Tenby students help promote eco-school activities
FOUR students from Tenby Schools Setia Eco Park were recently appointed as members of the Student Green Council under WWF Malaysia 2019. All four students – Anna Faresa (15 years old), Chandan Kaur, Lim Xiao Jia and Nicholas Wong (all 17 years old) – were appointed as Council Members. Lim was also appointed Campaign Manager to help support WWF to promote EcoSchools Programme in all schools in Malaysia.
As Council Members, the students would be assisting WWF Malaysia in the preparation for the next Eco-School Conference, promoting and informing others about environmental issues, as well as advising and providing support in engaging children in eco-related activities.
The school also received the prestigious Green Flag award presented by WWF Malaysia National coordinator Nor Shidawati Abdul Rasid at the ceremony held in conjunction with the 7th International Eco-School Conference 2018 at SMK Sungkai, Perak recently.
Among the highlights of the conference was an exhibition where students presented their school’s eco initiatives.
The three students explained what proper waste management and improper waste management was by comparing two models.
“As representative of Tenby Schools, we presented the Standard 5 students’ project on proper household waste management,” said Anna.
“This was well-received by the delegates and the organisers as it was in line with the conference theme which was “Water, the Source of Life”. Furthermore, we presented something which is very useful in our daily lives,” she added.
On the fourth day of the conference, WWF Malaysia pitted all the 2018 delegates against each other on their understanding of water in a multi-station activity. The activities ranged from building their own water filters to identifying organisms that are indicators of water quality.
“Even the overcast sky didn’t dampen our enthusiasm as we raced from one station to another,” said Anna.
The last night of the conference was a cultural performance night. The representatives from the various schools gave a performance that showcased their country’s culture.
The Tenby students performed a traditional fusiondance comprising of Malay, Sarawakian, Indian and Chinese traditional dances.
“As we were the only ones representing Malaysian culture, the delegates from other countries like Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand were amazed by our performance.
“They praised our cultural diversity and many were awed by the beauty of the Chinese Fan Dance.
“It was a humbling and wonderful experience and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to represent our school and showcase the Malaysian culture,” said Chandra.
Through the conference, the students said that they developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the collective effort by eco schools under WWF Malaysia to make this part of the world a greener place.
They also befriended many people from schools around Malaysia as well as delegates from South East Asia.
“The workshops, activities and talks taught us to be more conscious of our daily water usage, introduced new ways to reduce our water footprint and made us learn many new terms that we have never heard of,” said Lim.
“It was truly a memorable five-day event with our new-found friends and Green Mentor members that will stay with us for a long time.”