Just last week, Sukau Rainforest Lodge had the wonderful pleasure of hosting our very own Conservation Fellow Dato' Dr. Mikaail Kavanagh and his wife Datin Wati Kavanagh here.

Dato' Mikaail and Datin Wati Kavanagh together with the lodge team.

Dato' Mikaail is an inspirational individual when it comes to advocating for conservation, which is why he's recognized as a Conservation Fellow here at SRL. He has contributed so much to safeguarding Borneo's biodiversity through the inception of the Heart of Borneo initiative.

You can read more about Dato' Mikaail Kavanagh as our Conservation Fellow here.

For his significant conservation efforts, Sukau Rainforest Lodge has dedicated a Villa room in his name, and he officiated the Villa room upon his arrival at the lodge.

Dato' Mikaail receiving his Conservation Fellow certificate from Lodge Manager, Ahmad.

During his second night's stay with us, Dato' Mikaail was kind enough to enlighten us and our in- house guests about the Heart of Borneo initiative, which he helped to establish when he was the CEO of World Wildlife Fund Malaysia.

It was truly wonderful to have both Dato' Mikaail and Datin Wati with us and really hope that they had an amazing stay here.

Husband and wife duo, Datuk Anthony Lamb and Datin Anthea Phillipps are the power couple of conservation here in Sabah Borneo. Both have contributed immensely and worked together in the botany and agriculture fields in the state, which is why we are giving them the well-deserved recognition and honour as our latest Conservation Fellows.

Datin Anthea and Datuk Anthony

Just a little info about the two; Datuk Anthony joined the Sabah Agricultural Department in 1962 and has over 50 years of working experience in Sabah under his belt. He first began his service in Sabah with the Agricultural Department at their Research Station in Tenom, when he helped to introduce many new fruit crops and ornamental plants. Subsequently he helped set up the Tenom Agricultural Park, next to the Research Station, with its unique collections of wild fruit trees and native orchids, which he has been studying for over 30 years. He was awarded the PGDK (Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu or, Commander of the Order of Kinabalu) in 2015.

Datin Anthea on the other hand, is a botanist and ecologist, and was brought up in Sabah as a child. She has worked for both the Sabah Museum and the Sabah Parks. With Sabah Parks, she was based at the Kinabalu Park Headquarters and helped establish the Park Herbarium and the Botanical Garden. She has written/co-authored/edited books on the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Mount Kinabalu Park and their plants including Rhododendrons and Pitcher-plants. She currently writes a weekly column about the amazing plants that can be seen in Borneo in a local newspaper. Both Anthea and Anthony have collaborated on Rhododendrons of Sabah together in the past.

Just recently, we presented Datuk Anthony and Datin Anthea with the recognition when they dropped by our sister company Borneo Eco Tours' office in Kota Kinabalu. They have yet to visit our lodge to officiate one of our new Villas which will be a tribute to them.

Datuk Anthony and Datin Anthea receiving their Conservation Fellow Recognition from MD Alber Teo

Our MD Albert Teo and Borneo Eco Tours' (BET) Marketing Manager Nancy together with Conservation Fellows, Datuk Anthony and Datin Anthea having a chat in the BET office.