As a follow-up trip to their very visit to Shangri-la Tanjung Aru last week, Year 5 visited Signal Hill Eco Farm this week to learn more about how ecotourism, conservation and sustainability can be practised in a very different way, for different purposes and on a different scale. The owners kindly took the students on a tour of the farm where they noted down key features of ecotourism that they observed being practised. The students were excited to be given the opportunity to get hands-on experience with an organic planting activity at the back of the farm, with each student planning a Chinese spinach shoot.<\/p>\n
Over lunch, the students were able to interview the owners of the farm about why they set up the farm, how they made the farm self-sustaining and how they were able to give back to the community through the running of the farm. The students were all very inspired by what they learnt and left the farm having made new friendships with the people there and having gained new experiences!<\/p>\n
But their day didn\u2019t end there! On returning back to school the students were privileged to hear from a special guest speaker, Dr Albert Teo, the founder of Borneo Ecotours. Dr Albert has won over 30 awards from all over the world for the wonderful work he has done in the ecotourism industry here in Borneo. Dr Albert\u2019s presentation taught the students many interesting things about the way his company runs and the projects that it has been working on in various regions in Borneo. Students and staff alike were awed both by the successes achieved and the challenges overcome by his perseverance and passion for the industry. Many of the students were very excited to learn that they had been tourists to several places affiliated to his agencies!<\/p>\n