Report: Branch Open Day at Taman Tugu
Collage by HY Leong
Photos by MNS Selangor Branch & SIGs
In conjunction with Earth Day, Malaysian Nature Society Selangor Branch organised an Open Day for the public in Taman Tugu on 21st April 2024 between 7.30am and 12pm. The following groups/bodies organised activities on the day:
1. Pathfinders organised an Urban Nature Walk from Lake Gardens to Federal Hill forest patch (attended by 27 participants), as well as showcased photos of their past events.
2. Photo Group organised a Macro Photography Talk & Practical session by Mohammad Faryd – attended by pre-registered participants.
3. Bird Group organised a bird-watching session in Taman Tugu (around 18 participants), bird identification game and also sold merchandise.
4. Green Living organised some zero waste & green living games attracting many children.
5. Flora displayed a collection of preserved leaves, fruits, and plants.
6. Herpetofauna organised a herp identification game as well as to recruit participants for the upcoming night herp walk in Shah Alam Community Forest.
7. Marine displayed their collection of seashells.
8. Nature Guides exhibited their photograph collection of various nature activities.
9. Selangor Branch organised a 'Biodiversity Game' giving the public a sneak preview of its Bukit Dinding Biodiversity Scientific Survey results, and to let the public (25 adults and children) participate as 'biodiversity researchers' - spotting the species cards that were scattered throughout the event space. The Branch also launched this year's Climate Action Kids Engagement (CAKE) field trips for 7-18 years old member kids and their parents.
10. We had Friends of Bukit Dinding exhibiting their 'Save Bukit Dinding' campaign.
11. Malaysian Nature Society Secretariat (HQ) had a booth to recruit new members and to sell merchandise.
12. We also invited the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN Wilayah Persekutuan) to exhibit 'Save the Malayan Tiger.'
13. Finally, we had Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) showcasing Peninsular Malaysia's 'Central Forest Spine.'
14. Apart from the above exhibitions, we had a talk on butterflies presented by butterfly expert, Sofwan Badrud’din. More than 50 participants attended the talk, including some scientists from a local university.
Our estimate is that we had at least 250 visitors. The crowd peaked from around 10-11am.
In line with Taman Tugu's philosophy, our Open Day was plastic-free (no food and drinks in plastic packaging were distributed) and we practiced as much zero waste as we could.
Thank you to Taman Tugu (Khazanah Nasional Berhad) for supporting us by charging a token sum for the venue hire.
Also many thanks to PERHILITAN, JPSM, Friends of Bukit Dinding and Sofwan bin Badrud’din, our guest exhibitors and speaker for contributing to the varied nature activities. Thank you to JPSM for the Facebook coverage of our Open Day!
In conclusion, the MNS Selangor Open Day was very successful. The public got to experience nature activities in an urban setting, learn about Peninsular Malaysia's wildlife and habitat conservation, and understand the significance of the Central Forest Spine in reconnecting vital ecological corridors and enhancing the quality of segregated forests.