zoo negara volunteer

participated in a volunteer program at our national zoo yesterday, organized by one of the facebook groups, M.O.B (my outdoor buddy). here's a copy of a letter i wrote to the organizer... enough said.


Dear xxx,

Thanks for organising the Volunteer Program with Zoo Negara yesterday. I feel that this is a good initiative on the part of Zoo Negara to come up with this program. But there are some issues that I'd like to highlight.

As per my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, the objective of this program is:
1) For the participants to gain some awareness and hands-on experience in the workings of our national zoo.
2) For the participants to get up close and personal to some of the animals and expose and enhance our understanding and knowledge to the characteristics of wild animals.
3) To offer assistance to the zoo keepers in carrying out their day-to-day zoo keeping activities.

In view of these objectives, my friend and I were not under the delusion that this will be a fun field trip to the zoo. We know it will involve a lot of dirty work, such as cleaning of animal excrement, sweeping up the animal compound, preparing animals' food etc. and we were fully prepared to get our hands dirty. We are also aware that we were not to be picky with the sections that we were posted to, because we are here to give our services to the animals. But think the program has failed miserably yesterday, at least in the Aviary Section that my friend and I were posted to.

Everything was fine in the morning, where we were sent to sweep the emus' compound. After the break, the few of us were asked to sweep the compound of a large kangaroo. But soon everyone in our group began to go into the compound to sweep the ground. It was then that one of the keepers standing outside the compound began pointing at us randomly and shouting rather rudely, "you, you, you, and the one in the yellow shirt! OUT!" At first I thought maybe there were too many of us in the compound and it will provoke the kangaroo to come after us, because the one of the keepers did caution us not to go too close to it. But when the 4 of us went out of the compound, we were brought to a small strip of land behind the birds' holding area that has a few trees and were told to sweep up the leaves there. We were puzzled, as that area was not for animals' use nor a walkway or anything.

We all felt that it was a pointless job, something like being told to take a broom into the jungle to sweep up the leaves there, or to sweep up the sand on the beach. We began to get the impression that we were being used to do all the 'dirty work' that is not related to zoo keeping, as well as just simply being given any work to do, just to get us out of the way! But we still went ahead to do it, despite feeling used for free labour on something totally pointless.

After lunch, we went back to the aviary, only to be told to sweep up the leaves of another part of the back area. Another totally pointless work!

At the final part of the program, after all of us were done sweeping, we were just sitting around waiting for further instructions from the keepers when we noticed 2 or 3 members of our group inside the kitchen with a keeper. It turned out one of the keepers were preparing the food for the birds. He did not call the rest of us into the kitchen, just left us sitting outside, and only entertained the questions from the 2 or 3 members who were in there. When we all went in to see what's going on, the keeper just kept on dishing out the various 'ingredients' onto the birds' food dish, ordering the volunteers standing nearest the shelf to hand him this container or that container. He did not bother to explain anything to us. It was only when a volunteer asked a question that he gave his answer, but his answers were all very vague and not very informative.

Overall, the impression my friend and I got from yesterday's program are:
1) The keepers themselves do not understand the objectives of the program, and take the volunteers as free labour
2) The keepers do not have a proper guidelines on what to do with the volunteers, so they just create whatever task they can think of to get us out of their hair
3) The keepers were very rude to the volunteers, as if we're a bunch of nuisance that they have to babysit for a whole day
4) Apart from sweeping the emu and kangaroo compound, all the other work we did were totally pointless. Even though we were dead tired by the end of the day, we feel that we have not really contributed anything to the welfare of the animals, which were our main objective in joining this program in the first place!
5) This program is more like "Program Menyapu Daun Di Zoo Negara", and we did not gain any knowledge about the animals, nor any hands on experience in terms of zoo keeping. Not educational AT ALL!

I'm sure these does not apply to the whole program, as I've heard of some good experiences from participants in other sections, as well as from your own accounts about the previous batch of participants in the Aviary Section. But after yesterday's experience, I'm still of two hearts as to whether I would join the next round of the program. And it would be very difficult for me to encourage any of my friends to take part. It seems like the experiences are not consistent and it all would have to depend on the moods and temperaments of the keepers in charge that day.

