UNDER the co-curricular credited subject, QKT 2101-Art of Argumentation Group 2, a group of 26 students from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) organised an environmental project at the Turtle Information Centre Melaka in conjunction with Kelab Ekopelancongan Penyu Karah Lestari (KEKAL) and SMK Seri Pengakalan to increase awareness on saving hawksbill turtles.
Held for two days, the turtle camp programme was meant to educate secondary school students on how to save and protect turtles, encouraging them to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic.
During the two-day programme, the students took part in many activities that were based on improving communication skills and injecting environment alertness among the participants on saving the earth and its creatures such as a trash challenge, turtle gallery visit, turtle cleaning, hatching site CSR, Turtle Night Tour and last but not least, a “3 Minutes Pitch Competition : #speak4mothernature.”
“Everyone should take part in preserving the environment for the next generation. This responsibility, obligation and act of kindness should be nurtured among individuals from a young age onwards as kids are the future keepers of nature,” said Programme Director Khairun Najmi Jasni.
The winners of the pitch video competition which was open to all Malaysian won two tickets to Universal Studios Singapore, while the RM1,000 profit earned from the students’ mini project to raise funds and contributions from UPM staff and students was donated to KEKAL during the closing ceremony to support the latter’s green mission in preserving the hawksbill turtle population in Malaysia.
“Nature has given us a blissful life to live within. So, it is time to pay back this good deed and preserve the continuity of a good life for the next generation by practicing the right way of living as a symbol of our gratitude to earth,” said UPM Green Heartbeat 2.0 committee member Owen Niexrickzon Anak Thomas.
This programme additionally received support from local entrepreneurs such as Mentari Infiniti Sdn Bhd, Chef Tako, Kedai Buku Dimensi, Alor Gajah dan Kedai Printing OKU, Seksyen 7 Shah Alam.
