IT WAS an evening of the arts for a cause recently at a festival dedicated to highlighting the plight of endangered wildlife in Borneo.
Organised by non-governmental organisation Green Brunei with the support of local creative arts organisation, The Collective, the Endangered Wildlife of Borneo Art Festival brought together students, various organisations and vendors as well as members of the public to The Collective’s MakerSpace in Batu Bersurat to learn about the flora and fauna that are endemic to the nation and are under threat of extinction.
Some of the organisations included the Biodiversity and Natural History Society (BruWild) and Wildlife Club, which helped to raise awareness on the endangered biodiversity in Brunei by providing information to the public. Meanwhile, vendors such as Enya Bijoux, The Green Glass, I Love Washi, Raepetite, The Natural Bar, The Fairy Jars, Penan Helping Hands and The Energy Kitchen gave their support by showcasing their handcrafted products.
Animal-shaped wire mesh lanterns as installations – which were conceptualised by a group of students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) who are undergoing their Community Outreach Programme (COP) for their Discovery Year in collaboration with The Collective – also gave inspiration to the event.
The construction of the installations, which took three weeks and were led by Green Brunei COP team, were assisted by 24 students from Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College (Maktab Duli), International School Brunei and UBD. In a press statement by Green Brunei, the current wildlife endangered list, created in 1984, remains outdated. The lack of data possesses a big threat to several species of flora and fauna.
To find out more about the endangered animals of Brunei, and future conservation efforts and events by Green Brunei, members of the public can head to its Instagram @greenbrunei or emailinfo@green-brunei.com. For more information on The Collective and its future projects, follow its Instagram account @thecollectiveartevents or its website www.thecollectiveartevents.com.
Source: The Brunei Times