Young Orangutan at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo, Malaysia

I consider myself a non-traditional student. Not because of my age, or that my hair has gone completely grey, but that I have spent a career in the insurance business and not in the sciences.

I have had a love for nature for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I spent a lot of times outdoors and was fascinated by nature. I was always bringing home bugs and snakes in a shoebox. In high school, I took as many biology classes offered and received a bachelors degree in Zoology in college.

After working over 30 years in the insurance business, I rekindled my love for photography, and nature was my preferred subject. I applied for Project Dragonfly’s Earth Expedition’s course to learn more about conservation and wildlife. The primates of Borneo looked interesting and exotic, so I was happy when I was accepted and was able to go to Borneo.

Borneo is about on the other side of the planet from Ohio. My photography had already taken me to the Amazon Rainforest of Peru for a workshop and two years later I returned as a research volunteer at the Tampopata Research Center (TRC). The research center is in the middle of the rainforest and is also a destination for Earth Expedition, so I thought I knew what I was getting into traveling to Borneo.

I expected to get a good dose of science on this Earth Expedition since we would be working at the Danau Girang Field Centre and with the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project (KOCP) at the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. What I didn’t expect was how involved the community of Sukau is in the preservation and restoration of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. They have programs for the local school children to teach them about the sanctuary and its wildlife. They also have a group of mostly women that plant trees in the deforested areas providing jobs for the local community.

During our time in Sukau, we stayed with local families who are mostly muslim. They welcomed us into their homes and provided traditional meals for us. We got to spend time with our hosts and their families. They were very kind and generous and we all had a great time playing with their children. Their homes and furnishings would be considered primitive compared to the United States, but I was surprised that they do have electric, running water (mostly), cell phones, internet and HBO.

Historically, local fishermen cut down trees to build fishing baskets that would only last a season or two. The conservation project builds plastic baskets for them that last longer and saves the trees they would have used. The last night at Sukau, there was a big party with food, singing and dancing. We all dressed in traditional attire provided by our hosts. It seemed like the entire community came out for the big party.