PETALING JAYA, 12 March 2018 – In conjunction with World Water Day 2018 which falls on 22 March each year, 40 students from SMK (P) Taman Petaling were invited to participate in the Salcon Smart Water Programme (SSWP) at Sg. Penchala in Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara on last Saturday. The theme for this year’s World Water Dayis “Nature for Water” which explores how nature can be used to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century as damaged ecosystems affect the quantity and quality of water available for human consumption.
River and water awareness programmes such as the SSWP, an award-winning educational programme organised by Salcon Berhad and Water Water Penang (WWP) since 2010, are nature-based solutions which play an essential role in solving many of the water challenges currently faced. There is a need to do so much more with ‘green’ infrastructure and harmonize it with ‘grey’ infrastructure wherever possible.
SSWP caters for primary and secondary school students with the aim to instil awareness amongst the younger generation on the importance of our precious water resources and is very much in line with the theme of the World Water Day this year.
The programme was also supported by Jabatan Lanskap Negara (JLN) by sponsoring the premise for conducting the programme for students.
“SSWP is an effective platform for youths who are taught nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face today through hand-ons physical, chemical and biological experiments in a fun, interesting and meaningful manner,” said Ms. Chern Meng Gaik, General Manager – Corporate of Salcon Berhad.
The programme got the students wading in water as they were taught how to conduct the tests on the river, including the smell, flow rate, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and catching living organisms in Sungai Penchala to identify the quality and health of the river using various water testing equipment.
“It is a very interesting programme as we get to conduct all the testing ourselves. Besides having fun in the river, I have gained more in-depth knowledge on the importance of our rivers and water and will share what I learnt today with my friends who were not able to attend and my family members,” enthused Natasha Theresa James, student from SMK (P) Petaling Jaya.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mok Pui Kee, teacher of SMK (P) Taman Petaling said, “This is the first time our school has participated in this meaningful programme. It is indeed heartening to see a corporation such as Salcon taking the initiative to invest time and resources for the benefit of our children,” Schools around Klang valley are invited to participate in the SSWP and to date, the programme has benefitted more than 40 schools and 2,300 children since its inception in 2010 and has garnered good support and response from teachers and students. Under the guidance of WWP facilitators, students mastered the skills and technique of conducting river and water testing.
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.