Article: A book to preserve Cameron Highlands
When I first knew Carrol Lawrence in 2006, she helped me raise some funds for surgery and introduced her lovely friends up on Cameron Highlands. On one of our breathtaking trips, we met a forest ranger who talked with Carrol like they have known for a hundred years. I was intrigued. On another trip, we accompanied a class of special needs children on one of REACH’S educational programs.
One day, she mentioned about working on a book. Many of us like to talk about writing books but never seriously get around to it so I didn’t probe her for more info. I was convinced that she’d tell me when and if they do make some progress.
That was all I knew. Then, out of the blue, Carrol e-mailed me weeks ago announcing the release of a wild orchids photobook – fresh out of the printer.
“So, this is the book you were working on, at last!” I said to her.
“Wild Orchids of Cameron Highlands” is produced by a local NGO called Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands of which Carrol is a member. They spent the past seven years taking pictures in the wild, compiling and preparing this book for publishing.
They searched the virgin forests and took pictures of flowers in their natural habitat where lighting and distance are elements so hard to control. Some Orchid species thought to be extinct were rediscovered along the way.
Contained in more than 197 pages are Terresterial Orchids, Epiphytic Orchids, Saphrophytic Orchids, and many more in high resolution photographs accompanied by story-teller writings.
Besides surprising me with the knowledge of how vast the Orchid hybrid really is, this book also tells the story of Cameron Highlands and its montane forests. These beautiful orchids are fast depleting from illegal land clearance and poaching. How long more will we see the highlands again?
The book speaks about how deforestation and unregulated land clearance are heating up the atmosphere, bringing low land birds up the mountains in order to survive. Water is turning scarce and contaminated as our habitat go out of balance.
Even their fresh water dam was contaminated before it could be opened for operations.
This book has made me become aware of how close our habitat is to being destroyed. The entire ecosystem is endangered, while people living up in the mountains watch their homeland become eroded more and more each year.
I pray that we can preserve and restore Cameron Highlands to the way it was meant to be.
Please buy a copy of this beautiful book compiled entirely by volunteers.
The retail price is RM98.00 per copy in hardcover.
I have been given some to sell and fund my November surgery.
It will also help REACH and its conservation projects in Cameron Highlands.
We get to support two causes at once!
How to order
Please visit my webstore by clicking this image below.
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‘I would be more than happy to mail international orders using Pos Malaysia’s regular air mail or registered air mail service. So to blog readers living abroad, please buy some copies for your friends.
Thank you for your support.
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