H-Angel 2026: A Morning of Wildlife Care at Taman Ular dan Reptilia
Our students funded this CSR programme themselves, one bottle of used cooking oil at a time.
On the morning of Saturday 14 November, our H-Angel volunteers swapped the classroom for gloves, brushes and buckets. Students and teachers spent the morning at Taman Ular dan Reptilia, also known as Perlis Snake Park, caring for the animals and helping to refresh the park for its visitors.
Funded by recycled cooking oil
This corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme began weeks earlier, in kitchens across Perlis. Students collected used cooking oil from their homes and the community and sent it for recycling. Together they raised RM422.40, enough to cover the cost of the entire programme.
It was a simple idea, and a useful lesson: small, consistent actions add up, and something most families pour away can be put to good use.
Four teams, one morning
After a briefing from park staff, students were split into four teams, each with its own job. Older and younger students worked side by side, and every team had teachers working with them, not just watching.
Preparing the animals' food
The first team set up on mats in the shade and got to work on the day's food. Bags of fresh greens and long beans had to be washed, sorted and cut into pieces the right size for the animals that would eat them. It is quiet, careful work, and the park staff explained which animals each portion was for and why their diets matter so much to their health.
By the end of the morning, trays of freshly prepared food were ready to go out to the enclosures, prepared by students who now know just how much goes into a single meal.
The iguana and tortoise enclosures
Two teams took on the enclosures. In gloves and shoe covers, they cleared old leaves and waste, scrubbed surfaces and refilled clean water, while the residents looked on from the rocks. For many students, it was the closest they had ever been to an iguana, and the nerves at the start soon gave way to curiosity.
The tortoise team had the dirtiest job of the day, and took real pride in it. Cleaning a tortoise enclosure properly means getting down to ground level, working carefully around the animals and checking every corner. Park staff showed students how to handle the tortoises gently and safely while the enclosure was being cleaned.
A fresh coat for the gallery
The fourth team picked up paintbrushes. In masks and protective gowns, they repainted the walls of the park's gallery, a space every visitor to the park walks through. It is the kind of work that will still be there long after the day is over, and the team was proud to leave the park looking brighter than they found it.
Feeding time
Once the work was done, students helped to feed the park's deer and ostriches. The ostriches, it turns out, are not shy about food, and this was easily the noisiest and most popular part of the morning. It was a fitting reward after a few hours of hard work in the heat.
In their own words
"Today was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My team and I helped clean the tortoise enclosure and care for the tortoises, and I learned first-hand how much work goes into keeping their enclosure clean and hygienic. It was tiring but worthwhile, and it made me appreciate wildlife care even more."
A Year 11 student
At the closing session, park representative Nur Aneesa Liyana Abdul Halim praised the students for their hard work. She also spoke of the part our teachers played, working hands-on alongside the students throughout, looking after them and making sure the morning ran smoothly. It was lovely to hear, and it is exactly how we hope our teachers are seen.
Character in action
Our CEO, Mr In Chiew Lee, put it this way: "For our students, this is learning by doing, and character in action. They are serving their own community, caring for wildlife and discovering that responsibility is not a theory but something you practise."
Programmes like this are where the Harvest 55 Practices come to life. Respect, cooperation, care and responsibility are easy to talk about in a classroom. Scrubbing an enclosure on a hot morning, as a team, is where they become habits.
Thank you
Our sincere thanks to the team at Taman Ular dan Reptilia and to the Perlis Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) for welcoming our students and trusting them to serve. Thank you also to our teachers, and to every family who saved their used cooking oil and sent their children off with such enthusiasm. This morning belongs to you too.
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