Events

Since 2015, WCS–Malaysia Program organized community engagement events in order to inspire people to be part of conservation efforts. In all the events organized, plastic usage was kept to a minimum by encouraging participants to bring their own water bottles and paper bags instead of styrofoam boxes or plastic bags were used for food packaging. Conservation presentations were also conducted at each event to further educate the public.

The first of such events, the Run For The Wild 2015 was held in Kuching, in tandem with WCS New York’s Run For The Wild, Bronx Zoo on the 25^th April 2015. The 7 km run event aimed to raise awareness on orang-utan conservation and was used as a pilot for future events. Run For The Wild 2015 did not have any admission fee and had a cap of 50 participants. The event involved students from our organizing partner (Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak campus) as volunteers and marshals. A brief presentation was given by Dr. Melvin Gumal (Ph.D.), country director of WCS–Malaysia Program at the conclusion of the event. 

Ride For The Wild 2015 was the first cycling event organized by WCS-Malaysia Program. This was held in Kuching and involved local cycling teams, resorts, education institutions, police, local villagers and government related agencies. Approximately 100 people were involved in the 41 km cycling event. The event t-shirt was cotton rather than microfiber, which is commonly used in running and cycling events in this region, as part of our effort to reduce plastic use in event. A brief presentation was given by Dr. Melvin Gumal (Ph.D.).

Photo Album: https://www.facebook.com/WCS.Malaysia/photos/?tab=album&album_id=968582873200543 

Run & Bleed for the Wild 2015 was the largest event by WCS–Malaysia Program, in 2015. The event had three categories; 2 km fun walk, 5 km run and 10 km run and involved 425 participants. The event was co-organized by Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak campus, in conjunction with Swinburne Sarawak’s Open Day. Their students helped as volunteers and marshals. The event also shared the venue with a blood drive organized by a charity body. At the end of the event, a brief presentation was given by Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, recipient of the Merdeka Award, 2015 and WCS Vice President for Species Conservation.

In 2016 the Ride4TheWild: Orang-utan & Shark Conservation: ’13 & citizens inspiring change’ 250 individuals and 13 organizations pledged their support for orang-utan and shark conservation in Sarawak. The ride involved around 100 cyclists, including police marshals, cycling on a 38 km route with Sarawak Biodiversity Center in Semenggoh as the midpoint. Another route was designed for CEOs and representative of the 13 participating organizations riding a 13 km route to Hilton, Kuching for an official pledge signing ceremony in support of orang-utan and shark conservation. The pledge signing was witnessed by Datu Sudarsono Osman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Resource Planning and Environment, Sarawak. A short presentation on sharks was given by Prayekti Ningtias from WCS–Indonesia Program. 

Photo Album: https://www.facebook.com/WCS.Malaysia/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1092483047477191

Run for the Wild 2016 - Present

Following the success of the Run in 2015, WCS Malaysia continued to gain public support for the conservation of orang-utans, sharks and rays through the Run for the Wild Malaysia. More than 5000 runners, including virtual runners from 36 countries worldwide, took part in the event since 2016. Most recently, an octogenarian (and former Forest Department Sarawak staff) made headlines as the oldest virtual runner to date!

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