are air-plants, the various types and care and in the second half, a demonstration on how to mount them as well as a DIY session.

Air plants are an exotic type of epiphyte from the Bromeliad family. They are native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern

Mexico , south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to mid Argentina. They are protected in some countries and are left to grow in the wild. Those that are sold are cultivated.

They are popular as decorative plants requiring minimal care. Most Tillandsia species are epiphytes – which translates to 'upon a plant'. They are also commonly known as Air plants as they absorb nutrients from the air through breathing and feeding hairs called trichomes in the leaves. The roots are merely to anchor themselves.

Samson Chong explaining the type of Air plant species to an attentive audience.

The three main types of common Air plants samples shown were: 

a) The Tillandsia ionantha:

 Tillandsia ionantha is also known as the sky plant. It is a species native to Central America and Mexico.  This is the most common tillandsia and is used mostly as decoration as the plant turns red when it's blooming.

b) Tillandsia xerographica:

Xerographica are known as the "Queen of Air Plants" for good reason! They are the perfect air plant to have due to their beautiful re-curving leaf structure and amazing bloom spikes.  They can tolerate bright light and go longer periods without water than most other plants.

                 

c)Tillandsia duratti:

Tillandsia Durati is a drought-tolerant air plant with fuzzy silvery leaves that curl up at the tips. It has amazing structure and is originally from the Great Chaco region (western Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, and northern Argentina). It is extremely drought resistant. It is also known as the monkey plant as it can slowly grow up tall trees.

In the second part of the session, the members were given a starter’s kit, consisting of an air-plant and a ‘root’ mount to attach the air-plant. The glue is non-toxic variety and does not harm the plant .Not all glues are suitable. Gluing it on the mount is similar to an epiphyte growing on a tree trunk or branch. Wires can also be used to mount the plant. Copper is extremely poisonous to air plants and should not be used. Iron or aluminium are usually used.

Spray watering about once in two days, is sufficient for the plant to flourish in a partially sunny area. These plants are slow growing and may take up to 2 years to reach appropriate size of maturity.

Members attaching Air plants to ‘root’ mounts

The group then participated actively in a Q&A session with Samson Chong, before some light refreshments were served.

Attaching the plant on.

On behalf of the committee, we would like to thank, Mr Samson Chong of AugustFame, who can be reached via facebook or email at augustfame88@gmail.com.  for the enlightening talk and demonstration.

Demonstration and Talk on “Air-Plants” (Tillandsia)

Members Activity January Event:  Demonstration and Talk on “Air-Plants” (Tillandsia).

The Society is organizing a Demonstration and Talk by Samson Chong on Air Plants, for the members as follows:

Date: Sat 19 Jan 2019

Venue: Botanika Outreach

Time: 9.30am to 12.30 noon

Cost:  Presentation Lecture 

           Demonstration of mounting Air plants onto driftwood - RM20 per pax. for members  
           Open to public at RM30 per pax. (includes: air plant, glue and mounting kit).         .

           Light refreshments will be served.

Air plants are an exotic type of epiphytes from the Bromeliad family. They are native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern

Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to mid Argentina.

They are popular as decorative plants requiring minimal care. Most Tillandsia species are epiphytes – which translates to 'upon a plant'. They are also commonly known as Air plants. Local market prices range from RM15 to over RM250.

To register for this, please contact Zaki, via phone (01120847739) or email botanika.penang@gmail.com by Jan 16^st, 2019. Payments will be collected on the day of the presentation itself. Thank you.

Bat Ecology

Hi,
Be amazed at the 'Going Batty' activity that took place on Nov 3 and Nov 10, 2018 at the Penang Botanic Gardens. This activity was conducted by our RIE Award reciepient, Ms. Nur Izzati Abdullah, the post graduate Researcher in Animal Zoology. Her speciality is Bats.

We had 14 participants attend the talk on Nov 10th at the Botanika Outreach, with some of them comprising her team of USM student research interns. She begun with a presentation on Bat Morphology and Classification of the two main types of bats in Malaysia. These were Fruit eating and Insect eating bats. Malaysia has 10% of the world bat species, which number 1300 species.A quarter of these are listed as ICUN vulnerable. Approximately, 14 species can been found at The Botanic Gardens.

She further explained that bat roosting sites may be in Natural structures (Caves, under trees, bamboo groves) or in Man-Made structures ( under eaves, in attics or bridges) They normally roost in groups that can number 100-150 per cluster. Bats usually have different types of roosting areas for sleeping, foraging, and also maternity roosts.

                 Can you spot the Bats roosting under the palm leaves???

How bats feed;
For Frugivorous bats, they feed on nectar and ripe fruit and are important in seed dispersal and pollination. They are crucial in spreading seeds for certain species of plants like the Petai. Also, they aid in Durian tree pollination. Fruit bats have large eyes and long snouts.
For Insectivorous bats, they feed on insects and bugs. They help  reduce the insect pest population like mosquitoes and winged termites. Insect eating bats have large ears and a ugly snub snouts. The large ears are used for echo-location of insects in flight using ultra-sound.