In closing, I sincerely hope that what we experienced yesterday was an isolated case. As I've mentioned, this is a really great initiative and I really hope to see this program reaching out to more members of the public for a very long time to come.

Once again, thanks for your effort!

Take A Stand In The Sand '09

2 weeks ago, my company had a beach cleanup campaign at 2 of our properties... it's part of our corporate social responsibilities program, so have to go support a bit lah. this is the first time we're doing this, and i'd say we did quite a good job! ;)

this campaign was carried out concurrently at 2 of our properties, across a total of 3.5km stretch of beach. other than the staff, we brought in the children from our 2 adopted homes from pd and seremban. even tho' the kids did not really do the cleaning up and spent most of their time playing on the beach, this is a good chance to expose them to such things as keeping our beaches clean and working as a team. also, we teamed up with the municipal council of pd for a loan of their beach cleaning equipment like the rake and their garbage truck.

we spent about 3 hours under the scorching sun, picking-up a total of 3 ton of debris from the sea, discarded polyfoam plates and cups, plastic bags, cigaratte buds, durian seads, various clothings (we even found a bra! no kidding!) etc...

here are some photos to share...

at the deck by the beach, all set... for breakfast! hehehe...

the vip table... one thing abt working with the gahmen is, everything must follow protocol.
sometimes, we let ourselves be so occupied with all the protocols that we loose sight of
what's really important! but that's just my own two sen lar... :P

the rest of us unwashed were expected to make do with what we were given. no complaints, pls!

after breakfast and some speaches (short one by our MD, and a long one
by the ydp of mppd *rolls eyes*), we had a bit of a warm-up session...

THEN ONLY we start on our beach cleanup...

comparing "beach bums". whose "bum" is bigger? hehehe... obviously, i lost! :(

our campaign name on the butt! kakakaka...

proof that i really cleaned the beach, and did not go there only to pose for pictures :P

leaving nothing but footprints in our wake...

the 10 of us (including the photographer lar) who actually
managed to finish the 2km stretch at our side of the property.

this pic was posted in relation to my previous post. stripy BBW, if you get what i mean!

read also:
1) slow to boil
2) Terry Fox Run '09 - post run
3) Terry Fox Run 2009

Terry Fox Run 2009

missed last year's run... y ar? forgot y i missed it... but this year, i'll be running (if all goes well lar...)

here's the official announcement...

Terry Fox Run KL 2009


Sunday
1 November 2009
Flag off @ 9.00 a.m.
Taman Tasik Perdana
(Lake Gardens)

Rules & Regulations:
- All participants must run on the designated route
- For wheelchair bound and physically challenged participants, please note that there are slopes along the run route
- Participants are to be at the assembly area by 8.45 a.m.

Parking:
Limited parking is available on site, and public transport is recommended

Notice:
The organisers, their agent, representatives, successors and assigns, are not liable for any injuries suffered, damage and loss of properties by participants at this event.

Information

On the Road of Hope for Cancer Research
Terry Fox knew personally, the importance of the need for cancer research. At the age of 18, he was told that his right leg had to be amputated above the knee as a result of bone cancer. During this crucial period, Terry saw the intense pain and despair of other cancer victims and was deeply moved. In order to raise funds for cancer research, he decided to run across Canada asking for donations. This became "The Marathon of Hope". Terry Fox died before he could complete his crusade, but his legacy is carried in the hearts of all who participate or donate to the Terry Fox Run each year around the world.

How the Marathon of Hope began:
Since it began in 1983, the Terry Fox Run has become the largest, single-day, fund-raising event for cancer research. Here in KL, the organisers aim to continue the quest to keep Terry's dream alive. This year, with the support of sponsors and participants, we hope to raise both funds and awareness for cancer research here in Kuala Lumpur. The beneficiary in previous years and this year as well in the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF). You too, can take up the quest so that Terry's dream of finding a cure for cancer can become a reality.

