Author name: GGAFwc092023

The certification workshop equips educators with tools and tips on achieving Eco-Schools Certification. In August 2018, 16 teachers and 9 students participated in this workshop held at the SMK Bukit Baru. The workshop provided the participants with the knowledge to understand the evaluation criteria of the certification. Participants were exposed to evaluation methodology and how the review system was carried out. Consisting of 2 self-guided interactive modules, the workshop allowed participants to asses their eco-schools project status, perform gap analysis and take relevant counter-measures prior to award applicationsubmission. The understanding of an evaluation criteria greatly improved the participants understanding of the documentation process and also prepared them to effectively communicate with other members of the school community to work on the eco-schoolscertification evaluation.

The Low Carbon Eco-Schools (LCS) workshop was organised in partnership with Hang Tuah Jaya City Council to assist schools inimproving their sustainability and operating efficiency of school buildings and facilities. Thus a series of workshops were conducted to educate students and teachers on reducing carbon footprint, sustainable resources consumption using their own schools as a living laboratory. GGAF, together with the local council, aims to help each schools lower their energy consumption by 10%, empower students to become responsible global citizens and link carbon reduction initiatives to the national curriculum. Thus the workshops teaches schools to calculate their carbon footprint, and develop their own carbon reduction action plan through providing a range of technical solutions, behaviour change initiatives, and ideas about how these initiatives can be linked into the curriculum. The programme has 5 parts, dealing with garbage, water, energy, eco-wise consumption and empowering others.

In 2018, Melaka Eco-School staff travelled to schools across Melaka to train new EcoTeam leads on the program and share best practices. Workshops included an introduction to certification standards, requirement, and the online application. The sessions also provided insights into current trends in environmental education and ecocampaigns. The overall objectives of this campaign was to spread awareness of Eco-Schools programme, increase the number of students and teachers participating in the program and enrich their knowledge and attitude on climate change, teaching them practical skills in managing climate change. A total of 120 students and 30 teachers participated in the campaign showing an exponential rise of participants from 30 in 2017 to 117 in 2018. GGAF and partners are encouraged to see this achievement and will continue replicating this programme across Malaysia.

The Water Conservation Programme was officially launched on 4th May by the Deputy Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, UPM Professor Dr Shamsul. It was conducted by GGAF in partnership with UPM at SK Chabau, the school chosen as the pilot school to kick of this project. Through this programme, SK Chabau will be able to conserve water by practising water-saving methods to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Leak-free faucets, posters on using water wisely are some methods to raise awareness on conserving water. SK Chabau students and teachers then made a pledge to saving water. Water conservation education focuses on what users can do to reduce water consumption and reduce the detrimental impact of water supply. A total of 200 students and teachers, as well as 30 students and lecturers from UPM participated in this programme.

The Eco-Schools Clinic is part of an on-going effort organised by GGAF to ensure that teachers and students understand the objectives, methods and implementation of Eco-School process. This is done by engaging students and teachers to play an active role in Eco-Schools programmes by simulating the Eco-Schools project in the training session. Together with our partners, the local councils and Melaka Green Technology Corporation, GGAF organised a series of training workshops in different districts of Melaka. Beginning with an introduction to certification standards, requirements, and online applications, the sessions also provided insight into current trends in environmental education and eco-campaigns. A total of 243 students and teachers participated in this clinic, with the major parts of the workshop focused on hands-on training and presentations, with the teachers gaining knowledge on its implementation. As a result, students better understood how to implement the project at school, while teachers learned to empower their students to taking lead in planning and executing the projects.

On 30th and 31st March, GGAF and WWF-Malaysia organised a Mini-Conference on Turtles and Plastic at the Isma Beach Resort,Pengkalan Balak, Melaka. The aim of the conference was to inspire and empower youth to become independent and proactive stewards of the environment through exposure to the turtle ecosystem and to understand the impact of plastic on sea turtles. A total of 30 students and 10 teachers participated in this conference which has successfully built a momentum for the implementation of zero plastic waste in schools. Participating students then wrote articles pledging their commitment to reducing plastic waste in their daily life, as they understood and witnessed how harmful plastic can be on marine animals such as the turtle.

GGAF collaborated with WWF-Malaysia, E-IJAU, Forest Research Institute Malaysia to bring the Learning About Forests (LEAF) Programme to SK Air Baruk, Jasin. The programme is designed to advocate outdoor learning and hands-on experiences for students to obtain a deeper understand of the natural world. SK Air Baruk was chosen as the pioneer schools for the LEAF programme in Malaysia. A kick-off meeting was convened and concluded with a site visit discussing how the implementation would be done. With the objectives of charting an increased level of awareness about how firsts play a key role in sustainable life on earth, andstimulating activities that enrich students environmental knowledge, the LEAF Program is about identifying trees and plants to grow and create a tiny forest on school grounds. The Tiny Forest Project Workshop was conducted in June at the Edu Park, UPM, co-ogranised with E-IJAU Millenium Explorers. 30 students and 4 teachers participated in the workshop and gained knowledge in developing a structure action plan to implement Tiny Forest at their schools.

The purpose of this project is to create an enabling environment for mainstreaming sustainable water management in schools with a focus on rainwater harvesting. Basically, the project aims to harvest rainwater from school roofs to reduce the water bill, educate school children on the methods used to adapt to climate change, raise public awareness on rainwater harvesting as a means of mitigating water problems, and share the water harvesting experience of the schools with other organisations. Two hundred students and 25 teachers converged at SK Chabau to learn the methods of rainwater harvesting. Five schools in Melaka have installed a rainwater collection and harvesting system which collects rainwater from the school’s roofs, stores it for use in flushing toilets, cleaning, irrigation of greenhouses and indoor planters. Ultimately, the schools saved on monthly water bills, which has been re-invested in the school, the water harvested at the school is being used for the school gardens and during times of water shortages. Overall, teacher and students have enriched their knowledge on climate change.

As the result of successful implementation of Eco-Schools Programme in Melaka and attributable to the satisfactory outcome, GGAF expanded the programme to other states. The Kedah Eco-Schools Programme was officially launched by the Former Kedah Chief Minister, Dado’s Seri Utama Mukhriz bin Mahathir at the Alor Setar branch of the National Science Centre. The 3-year Eco-Schools programme is organised by the state’s investment arm, Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated, in cooperation with GGAF and the state education department. Consequently, Kedah is the second state that is implementing the Eco-Schools Programme with the aim of instilling environmental conservation awareness among its youth. Through this programme, the schools involved will be able to embark on a new journey towards sustainable development to preserve the environment for future generations.

GGAF collaborated with Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council to conduct the Carbon Literacy Workshop in August and September 2019 for both primary and secondary schools at Dewan Seri Bendahara, Melaka. The workshop was based on two modules which comprised introduction to climate change and carbon calculations, as well as the baseline development. Through the workshop, participating students were able to actively learn about climate change, and gained a lifelong learning experience. With climate change being a real event in the lives of our future generations, equipping the young with knowledge of it must begin now, for them to make informed decisions affecting the planet as an adult.