Windows on the Forest by Louis Ratnam

Glimpses of FRIM for the Nature Loving Visitor
Published by Forest Research Institute of Malaysia

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, there's a neat little forest reserve which holds many fascinating secrets of Mother Nature. This is the "window" which opens the natural world before our eyes. A great read.

IF you are a wanderer of the wilds, an erstwhile traveller or trekker of
forests, jungles, or simply the outdoors, then this book would make you
want to take time off soonest possible to re-enter such a world.
This coffee-table book draws the reader into the FRIM domain of trees,
insects, fresh air and serenity.
It is a little known fact that the Forest Research Institute Malaysia
first came into being in 1926 when the Chief Conservator of Forests, G.M.
Cubitt, with great foresight, decided to embark on a daring experiment. He
undertook to build a forest ecosystem from its roots, literally.
The project was to choose a denuded landscape in Kepong, Selangor, which
was stripped of its original forest cover and planted the 42-hectare plot
with carefully-selected species of trees.
The man picked for this task was Dr F.W. Foxworthy who was to become the
institute's first Chief Research Officer.
It was probably Klang Valley's first great experiment in nature.
From 42 hectares, it expanded to 220 hectares in 1957. There was an
interlude during the Second World War.
Then in 1977, Dr Salleh Mohd Nor was appointed director-general of the
institute. The institute was formally changed to its present name, Forest
Research Institute Malaysia, by an Act of Parliament in 1984.
The inauguration of FRIM took place on April 5, 1986.
Today, nature has taken its beautiful hold on the place and called it
its own. The people who run the place are merely custodians of nature's
treasures, seen in all its splendour - the wide range of trees, the
insects, creatures of day and night, the waterfall, the natural pathways
and the sideways that lead the unsuspecting visitor to a world that can
only thrill his imagination and his senses.
This hardcover book has a magnificent display of beautiful pictures. For
those who have visited FRIM, it will re-ignite their senses to recall
those quiet walks along the many tree-covered roads that criss-crossed
FRIM.
For those who have not seen the place, it will seduce your senses into
desiring to visit a place that so many thousands in Klang Valley have
visited and grown to love.
FRIM today is a living testimony of an experiment carried out 76 years
ago which has succeeded beyond the imagination of its founders. As the
pioneers had sown, we the lucky ones today have reaped.
Windows On The Forest is well researched and the contents are properly
organised to lend a panoramic view of what is currently an expanding
natural galaxy of herbs, fungi, vertebrates and feathered creatures.
From the information received from this 144-page book, we must truly say
a silent prayer of thanks to all those who have sacrificed their time and
efforts into making FRIM a jewel in Selangor's crown.
This book is like a breath of fresh air that enlivens your mind, gets
you off your seat and makes you want to go right to FRIM this weekend with
your family.