Insect eating bats with large ears, note the pouch used to 'scoop' up insects in flight.

A Bat trapping we will go!!!
In order to do research on bats, Ms. Izzati and her team, has to set up traps along the bat fly-ways in the Gardens. We joined her to see how this was done. There are 2 different kind of traps to catch bats:

A 'Harp trap' is used to catch Insectivorous bats, which comprises of a rectangular frame, with transparent nylon strings arranged in staggered vertical rows. The echo-locating insectivorous bats cannot sense the strings and fly into the barrier and drop into a collection bag below.

                                           Setting up the Harp Net

                              The completed assembly... the happy helpers...

                            The collector bag to retain the trapped bats

To catch Frugivorous bats the usual 'Mist net' is set between poles. A mist net is very much like a fishing net, but with small mesh size.These are set up near fruit trees that the bats feed on. In our case near a grove of Banana trees.

                                  Example of a Mist Net

These traps are normally set up at Dusk, around 6~7pm and specimens collected till 10pm the same night.

The researcher's collect the specimens caught; and each bat is weighed, sexed, measured, and any stool sample collected or pollen dusted off, for identification purposes. For echo-locating insectivorous bats, a "bat detector" is used to measure their call frequency. They are photographed and also compared with a Bat ID chart to classify them. Once all this is done, they will be released back into the wild.

At 10pm a wary team wrapped up and disassembled all the traps before retiring for the day.

Getting Batty at the Gardens

November 2018 Activity: "Getting Batty at the Gardens"

Come Join the Fun, as part of the post Halloween Spirit, to learn about Bats and their Ecology, at the Penang Botanic Gardens. We plan to have this activity for the public on Sat Nov 3rd and for FOPBGS Members on Sat Nov 10th, 2018. This will be a full day and night activity from 3.00pm to 10.00pm at Night. Our RIE graduate researcher, Ms. Nur Izzati Abdullah will be giving the lectures and tours.

Please see the appended program below, for further details:

Time	Activity	Notes
3.00-4.00PM	Part A) Getting Batty Talk in information on Bats ecology, species diversity and behavior	Activity A = 10-15pax 10th Nov: Talk by Nur Izzati
4.00-6.00PM	Part B (i) Setting up the traps Demonstration on bats trapping methods and hands on experience for assembling the traps. Please wear appropriate shoes (and rain coat). Headlamp will be provided.	Activity B = 5 pax 10th Nov: Botanical Garden trail
7.00-10.00PM	Part B (ii) Bats observation and trap checking. Members accompany the researchers to experience the real bat research in the field (bats foraging activity, species identification & sample collection). Please wear appropriate shoes (and rain coat). Headlamp will be provided.	Activity B = 5 pax 10th Nov: Botanical Garden trail
	Part C) Night tour of Gardens Members will be taken on a night tour of the Gardens to see what can be seen of the nocturnal flora and fauna. Bring torches and bug spray. This is for those who do not want to go into the forest and be bitten by leeches and all sorts of critters.	Activity C = 10-15 pax 10th Nov: Botanical Garden

As places are limited, please register via email, by sending your Name and number of pax. to:

botanika.penang@gmail.com (preferred method)

                                Subject: Getting Batty - Registering

or 
call the office  04-2279915 (10.00am to 5.00pm, Wed thru Sat) for further details.

REGISTRATION CLOSES BY NOV 1st, 2018.

Thank you and see you there.....

Kacip Fatimah

Kacip fatimah or Labisia pumila in Latin, is a herb mostly associated with women's health issues in traditional Malay herbalogy. It's a small woody plant that is quite leafy and flowers with tiny off-white or pinkish blossoms, which grows in clusters. The leaves are hairy on the undersides and can be used to propagate the plant. It also has rhizomes and seeds which can be used for the same purpose.

Its Malay name means "Fatimah's betel nut cutters." Traditionally, it is used to induce labour in pregnant women, as well as for the treatment of venereal disease and of all things, flatulence! A study in Singapore also showed that its extracts also improved mental well-being and cardiovascular health in pre- and post-menopausal women 

Although it is available as a sweetened canned drink in Malaysia now, it was traditionally drunk as a tea. First mentioned for its properties 400 years ago, it has actually been in use in Malay herbalogy far longer than that. Its other names include bunga belangkas and tadah matahari. Nowadays, however, Kacip fatimah is being researched for use in pharmacological cosmetic products. 

But be warned. Kacip fatimah's herbal properties are so powerful that pregnant, lactating or menstruating women are advised to take it with extreme caution. While a controlled dose helps to induce labour, it is said that a large dose of its extract could cause the foetus to abort!