Our Little Update...Vol. 3 December 2011

Smiles in the jungle. Summer Campers on their way to a gorgeous swimming spot on the

Mentawak River in our extended backyard.

The difference was remarkable, and the result of their effort was not only tangible but clearly visible. Our local staff in particular, who have been visiting the bay for years, were not only astounded but sincerely touched by the work of our Gr. Eight campers from Singapore.

Garden International School was back, for what has become an annual visit to Juara for their ‘Discovery Week’ program. They explored conser-vation and development issues while working with the Juara Turtle Project and getting a taste for island life and adventure. Before they left we had the opportunity to launch a swimming platform built throughout the week, made up of a bamboo frame, fishing net and all of the bottles that the St. Joseph’s groups had collected a few weeks earlier.

to conduct their forty-hour ‘Wilderness Advanced FirstAid’ course. In addition, we had two course directors from the Malaysian Canoe Association come to The Lagoon to run a basic kayak coach-ing certificate program for our staff; all of whom we can proudly say, passed their examinations.

To kick off the season in true Little Planet fashion, we decided to completely re-vamp our Gr. Eight St. Joseph’s Intl. expedition program. This years’ program saw one class group set off north through the forest on foot while the other group loaded up the sea-kayaks and paddled off in the same direction. Our ultimate destina-tion was a remote beach to the north of Juara where the kayakers would spend the first night of their expedition before embarking on a two-day jungle trek back to The Lagoon. On the sec-ond day, the original group of trekkers would emerge from the woods and set up camp for their second night before returning to The Lagoon in the kayaks the first group had so graciously left behind. Got it?

Between four class groups and two weeks of programs, campers managed to clean-up an entire section of the bay by removing thousands of plastic bottles that had accumulated on shore over the years.

The amazing Wak! Perfecting the art of kayak re-entry during our MASCA coaching course

while Richie keeps talking.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Have Fun! GIS students enjoying the fruits of their labour; in this case, a

raft made up of recycled plastic bottles.

Over the last four seasons at Little Planet, growth and change have been constant. By the end of our season in early November, we had organized a wide variety of adventure and service-based programs in locations spread across five countries! Our planet is shrinking.

In our continued effort to develop quality programming that provides opportunity for genuine and valuable experience, we strive to foster existing relationships and forge new ones with the amazing schools, organizations and individuals that make up our Little Planet.

In preparation for the season, we ran our usual in-house staff training program, but went a step further by bringing instructors from Wilderness Medical Associates International

NPS International Gr. 9 students making their way through the terraced rice fields of Longshen, Guangxi Province, China.

This is what happens at The Lagoon! A totally impromptu jumper; apparently someone didn’t get the memo.

A fine balance. NPS students dominate an initiative element at

MRV in Ban Thaton, Northern Thailand.

Kibbee & Ineke get their chance to abseil down a spectacular waterfall in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia.

Give me a hand with this. Students get involved in a local dance performance on the first night of

their expedition in China’s Guangxi Province.

Camaraderie amongst the Karsts. Students from NPS Intl. take advantage of one of the endless photo opportunities along the banks

of China’s ridiculously picturesque Li River.

For our fourth season working with NPS Intl. things really got cook-ing! Little Planet happily took on the responsibility of organizing outbound trips for Grades Four through Twelve. This wouldn’t be a “little update” if we went into the details of all of these trips. We are proud to say that, save an extra night in Guilin for the Gr. Nines thanks to a joint-effort from Air Asia and the Chinese Air Traffic authorities and a postponement of our Gr. Seven trip thanks to record rainfall and mas-sive flooding in Thailand, all of the trips were a massive success.

Grade Four went to Bintan in Indonesia for three nights, while Grade Five had the privilege of spending the week in Bali. Grade Six spent the week here at The Lagoon, while Grade Eight was off in the north of Thailand. Grade Nine headed back to the incredible Guangxi province of southern China, while a select group of students includ-ing the IB candidates went off to assist in the efforts of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in Cambodia. This is our fourth season working with NPS Intl. and it has been our absolute privilege to have the opportunity to watch campers mature over the years and continue to be wildly enthusiastic about coming on trips with us.

Our season just wrapped up with an amazing trip starting in the Cam-eron Highlands and culminating with a rafting trip down the Kampar River in Perak. Nearly forty St. Joseph’s Intl. Grade Nine students braved an arduous trek through serious jungle for three long days before reaching the comforts of our plush guest house and being rewarded with seemingly never-ending buffet meals, hot showers and their very own bed.

Undeniably, 2011 presented Little Planet with challenges and exposed areas in need of improvement in order to grow in a positive direction. Thank-fully all we really need to do is to apply the message that we deliver thousands of times throughout the season to so many of our campers, unto ourselves… To face challenges as an opportunity for growth and to overcome hardship knowing that with the right approach, a big smile and a few good folks to help you along, anything is possible.

Bring on 2012!