Report: Damsels & Dragons (WW02)

Members' Report by HY Leong, Rupini Fong and Choon Yan Photos by HY Leong

The activity at Rimbun Dahan on Saturday, 11 October 2025 marked the second outing under the MNS Selangor Branch’s Wild Wonders (WW) programme.

Registration for the activity was initially slow and the programme was close to cancellation; however, participation later picked up and the activity sold out, with 25 attendees comprising 13 children (4-13 years old) and 12 parents!

We are deeply grateful to Angela Hijjas, Director of Rimbun Dahan and Arboretum Curator, and Bilqis Hijjas for hosting us once again at their beautiful residence.

Rimbun Dahan is an accredited arboretum with approximately 450 species of trees from the Malesian region and features several ponds that attract dragonflies and damselflies. These two themes—arboreta and odonata—were brought together through a meet-and-greet session with Angela and entomologist Dr Choong Chee Yen.

Angela began developing the garden at Rimbun Dahan in 1990, transforming a former fruit orchard into an arboretum of Southeast Asian trees, while also establishing her home as an artists’ residency.

The invited speaker, Dr Choong, is a retired academic who has been studying dragonflies and damselflies for over 20 years. He has described several new species from Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

In the first half of the morning, Angela, assisted by Yao Tze Leong, Coordinator of the MNS Selangor Branch Flora Special Interest Group, guided the older children and adults through the garden. Two children who had previously visited Rimbun Dahan as part of a CAKE field trip last year were able to check on the growth of the tree saplings they had helped Angela plant.

At the same time, Angela’s daughter Bilqis led the pre-schoolers and their parents on a separate and fun guided walk in another part of the garden.

One parent of a pre-schooler, Rupini Fong, shared her experience: “Ms Bilqis was very attentive, and the children enjoyed the Garden Guided Walk."

Due to the hot weather, participants moved to the cooler underground gallery, where comfortable seating and carpets were arranged by Bilqis for the members. Dr Choong distributed postcards of dragonflies and damselflies and gave an engaging talk on odonata, followed by a quiz. Children who answered correctly received a dragonfly enamel pin.

The learning continued outdoors at the pond, where Dr Choong demonstrated how to observe, catch, identify, and gently handle dragonflies and damselflies. Participants appreciated the rare opportunity to briefly hold the insects before they were released.

Another parent, Choon Yan, commented: “The speaker kept the children engaged with clear slides and hands-on activities. The setting at Rimbun Dahan is beautiful.”

Fong added, "I also learned a lot from Dr Choong about damselflies and dragonflies. I like them, but I don’t dare to hold their wings!” 

Following the field session, the children took part in an arts-and-crafts activity prepared by HY Leong, making dragonfly masks with the help of their parents, who were also welcomed to make their own. The masks were decorated with various materials and worn for a group photo.

A western lunch (pasta, chicken, roasted vegetables, cream puffs and muffins) was catered and arrived on time. Excess food was donated to the resident guest artists at Rimbun Dahan, who later expressed their appreciation. Gifts were also presented to Angela, Bilqis, and Dr Choong in recognition of their time, effort, and expertise.

As Wild Wonders is currently in its trial phase, this outing enabled the Selangor Branch to gather valuable feedback from both participants and facilitators to further refine the programme and determine its future direction.