Youths feted at green initiative awards
By Aziz Idris
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Published on Borneo Bulletin
Youths from Brunei took environmental awareness to the next level by stimulating their creative minds in innovative green solutions through the ‘Youth Go Green Initiative Awards 2011’ organised in conjunction with the National Environment Conference (NEC), held yesterday at Rizqun International Hotel, Gadong.
Five schools were among the finalists for the prestigious award, which based their project on this year’s theme, ‘Saving The World, Saving Our Future’.
Jerudong International School (JIS) came up with a project entitled ‘Eco-Garden’, which aims at providing a pleasant environment for the entire school community through the creation of an ‘outdoor learning resource’ to promote environmental awareness and understanding.
Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (MSPSBS) took the initiative to construct simple two-by-two by one-metre ‘Green Cages’ in order to foster recycling habits among students and teachers of the school. Among the recyclables include aluminium tin cans, plastic bottles and cups.
Cemerlang Abejass School (SECA School) also came out with an Eco-garden project called ‘Ecology Garden’. The project is a ‘living outdoor laboratory’ with the aim of providing a venue where students can learn to work together with teachers, parents and neighbourhood volunteers while growing plants.
All the way from Kuala Belait was the Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (SMSA) with its unique approach to addressing concerns regarding Brunei’s coral reefs. The project was called ‘Coral Reef: Rainforest of the Sea’, Together we can conserve it’, which aims to raise awareness and educate the community of the importance of preserving the coral reef by cultivating interest through various mediums including music and social networking sites.
According to organisers, the judges were impressed with the level of commitment from SMSA students who managed their project over a mere 30 days and succeeded in incorporating primary schools and companies such as Brunei Shell Petroleum and Poni Divers.
Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School (SMJA) also impressed the judges with its ‘Edible Landscape’ project that aimed to create a beautiful, healthy and stimulating school ground by growing different types of edible plants. In addition, the project also gives environmental, educational, social and economic benefits to club members and ultimately, the school community as a whole.
The last finalist, Rimba II Primary School, Brunei III, came up with a creative idea to improve waste management in the school. Empty boxes, drink packets and paper were combined and made into beautiful sculptures while some were turned into dustbins.
The ‘Youth Go Green Initiative Awards 2011’ was organised by Asia Inc Forum in conjunction with the National Environment Conference in partnership with Alcoa, Butra HeidelbergCement, Total and HSBC and in collaboration with the Science Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam. A total of 18 entries were received from 15 schools.
Also making a highlight in yesterday’s award ceremony was the ‘National Schools Eco Video Competition Award’ whereby five short listed entries were awarded in five different categories.
For ‘Best Production’, the award went to MSPSBS with its video ‘The Tumblerist’. The ‘Best Eco-Project’ (14 years old and below) were presented to PGGMB School’s Team Robin X with their video entitled: ‘Tree Planting and Recycling’, whereas for the age 15 and above category, the award went to Sayyidina Hasan Secondary School with its video, ‘Solution for Pollution-Garbage Enzymes’.
Meanwhile, for the ‘Most Entertaining Video’ (14-year-old and below), the award was bagged by Berakas Secondary School with its video of ‘Best Responsible’ and for the 15 and above category, the award went to Chung Ching Middle School for its video ‘Go Green Activity’.
The National School Eco-Video Award was set-up to encourage schools to record their efforts and in doing so provide a valuable means to spread ideas to others. It is a celebration of what has been done and an incentive to build on this foundation.
The competition itself grew from an initial video made by a group of ISB students who wanted to “promote recycling and make a one minute video on can-crushing”. This idea gained phenomenal interest from other schools and further demonstration videos were then made with the support of STEP and sponsorship from HSBC, which resulted in the launch of the National Eco Video Competition.
A total of 19 schools submitted 40 videos between them, covering a wide range of activities involving their students. Organisers hope that the videos will help to inspire others to do likewise. To view the videos, simply search out their titles using www.youtube.com.
Presenting all the awards was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah.