Rimba Ilmu at the University of Malaya

Today the Fellows and their new chaperones traveled to Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. The Garden is located within the Institute of Biological Sciences at the University, and many of the garden's functions serve the needs of the university community surrounding its borders. The garden has 15 staff that serve all of the gardens operational and educational priorities. In the morning we met with the interim director, Mr. Sugumaran, and a representative from the Malaysian Nature Society, Mr. Shanmugaraj. The Malaysian Nature Society cooperates to develop educational programming and arrange sources of private funding for the Garden. Mr. Shanmugaraj explained the role of the Society serving both Rimba Ilmu in Kuala Lumpur and several other environmental organizations throughout Malaysia.

The group first toured a rainforest ecology exhibit produced and promoted by the staff at Rimba Ilmu. The exhibit covered many topics of the Malaysian tropical rainforest including ecological structure, plants of special interest, and pressure from development. The group then toured the rare and endangered plant house with Mr. Sugumaran where the Botanic Garden displays plants for ex-situ conservation as well as education. The plant house was magnificently maintained and organized with several unique species including several Begonia sp. and various orchids.

The Fellows and chaperones then toured the grounds of Rimba Ilmu and viewed several impressive collections including the bamboo and fruit tree collections. We briefly stopped in a shade house to view a wonderful collection of ferns and tropical plants arranged around a covered streambank. Inside the house everyone was amazed by the very large fern species, Angiopteris angustifolia.

After the tour of the plant collections we viewed the Rimba Ilmu Herbarium. In the herbarium, several staff contributed to collections development driven primarily by their individual research interests and specialties. The mounting tables and storage cabinets were very impressive and extensive!


In the afternoon, the group met with members of the Kuala Lumpur City Council. These members discussed the development of Kuala Lumpur and their strategies to beautfiy the urban landscape. Their efforts to improve Kuala Lumpur's landscape and develop a city in a garden of lights are extremely ambitious and extensive. Each member of the group enjoyed listening to the Council's presentation and comparing their progress to other urban centers. The location of our afternoon meeting was surrounded by several landscaped parks and gardens, and we took part of the afternoon to visit the National Orchid Garden and National Hibiscus Garden before returning to our hotel.

That evening, the group dined at a wonderful buffet dinner and cultural show in Kuala Lumpur. A dance performance influenced by regional Malaysian communities was presented at the end of the dinner, and a few members of our group even joined the show to learn some Malay dance steps!

The Fellows, their chaperones, and Mr. Sugumaran at Rimba Ilmu.

Barnabas, Dan, Jackie, Lorrie, Matt E., Matt Q., Yoko