Petaling Jaya, 25 Feb 2017 - Interactive and hands on activities are key to understanding the importance of water in the greater context of sustainable development. The Salcon Smart Water Programme (SSWP) provided the opportunity to 40 school children at 11 years old together with 4 teachers from SMK Puchong Perdana to step outside their classroom to learn the principles of sustainable water management, sanitation and hygiene on last Saturday.
Pn. Rohaiza bt. Omar, teacher of SMK Puchong Perdana said: “We are truly impressed by the programme as it brings to life the knowledge which the students learn in school. I believe this platform has certainly provided a clearer picture for our students on the importance of water conservation and sustainability.”
“Through our hands-on educational approach on water savings and keeping our river clean, the Salcon Smart Water Programme becomes more impactful to the students. Children are encouraged to be ambassadors for the water cause so that they can pass on their knowledge to their families and communities with the aim of achieving important behavioural change. In addition, teacher training sessions help promote responsible water management by enabling them to give their own Smart Water Programmes – supported by specially developed handbooks.” said Ms. Chern Meng Gaik, General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Salcon Berhad.
The SSWP programme is Salcon’s flagship corporate responsibility initiative to educate the public especially the younger generations about water awareness and conservation. It is packed with a series of water education activities, aimed at promoting awareness on the importance of good quality water supplies in sustaining a community and its development. Students get the chance to conduct hands-on water experiments at Sg Penchala, Lembah Kiara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Amongst the interactive activities carried out is physical water testing, which is the process of monitoring the water flow rate, clarity, color and smell.
Apart from that, throughout the programme, students get to apply various scientific theories which they had learned back at school. For example, the chemical experiment where students were guided on monitoring the alkaline and acidic levels within the river water and identifying different kinds of organisms living in the river which is an indicator of the river’s health level.
Salcon measures the effectiveness of the programme through a pre and post water knowledge evaluation. The evaluation result has shown that the students’ understanding on water knowledge has increased significantly after conducting the activities by themselves.