Trip to Rimba Ilmu (27th of October)

As was mentioned previously, Sri Aman enthusiastically organises one activity after another for us Form 3 students in order to keep us occupied whenever we do decide to drag ourselves to school. A trip to the University of Malaya's Rimba Ilmu was organized recently, and our club decided to make it a club outing, which meant that it was compulsory for every Form 3 member of our club to go for the trip.

70 students donned in school t-shirts and track bottoms went for the trip, knowing full well that they would be jungle-trekking. Rimba Ilmu, being a botanical garden spanning 70 hectares situated in our country's leading university, was abundant and plentiful in its variety of plants and herbs, which intrigued many of the students to no end. Students arrived at Rimba Ilmu at around 10 am in the morning, after the bus made two trips in order to fetch every single participant of the trip.

We were given a briefing by our guide of the day soon after we arrived, and we were soon divided into 3 large groups. Every group would get an opportunity to visit all three stations in the Rimba Ilmu, but in different orders. The three stations included the Botanical Garden, where numerous plants, each with unique usages and characteristics of its own, greeted students as soon as they stepped into the Botanical Garden.

The Rare Plants House showcased wild endemic orchids and Venus fly traps. The Rare Plants House was set at a humidity and temperature that simulates an actual jungle, so that every plant in the house would grow as well as they would grow if they had been living in their natural habitats. Some of the species in the house were on the brink extinction and therefore had to be cultured.

Lastly, students went to the exhibition hall, which was where a lot of interesting information regarding plants were displayed on the walls. Students were given the chance to compare the weight of different types of precious wood. There was also an interesting exhibition showcasing preserved insects and butterflies.

Students found the trip interesting as it provided students with an in-depth look into diversity of the species of flora and fauna found in our lovely country.