Text and picture by: Vivian Thien Yin Jet

I had already gone through the 20 weeks internship at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) under the Environmental Education Unit. It is time to summarize all the feeling and thoughts. When I first came to this centre, I felt curious about how this place works. On the first day I reported on duty, every staff I met greeted me kindly and friendly. Then I started to learnt about sun bears and how this centre works to help them.

The concept of the Environmental Education Unit is to use interpretation to raise conservation awareness and educate people, whether through the platform, outreach to plantations or schools or even online competitions. The audience might spread the knowledge by word of mouth once they learnt. This team exists for that reason. Each member of the staff is passionate and knowledgeable about sun bears. it resembles a small flame spreading from one person to another, eventually lighting and growing number of hearts.

I gained knowledge about how to interact and engage with visitors from all backgrounds throughout my internship, in addition to share information about sun bears. I met people all over the world, guided school groups, assisted with special events like International Sun Bear Day and also had conservation with kids and content creators. In addition, I assisted on setting up event booths, running adoption counter and assisting with tour guiding activities. While on duty at the platform, I have become more confident in my ability to collaborate with others, speak in front of an audience and most importantly, handle unexpected situations.

I had the opportunity to join the Bear Care Unit besides working in the Environmental Education Unit. Compared to Environmental Education Unit, this section was completely different. It required hands-on work including cleaning enclosures, preparing bear food and getting a deeper understanding of bear habits. Despite the physical exhaustion, I appreciated the chance to work behind the scenes and actively support the bears’ daily care. I became aware of how much work the keepers do everyday to ensure the bears’ healthy, happiness and safety. Besides, I learnt a great consider for the difficult but always important work of caring for animals.

Throughout this journey, I gained more responsibility, improved time management and the ability to collaborate with individuals from different departments. A special thanks to my supervisor, Madam Risnayati Lammu who also acts as an Environmental Education Officer for her invaluable guidance and encouragement. I am also grateful to all the staff at BSBCC, the CEO and the Founder of BSBCC, Dr Wong Siew Te, Environmental Education Unit, Bear Care Unit, Maintenance Unit, as well as Sales, Admin, Finance and HR Unit and also my fellow interns for all of their help and support. With their kindness and tolerance, they have taught me a lot.

BSBCC is truly a special place. It is not only to protect sun bears, but it also aims to encourage people to protect animals and the environment. Being a part of BSBCC and becoming a member of this loving and caring family makes me very happy and proud. Even though my time here was short, I felt welcomed and included. I am proud to be a part of this mission and I think the lessons I have learnt here will stay with me for a long time. I am hoping that this experience will eventually allow me to continue supporting the environment and animals in other ways.

Thank you, BSBCC, for offering me with such a wonderful internship experience!

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