Schools to start planting trees to instil love for the environs

Wednesday June 18, 2008
Schools to start planting trees to instil love for the environs
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my


SCHOOLS nationwide will be encouraged to embark on a treeplanting programme beginning next month to instil among students a liking for a lifestyle that is based on responsibility towards the environment and sustainable use of resources.

Deputy education director for schools division Datuk Noor Rezan Bapoo Hashim said the programme would focus on meeting the target of 20 million trees by 2020.

She said the ministry was identifying the species and the number of trees needed to be planted in each school based on its locality.

Speaking at the launch of the Toyota Eco-Rangers (TER) environmental programme workshop held at the Look-Out Point in Hulu Langat, Noor Rezan noted that while it would be an uphill task to introduce the tree-planting exercise in Klang Valley schools, it would be easier to implement in rural schools because of the large open areas available.


Responsible youngsters: Some of the participants of the Toyota Eco Rangers programme outlining their duties during its launch.

“The types of trees will be determined by the Landscape Department while the quantity would be decided by the respective schools,” she added.

She said once the tree-planting programme was in place and ongoing, the department would work closely with the Children's Environmental Heritage Foundation (CEHF) to monitor its progress and provide assistance to the schools in other similar environmental activities.

She added that the inclusion of environmental studies in the secondary school syllabus reflected how the curriculum had been redesigned to promote environmental awareness among students.

The TER programme, a joint initiative between UMW Toyota Motor and CEHF, is aimed at fostering an appreciation and understanding of nature by teaching secondary school students how to care for trees.

Under this programme, each of the 23 schools selected by the Education Ministry will be entrusted with planting and caring for 100 trees of various kinds in the school compound and the surrounding community.

“The pilot project involving 46 students and two teachers each from 23 schools in the Klang Valley is to test how successful the three-day workshop is and how best to implement the project.

“It is conceived as a way to promote awareness of the environment among schoolchildren.

“They are required to identify the types of trees that are suitable for their school's soil and surroundings and to justify their selection of a particular species,” added Noor Rezan.

UMW Toyota Motor managing director Kuah Kock Heng, in his speech read by executive director Aminar Rashid Salleh, said the students would apply the knowledge they had gained from the workshop in the planting of the trees.

“This newly-conceptualised programme is UMW Toyota Motor's extension to the Toyota Eco Youth programme under the CSR environment pillar,” said Kuah.

He added that the programme was a means to reach a wider group of schoolchildren.

It was best to educate them on the importance of the environment from a young age as they were not yet set in their ways and it would be easier to eradicate their bad habits, Kuah said.