Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre (sisfec)

SULTAN IDRIS SHAH FORESTRY EDUCATION CENTRE (SISFEC)

Faculty of Forestry Universiti Putra Malaysia

        The students of Foundation in Agricultural Science have to undergo practical works which was conducted in different places for every class groups. On 6th of August 2015, the students of Group 6 visited Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre (SISFEC) which is under the Faculty of Forestry UPM, for the first time. SISFEC is located in the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Puchong, about 12 kilometres from UPM Serdang. Many may not realise, amid rapid development in the Klang Valley, there is a tucked away, valuable 'treasure' known as Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, which is unnoticeably located in Puchong. Now, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) through Faculty of Forestry, aims to promulgate its massive potentials as a forest model for education and research at the global level. UPM Faculty of Forestry Dean, Prof Dr Mohamed Zakaria Hussin, said UPM aims to make this forest as a famous education and research centre all over the world.

"In the beginning stage, we are planning to implement it in Malaysia and Asia Pacific, prior to Asian level and beyond. Now we are attempting to make SISFEC as a premier tropical forestry education centre in the Asia Pacific region. We're doing various initiatives and efforts in attracting foreign researchers and encouraging them to write the results of their researches here," he said in an interview. The forest’s original area covered​​ 4,270.7 hectares which was gazette as a closed forest reserve in 1906, but the size has since dropped to 1,176.1 hectares due to rapid development and industrialization activities.

        We have been given some explanations and background of SISFEC by Renjer Nur Azlina and Renjer Siti, keepers of the forest. We have been informed that this forest is for researches, educational, recreational and extensions purposes. According to the video which was presented to us, SISFEC has been classified as Education and Research Forest in January 2009. There are 430 species of flowering plants, 13 species of ferns, 127 timber species, 29 fruit species, 99 medicinal plants, 4 species of bamboo and 7 palm species. It is also a home to five out of 10 large mammal species in Peninsular Malaysia, 208 bird species including 35 endangered species and 30 migratory species, 14 small mammal species including slow loris, 13 bat species, 18 frog species, two reptile species and 10 fish species. The infrastructures and facilities available are base camp which includes camp site, hall and students’ washroom. Accommodations provided are dormitory and seminar room. Furthermore, paintball field, Wi-Fi and nursery are also available in SISFEC.

        We then walked in the forest and were given explanations by Renjer Fakhrullah, together with Renjer Azlina and Renjer Siti on the flora available in the forest. Firstly, we were introduced to Asam Kandis (Garcinia xanthochymus) where we were given the opportunity to eat its young shoot that has sour taste. Opposite to the tree, there was Meranti tree (Shorea spp.). We have been told that the timber of the tree can be used to build boats while the resin can be used to make glue. Next, we were showed to Tongkat Ali. Interestingly, this plant looks like the curry plant but the colour of the upper part of Tongkat Ali plants are red. We were also informed that its roots have the same height as the plants. Besides that, we were told to squeeze its leaves. However, the leaves were not torn apart as they have thick fibres. The leaves can be eaten to smoothen our blood circulation and they can replace panadol. Afer that, we stopped at Sapium baccatum Roxb, or Pokok Ludai in Malay which are the favourites of little mouse-deers. We also got to see Macaranga gigantea or Pokok Mahang Gajah in Malay, which produce red-coloured rubber. The rubber can be combined to the resin of Meranti tree to make strong glue. The liquid obtained from the leaves can be used to treat wound. Besides that, we were introduced to Pellacalyx Saccardianus (Pokok Membuluh in Malay) that commonly live in swamp but can also survive in high lands.