Terrapin Independence Day 2016

Written by Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok

Dr. Chen is the co-founder of Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia. She currently heads the community-based River Terrapin Conservation Project in Kemaman, Terengganu, Malaysia.

9 Sep 2016

First of all, please accept our apologies for the delay in making this announcement. We have received numerous emails and inquiries about our upcoming Terrapin Release event, and we have just managed to finalize the date and the activities in a meeting yesterday afternoon :(

Our annual Terrapin Release event, which is also called “Terrapin Independence Day,” is the culmination of our River Terrapin Conservation Project throughout the whole year. We secure river terrapin eggs for incubation in February, during their nesting season. We head start the hatchlings beginning May. We measure and weigh them every month. And in September, we release our terrapin hatchlings into the Kemaman River, for them to begin a new life.

We thank all our donors, supporters, terrapin adopters (a.k.a. foster parents) for contributing to the project, either by making a donation, or by symbolically adopting these cute little creatures. As such, we humbly take this opportunity to invite you to our annual Terrapin Independence Day, to join in the festivities, and to release your adopted terrapin into the wild, wild world.

A sample of photos taken during a previous Terrapin Independence Day.

A sample of photos taken during a previous Terrapin Independence Day.

This year, together with our collaborators, JKKK Pasir Gajah and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), we are organizing a 3-day event. Members of the public are most welcome to join us on Saturday and Sunday. The highlight of the release this year would be the making of Turtle Mosaics; an exhibition by TCS, UPM, Department of Environment, etc.; a Sukan Rakyat (traditional games); and two gotong-royong (clean-up) sessions. We will also be conducting a Turtle Awareness Programme with students from S.K. Pasir Gajah, and participate in friendly futsal and badminton matches.

Date: 23rd – 25th September 2016 (Friday – Sunday)
Time: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Venue: Kg. Pasir Gajah Community Hall (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/6SCngRszsBp)
Coordinates: 4° 14’40.6″N, 103° 17’43.8″E

Also, this year, instead of organizing just a release event, we are also organizing a Turtle Mosaic making session every morning during the 3-day event, which will be open to the public. This is a great activity for parents and children. All the Turtle Mosaics will be installed on a wall outside our new Mini Terrapin Museum in Kg. Pasir Gajah. A fee of RM50 per piece is required to defray some of our costs. Some photos on making Turtle Mosaics can be found in our Facebook album.

Both adults and children enjoyed making their Turtle Mosaics.

Both adults and children enjoyed making their Turtle Mosaics.

If you’re planning to join us this year, please fill up the following form. Due to the generosity of the general public, we have more donors than we have terrapins this year, hence we will try to allocate each “foster parent” a river terrapin.

[Form is removed.]

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