60 kids attend joint Repsol, DoE Earth Day Camp
KOTA BELUD: Sixty primary schoolchildren from six schools here recently attended an environmental awareness camp jointly organised by Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited and Department of Environment (DoE) Sabah as part of the national level Earth Day 2019 celebration.
This camp marked the sixth year of collaboration between Repsol and DoE Sabah in a continued effort to promote and create environmental awareness ‘ambassadors’ among youths on the need to conserve and preserve planet Earth for the future generation.
Director of DoE Sabah, YM Tunku Khalkausar Tunku Fathahi who officiated at the camp’s closing ceremony, highlighted that environmental conservation required the concerted cooperation from all levels of society, especially the young generation, for it to be successful.
As an example, she said that this year’s campsite at Tambatuon Homestead which is located in a serene environment, with clean air, crystal clear river and the nearby forested hills just below Mount Kinabalu, was to remind the young participants on the need to take care of our valuable natural treasure.
“Sabah is blessed with the richness of mother nature and it has brought high tourism value to the State. Hence we must protect and conserve this natural treasure with great care. Developments in Sabah to bring about jobs to the locals need to consider a balance with conserving the environment to ensure the natural treasure is sustainably guarded,” she remarked.
Tunku Khalkausar urged the participants to assist in caring for the environment through sharing what they learnt from the camp. She urged everyone to change to an environmentally friendly lifestyle by practicing recycling, reducing the use of plastics and minimizing the generation of non-biodegradable waste.
Tunku Khalkausar congratulated Repsol for the monetary contribution and its personnel for the ideas and time in making a success of the camp which marked its sixth edition this year.
Repsol Malaysia’s People & Organisation Senior Manager, Isham Ismail, disclosed that environmental education such as this camp for schoolchildren represented a part of Repsol’s commitment to communities around which they operate.
He said that the theme of this year’s Earth Day, ‘Protect Our Species’ reminded the participants that they, as individuals, have a responsibility and a role in creating awareness among their family members and friends on the need to care for the flora and fauna species before they become extinct.
“I understand that our young participants have learned and took part in hands-on activities to further enhance their knowledge towards the importance of protecting our environment,” he added.
Isham hoped that the camp will open up young minds to become future champions or ambassadors of the environment through the Nature Clubs in their schools as a continuation towards contributing to the protection of the environment.
The participating schools from Kota Belud District were SK Pekan, SJK(C) Chung Hwa, SK Tambatuan, SK Narinang, SK St Edmund (M) and SK Tamu Darat.
SK Pekan won the Invention Project while SJK(C) Chung Hwa won the Poster Activity on the theme as part of the competitive element drawn for the camp.