If you would like to volunteer
Or
If you need more information

Please contact:
Ms Yoon / Mr Peter Kang, CARIF, 2nd Floor, OPC, Sime Darby Medical Centre, T: 56391874

Or email us at:
organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org

earth day 2009

did you know that tomorrow's earth day? yeah, now u know: TOMORROW IS EARTH DAY. YW told me this morning that everyone in her company will be wearing green tmr. so happening hor? must be all youngsters... keke...

anyway, taking the cue from YW's colleagues, i've also campaigned in my office (just my side of the floor and also on facebook and msn lar) to wear green tomorrow to spread the awareness. dunno how effective my campaign is lar... we'll see tmr lor!

my "green effort" for today:
1) brought homemade sandwiches to work in a square bread container
2) came back from shopping during lunch hour at KLCC without any plastic bag!
3) mentioned to housemate P this morning that her letting the water run while brushing her teeth is a very bad habit. she's promised to change

so what are your "green effort" today?

vote earth!

wah... suddenly my blog is filled with the earth hour banners and logos! haha, just taking my cue from auntyjo!

anyway, i placed an order for the earth hour 2009 t-shirt last week, and it arrived yesterday! i was supposed to get it last week, but the organisers received so many orders that they just couldn't make it on time. and the wwf ppl were bothered to call me up to explain abt the delay... so nice and considerate of them!

front view...

back view... "see your world in a whole new light"

well, it's a good thing that they're getting so many orders, coz it means more ppl are supporting the cause! i think this year's earth hour malaysia will be a much a successful campaign compared to last year's. i think it really was due to ignorance rather than indifference, as the writer had hoped, coz i've not heard abt this thing last year. but this year, nearly everyone has some inkling of what it's all abt.

the other day in a meeting, the bossbossboss was even talking abt pledging to switched off at our hotels and resort. but sadly in the end, it was deemed undoable, because we talked abt it too late. these kinda things need to be planned way in advance... things like informing our guests, planning an activity for guests so that they would not feel bored sitting in their darkened room without tv, lights and air-cond for one whole hour, making sure no one gets trapped in the lifts, making sure there're enough food, safety measures, etc etc... hopefully we'll be more prepared for earth hour 2010!

neeways, here are my personal efforts in minimising my carbon footprints on this earth:

1) my housemates probably think me a miser, because whenever someone accidentally left the lights on throughout the whole night or forgot to switch off their lights when they go out, i'd sure to be the one to point it out to them! then they'll try to placate me by promising to foot a bigger share of the electricity bill... but even though i'll talk abt the skyrocketing electric bill, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT THE MONEY! there's also the wasting unnecessarily and the effects on global warming...

2) i'm paying more attention to all my switches... to make sure whatever i switch on are switched off after use.

3) i've been having this habit of pressing the fridge door with my fingers everytime i walk pass it (to make sure it is shut properly) since i found it to be slightly ajar sometime last year. i think it's safe to say that most people, after they've taken out/put something into the fridge, would just push the door shut and walk away, without really checking to see if it has shut properly. maybe the fridge was too full and the door has bounced back out by something in there. so even though the fridge door may look closed, if the side rubber (is that what it's called?) did not stick, air can and will escape and that will cause higher energy consumption.

4) i try not to accept plastic bags whenever possible... but this really needs a big conscious effort because it's just so natural to receive something you've bought in a plastic bag! and i kept forgetting abt my 'yellow foldable bag' given to me by M in my backpack, put in there for the purpose of carrying my shopping in.

5) i try to separate out the recycleables from my rubbish bin. i rinse out aluminium cans and plastic water bottles at home and i reuse the A4 papers when printing in the office. i also have a special tray for papers that has been used both sides, so that i can pass it to the cleaning kakak when it's full (coz i know they sell them for extra income).

6) i always save up all the used envelopes (paper and plastic ones alike) i receive, and reuse them whenever possible, especially when the document is to be passed on by hand.

well, these are just a few of the things i can think of for now. but while i'm consciously trying to minimise my role in damaging ole mother earth, i know what i've done and am doing are nothing to shout about. more effort should be put in! i'll try harder, i promise! :)

read also:
1) earth hour malaysia - it's as simple as a flick of the switch!

earth hour malaysia - it's as simple as a flick of the switch!

read abt this in biow's blog...



What began as a campaign to get Sydneysiders to turn their lights off, has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2009, at 8.30pm on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. We’re aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that its possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

Over 64 countries and territories are participating in Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day as people realise how such a simple act, can have such a profound result in affecting change.

Earth Hour is a message of hope and a message of action. Everyone can make a difference.

Join us for Earth Hour 2009, turn off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and sign-up here to be counted.