In celebration of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam Botanical Research Centre’s 6th anniversary, a series of exciting activities focussing on plants were held at the UBD campus on 6th March 2024.
Throughout the day, visitors to the UBD Botanical Centre (UBD BRC)’s garden were treated to exciting nature walks, plant pop-up sales, botanical art exhibitions and interactive workshops focused on plants. Visitors were able to experience firsthand the unique plants in the UBD BRC’s living collections via a guided tour designed to cultivate awareness of the importance of plants and their ethnobotanical uses. The forest walk then took visitors through the rare tropical heath forest in the ecological research site at the UBD BRC, highlighting the Centre’s priority research projects on Brunei’s botanical diversity. Visitors enjoyed botanical art exhibitions at the UBD BRC, featuring plants found within the UBD BRC garden and in the pristine forests of Brunei.
Two garden workshops were held, attended by officers from the Forestry Department and Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism and members of the public. Mr. Soon Boon Yu, Assistant Curator and Botanist at the UBD BRC, facilitated the first workshop on ‘Ornamental Plants Pruning and Care’ which focused on plant pruning techniques and care for herbs and shrubs. Mr. Mohammad Amiruddin Ruslan, Assistant Curator and Botanist at the UBD BRC, facilitated the second workshop on ‘Ornamental Plant Propagation’ which focused on plant propagation techniques using popular ornamental plants.
A Special IBER Seminar Series was held on the afternoon and attended by invited guests and UBD staff and students. In his talk, Mr. Zaeidi Bin Hj Berudin, Senior Forestry Officer and Head of the Heart of Borneo Centre, Forestry Department, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, highlighted the value of Brunei’s forests from environmental, social and economic perspectives. Focusing on the UBD BRC, Associate Professor Dr Rahayu Sukri from UBD’s Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER) took the audience through the UBD BRC’s living collections and shared the Centre’s various research projects, education programmes and conservation initiatives.
The UBD Botanical Research Centre continues spearhead botanical research activities in Brunei Darussalam. The Centre represents UBD’s unwavering commitment towards biodiversity research and stands a testament to UBD’s journey towards sustainability.