December 27, 2019, by Fatheen Nabila Ghazali

MAD Fund Project 2019: Zoo Negara Volunteer Programme

The Nature Club of the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) organised the Zoo Negara Volunteer Programme, which took place on 14 December 2019 from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm at Zoo Negara. The club, consisting of 44 students, aims to encourage love and care towards animals to teach students more about animal care. The objective of this project was to give back to society by doing volunteering work through learning and experiencing proper animal care and the inner operations of the zoo.

In this project, we managed to teach our participants about animal care and encouraged. We also learned a range of skills such as event planning and contingency management. We gained new knowledge and facts which we shared with our friends and family, and we hope that they will then share it with more people, helping raise awareness and knowledge for animal protection and care in the process. The experience gained will also encourage us to volunteer more in similar projects, which will be a tremendous help to the industry. This is because zookeepers, veterinarians and zoo staff work tirelessly behind the scenes in caring for the animals, but visitors normally do not witness this. Hence, it will be very empowering for visitors to find out that the staff take time out from their personal schedules to improve the quality of life for the animals.

As an Environmental Science student, working in the zoo gave me valuable insight into the inner workings of the zoo and how it operates. This knowledge will prove invaluable when I start working. I also learned a great deal about the importance of observation when it comes to dealing with animals. Their behaviour and characteristics can tell a lot about their conditions. MAD Money Fund helped tremendously in this project by funding the transportation cost to Zoo Negara as well as our meals. We hope that MAD Money Fund continues its efforts in helping events for students as the initiative helps bring our ideas to life.

By,

Leanne Frances Yee

Environmental and Geographical Science, Year 1

 

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