Anyone who caught the above news in yesterday’s Straits Times would be aware that an anonymous donor has generously donated S$200,000 to the Bird Ecology Study Group.
The donor, once an avid birdwatcher, strongly believes that simply looking at birds cannot sustain a person’s interest for the long term. There is a need to inject a little science into this outdoor recreation. And this is where studying bird behaviour comes into the picture. It then makes birdwatching fun and exciting, besides contributing to our limited knowledge of the regional avifauna.
This donation has since been channeled to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum as seed money for an endowment fund dedicated to the studies of bird behaviour. It is hoped to grow the fund to an appropriate amount that will then allow the museum to recruit a full time, suitably qualified personnel to undertake as well as encourage the study of bird behaviour.
BESG is ecstatic at this sudden development, especially on our tenth year of operation. We are happy that our vision can be maintained and the current website can continue to function in one form or another. In this way the general public can still be actively involved in this fascinating study of bird behaviour.
We take this opportunity to once again thank our donor for believing in the Bird Ecology Study Group.
YC Wee
Singapore
June 2014
Kim Mosabe
Congratulations BESG! YC: Your hard & single-handed labour has bourne bountiful fruit. Keep up the good work! Bagus lah!
BESG
Thanks. Are we truly the TOP DOG now? Or only when pigs fly?
Kim Mosabe
Alamak! I am now green with envy!!
Q
Well done, YC! It’s well worth all the effort that you’ve taken to sustain this site, and kudos to all your contributors too! Hope to see this top dog continue for many more years to come! 🙂
Am
Congrats! Hope to see more exciting developments in BESG’s future! A thought: maybe organise excursions (e.g. expeditions to either local/overseas destinations, bird-watching sessions, etc activities related to bird/plant/insect study)?
YC
Thanks Q and Am. It has been a fulfilling decade, ending in this windfall. A few decades ago I would have the energy and enthusiasm to conduct walks, talks, excursions, etc. – and I did all those. Unfortunately not now. And we do not have volunteers for such activities.
Am
That’s sad to hear. 🙁 I wish I’d known you earlier. I’d like to help in any way I can. I’ll drop you an e-mail.
YC
Am looking forward to it.
Am
Oops, e-mail bounced back to me (“recipient’s mailbox full”)…
K C Tsang
“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
Congratulations Y C !!! and thank you for providing us a platform to share what little we know ….
YC
All of you made this site a success. No use keeping information close to one’s chest. If not shared, it will be lost to all in due course. My role is simply to maintain a platform for all to contribute – from lesser dogs to top dogs…
Kim Mosabe
Ahem! Not only the Dalai Lama (or Baru) said that. I said that too. Gimme some credit lah!
Amar-Singh HSS (Dato Dr)
Great news. Delighted for BESG that has given many of a platform & birds a face and a voice.
Amar
BESG
We will continue to provide a platform to many and a face and voice to birds…
Lee Chiu San
Well-deserved support for your excellent work!
Lena
Congratulations YC! Your dedication has been inspiring. Long live BESG!
YC
Thanks Chiu San, Lena…
DaisyO'Neill
Congratulations BESG!
Catching up. An exceedingly successful businessman and philanthropist,Lee Kong Chian was a household name-in mine anyway that I often heard my Dad admired and spoke about. It is so befitting donation is channelled to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum as an endowment fund to use for study of bird behavior.
I believe BESG is another channel for donors to bequest their Will towards this good cause also.
Daisy O’Neill
YC
Thanks Daisy. Good to hear from you again after a long lapse…