PETALING JAYA, 26 October 2019 –Students from SMJK Yu Hua had an authentic learning experience to monitor and evaluate the water quality of Sungai Penchala at Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur today via the Salcon Smart Water Programme (SSWP).
SSWP, spearheaded by Salcon Berhad in collaboration with Water Watch Penang, is an educational outreach programme aimed to raise awareness on water conservation through interactive and hands-on activities.
SSWP is carried out on a bi-monthly basis and was developed 9 years ago since 2010. This regional award-winning programme reflects Salcon’s commitment in bridging the future generation by taking proactive action to protect the environment.
The programme was also supported by Jabatan Lanskap Negara (JLN) as the venue sponsor for the beautiful Lembah Kiara at Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
During the half-day programme, the students were given the opportunity to conduct water quality testing by using physical, biological and chemical monitoring techniques. Physical monitoring includes the observation of the Sg Penchala river appearance and to determine the water flow rate within a certain time frame. Chemical water monitoring involves testing various parameters such as pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. While doing so, the students discovered the river’s ecology and learnt more about the processes involved in water treatment.
The highlight of the programme was when students were required to catch (and later release) as many aquatic organism samples as possible at Sg Penchala site for observation, followed by a group discussion on the aquatic macro-invertebrates that have been sampled by referring to the chart. With the compendium of monitoring results, students were then taught how to rate and evaluate the cleanliness of the river.
Pn. Nor Aini binti Mohamad Ali, teacher of SMJK Yu Hua 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 willingly embrace and invest into such significant and impactful programme for our students.”
“A collective effort is needed to bring about change and growth. We strongly believe that SSWP will serve as a continuing educational programme which will benefit our younger generations,” said Ms Chern Meng Gaik, General Manager- Corporate of Salcon Berhad.
To further leverage on the success of SSWP, Salcon is organising the 2nd Salcon Smart Water Programme – Inter-State Water Water Quiz Competition 2019 on 2 November 2019 with the objective to promote a healthy competition amongst participants based on their river general knowledge.
To date, the programme has benefitted more than 40 schools and 2,900 children. It has garnered good support and response from teachers and students. SSWP continues to nurture the young to care for the environment and aims to increase the number of participating schools as the programmes grows.