Article: Showing the way

Wednesday April 22, 2009

By YAM PHUI YEE

Everyone can do their bit to save the Earth. You can hold an environmental awareness event, design a poster or sign a petition to save endangered animals.

ONE Earth. Environment First. Action Now.

OK, fine, you figured out where that came from – it’s inspired from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s slogan for his team of cabinet ministers.

But consider the above slogan again. With climate change, depletion of natural resources and loss of habitats for animals happening around the world, we really need to take action now and make conscious decisions to protect this planet we’re living on.

Students and participants of Project Daily Million showing off their orange wristbands that serve as reminders to cut down on plastic bag usage in their daily lives.

You don’t have to be a scientist, researcher or activist with expertise in environmental issues to get started. At the Generation Green event in Sunway University College last week, students took part in big and small ways to conserve and protect the environment.

The two-day event was jointly organised by the Sunway Alumni Office and the Canadian International Matriculation Programme (CIMP) in conjunction with Earth Day today.

“Generation Green was organised to raise funds to help an environmental organisation. We also wanted to raise awareness of environmental issues and ways to solve the problems,” said CIMP student Ayesha Hannah Amer, 19.

(From right): Students Ayesha Hannah Amer and Goh Yee Yin volunteering at a booth selling potted plants and reusable shopping bags.

According to her, the students stepped up to volunteer for the project. They also designed and voted for the best brochure to be used for the event.

At Generation Green, students stopped by to check out the exhibition booths set up by various NGOs and environmental groups. At the booths, they discovered composting techniques, learnt about water pollution and were made aware of the threats that coral reefs are facing.

Grace Sim found out about the conservation and community programmes held by Raleigh International Kuala Lumpur in Sabah, while her friend Sarah Chong took part in a signature petition to call for comprehensive federal laws to protect turtles, at the WWF Malaysia booth.

“This is something that everyone could do. It didn’t cost a thing to sign it,” said Sarah, 19.

Others pledged to cut down on plastic bag usage at the Project Daily Million booth and purchased reusable shopping bags and T-shirts with green messages such as “I do my part. Do yours too!”. There were also food sales, games, forums and screenings of documentaries and animated films such as The 11th Hour, The Story of Stuff, Kilowatt Ours, The Man Who Planted Trees and An Inconvenient Truth.

Geology student Kiret Singh with the poster he designed to encourage students to plant trees and reduce purchase of unnecessary items.

Ayesha, who had watched The Story of Stuff previously, now thinks carefully before buying an item. The videos screened showed how much impact each consumer has on the environment when seen collectively, and she hoped they will help students, as consumers, make better choices that will benefit the Earth.

“We don’t know how much we waste until we see it through a third person’s life (in documentaries),” she said.

Student Goh Yee Yin, who also volunteered at the event, said that while they can’t stop their friends from shopping, campaigning and having such an event on campus will raise their awareness and convince them to adopt good habits. For that to happen, students need incentives, geology student Kiret Singh suggested.

“They can introduce programmes such as giving some money to customers who return soda cans or giving bonus points to shoppers who reuse plastic bags in malls. Hopefully, people will make it a habit to reduce, reuse and recycle (3R) and less resources will be used,” said Kiret.

His poster on 3R and 3P (Plan, Play, Plant) was among those exhibited at Green Generation. Its tagline “Reduce as priority, reuse as a back-up and recycle as an alternative” encouraged students to cut down on unnecessary consumption of resources and keep recycling of the unwanted items as a last resort. The 3Ps, meanwhile, were about planting trees to make our world greener.

This generation of youths play a role to help make the Earth a better place for themselves and the generations to come, Ayesha believed.

“We have to take the initiative to learn about the various issues. There is information everywhere. We can make a difference.”

Event listing

If you are organising an event taking place at your college or university, why not publicise it on R.AGE Online? We have a Campus Listing section for you to put a shout out on any happenings on your campus. And guess what? It’s free! All you need to do is log on to rage.com.my.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Youth2, 22 April 2009