Article: Educating children

Tuesday August 4, 2009

AS part of BonusLink's corporate social responsibility initiative, BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd (programme manager for BonusLink) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) recently joined forces to organise an ecocamp at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia in Kepong, Selangor.

At the Green Explorers camp, 30 pupils, all active members of the MNS-run Kelab Pencinta Alam or Nature Club from schools in the Klang Valley, learnt about Mother Nature and participated in exciting activities. The Kelab Pencinta Alam was established to instil environmental values in school-going children. To date, there are 373 such clubs in schools nationwide, with about 15,000 student members.

Start 'em young: The Green Explorers camp saw 30 pupils learn about Mother Nature recently.

During the three-day camp, the participants learned about forest and water ecologies, as well as the significance and impact of climate change. The schoolchildren were taught ways to make an impact, such as by inculcating changes to their lifestyles and spreading awareness on climate change to people they know through the creative use of the 3R concept – reuse, reduce and recycle.

The pupils also showcased ideas on how to ease global warming, while taking part in interesting outdoor activities such as the canopy walk, night walk and nature hunts. Captain GreenEarth, the mascot for BonusLink's GreenEarth programme, made an appearance too to explain the causes of global warming and how it affects everyone.

"As we all know, children are our future generation and the leaders of tomorrow, hence they play an important role in saving the environment. BonusLink is giving them an opportunity to discover nature effectively through creative and fun ways that will eventually leave a lasting impact on them," said Victor Goon, general manager of BonusKad Loyalty.

The BonusLink GreenEarth programme has initiated various environmentally friendly projects within the loyalty rewards company, including the introduction of the e-Statement to reduce the use of paper, participation in the Earth Hour initiative on March 28 this year, as well as organising school programmes where staff members spread the message on global warming in primary schools.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Go Green Live Green 4 August 2009