Make It Personal to Make a Difference

By Jaswinder Kaur

THE push for environmental education is on track in Sabah, if the success of a recent seminar that brought together like-minded people from different organisations is anything to go by. JASWINDER KAUR reports.

Bending over palm-sized cardboard pieces, a group of adults chats excitedly after picking out the best dipterocarp seeds from a box as though competing to design the most beautiful collage.

Some got pointers on what they could do better while others pored over their creations gluing every piece together, the way children usually do when tasked with projects that will help boost their creative skills.

This was the scene at Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) in Sandakan when more than 30 people from government agencies and non- governmental organisations (NGO) gathered to exchange ideas on ways to strengthen environmental education in Sabah.

Using the second Seminar on Environmental Education for Practitioners (SEEP II) as a platform, participants exchanged ideas and shared experiences on what they have done and obstacles that they face.

Some shared with like-minded colleagues outdoor programmes that have become a hit among target groups at the seminar jointly organised by the Sabah Forestry Department, Environmental Protection Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society and the Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project.

RDC environmental education officer Bernadette Joeman says following the National Education Policy on environmental education across the curriculum, informal training programmes were designed to help teachers understand what nature education is about.

“The different government agencies involved in environmental education are conducting courses, talks and seminars and some have even organised environmental camps and exhibitions to reach out to teachers and students.

“At the RDC we have done the EE Race (environmental education race) where teachers are given tasks, similar to the hit reality TV show The Amazing Race. It is a hit among teachers who have participated,” Joeman says.

She says the next step is to figure out if enough is being done and the direction environmental education in Sabah is taking.

“Is it just enough to create awareness and have we changed attitudes? These are some issues that practitioners have to look at in our efforts to promote environmental education.

“The next point we have to consider is if action is being taken by target groups. If someone learns about recycling and goes back and does it, then that is translation of awareness into action.”

Joeman says taking into consideration limited funding and duplication of activities, agencies involved in environmental education need to set a common goal.

“Through networks, we can better co-ordinate and reach a common goal. We are, after all, in this together. We must ask ourselves if we have done enough and if there is anything else that we can do,” says Joeman.

During the seminar, several teachers, who have gone through training, shared their experiences in implementing programmes in their respective schools.

SM Sung Siew Sandakan teacher Grace Foo Gin Li says she has shared with her colleagues and students information that she had picked up through environmental education programmes organised by the government.

“It has not been easy to implement but we were the first school to `adopt’ Orang Utan babies that live at Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. We do charity work at the centre as part of our commitment.

“Soon, we are going to plant trees at Kinabatangan River with the help of WWF-Malaysia and we are also planning a trip to Danum Valley. In future, we plan to have recycling boxes in every classroom,” says Foo.

At SM Sains Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, students and teachers take their rubbish home with them, says teacher Rabitah Manaf.

“We tell parents that their children will be bringing rubbish home. We don’t have dustbins in school. In addition, students who sat for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah examination must take part in the Environment Friendly School Programme implemented in Sabah,” says Rabitah.

Tan Hui Shim of WWF-Malaysia talks about the role of NGOs and the media in promoting awareness on nature conservation.

“There are many modes of awareness at work but we must make these activities relevant. Target groups must feel that the issues are personal to them if we are to make a difference,” says Tan.

Participants also joined a post-seminar tour of the Kinabatangan floodplain where the Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project (KOCP), run by a community-based NGO, is sited.

KOCP staff, who are all from Kampung Sukau on the banks of Sabah’s longest river, took participants on a boat ride to view wildlife including Borneo Pygmy elephants and proboscis monkeys.

Participants were also given a jungle tour of the KOCP study site which is used to monitor Orang Utan behaviour.

To wrap up the tour, practitioners visited Gomantong Caves to learn about birds’ nest harvesting operations carried out there.

(c) 2007 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.