LAST year, some students in SMK Seri Kenangan, Segamat, Johor, managed to reduce carbon emission in their school by 26% within the short period of four months.
The students also got their schoomates to be more aware of environmental issues, through recycling and waste management projects within their school.
The efforts paid off – not only did the students emerge winners in the Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) programme and receive RM10,000 in prize money, they have also turned their fellow students’ attitudes towards the environment.
Team leader Zul Hakim, 15, who was present at the launch for this year’s TEY programme last week in Shah Alam, Selangor, said that it wasn’t an easy task but through hard work and perserverence, the team managed to pull it off.
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During last year's Toyota Eco Youth programme, students from SMK Seri Kenangan (from left) Zul Hakim and Ayeesha Qisteena, along with their team, managed to spread awareness on carbon emission. |
“There was a point where we couldn’t get the students to cooperate as they kept forgetting to follow the electricity usage schedule and couldn’t keep up with the waste management programme. We had to impose a penalty system,” recalled Zul.
Apart from reducing carbon emission, the group also launched a tree planting project, adding 557 trees to make up a total of 1,200 trees in the school compound.
“We conducted surveys involving all the students throughout the project duration to make sure that the plan to raise awareness was working,” added Zul.
The TEY initiative, a major component of UMW Toyota Motor’s annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme jointly organised with the Ministry of Education, began in 2001.
Since then, schools from all over the country have been taking part in the programme, coming up with projects like recycling, electricity consumption reduction and many more. These projects were then implemented in their schools.
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Teh Yong Lin (left) and Kailash Kalaiarasu of SMK St John, KL, are planning to concentrate on organic waste management in their school, through the Toyota Eco Youth 2009 programme. |
From 48 proposals submitted from schools all over the country, the organisers selected 16 schools this year, one from each state and the three Federal Territories, to take part in this year’s TEY.
After wrapping up a three-day workshop which was followed by the launch, the students from all the selected schools were eager to start cracking.
During the workshop, they were given background information on TEY and guidelines on how to kick-start their projects.
Each team, consisting of two teachers and eight students, was given a RM1,000 grant to start their projects, which will run until October. The students will post updates on their own space on the TEY website regularly, sharing their knowledge and experiences with the rest of the world.
For the next six months, the teams will carry out their projects and will be judged at the end of the duration. The winning team will take home RM5,000.
SMK St John, Kuala Lumpur, was one of the schools that has already chosen a project.
“The workshops taught us the problem-solving methodology that we should use in our project, and helped us set targets. We’ve decided to concentrate on organic waste management,” said team leader Kailash Kalaiarasu, 16.
“We plan to convert the waste into enzymes that can be made into mopping liquid and fertiliser,” he added.
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Nur Hazimah Mohd Sinu hopes to create awareness on recycling to her schoolmates in SMK Jambatan Puteh, Tawau, Sabah. |
Also excited to get started on their project were Nur Hazimah Mohd Sinu, 16, and Nurul Amirah Lina Juhari, 13, from SMK Jambatan Puteh, Tawau, Sabah.
“Most of the students in our school don’t know much about recycling and its benefits. First of all, we need to raise awareness among them. Then, we will have to set up a few more recycle bins, and maybe have contests to encourage the students to join in,” said Nur Hazimah.
While the current TEY participants excitedly head their separate ways, last year’s winners stayed back to talk more about their experience.
“More importantly than anything else, you have to have it in you, to care for the environment,” said SMK Seri Kenangan team member Ayeesha Qisteena, 15.
“That’s why while we were running the project, all of us followed our own tips – we disposed of waste in the designated places, switched off lights and so on,” she said.
For more information on the programme, visit www.toyotaecoyouth.com.my/.
This article was taken from: The Star Online: Rage: Stories: Events, 14 April 2009
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