UTAR’s Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) in collaboration with SPARK Foundation (formerly known as GAB Foundation) Global Environment Centre (GEC), Department of Irrigation and Drainage Kinta, Ipoh City Council, Department of National Unity and Integrated, Department of Environment, and State and District Education Department celebrated ‘W.A.T.E.R Project’ Appreciation Ceremony at Kinta Riverfront Hotel, Ipoh on 20 October 2018.
Held in conjunction with World River Day, the ceremony was hosted by SPARK Foundation to recognise the efforts and celebrate the achievements of the six-year smart partnership of SPARK Foundation with various government agencies and local communities on conserving Sungai Kinta in Perak. Prior to the appreciation ceremony, a series of station games was held to educate the public about the importance of river conservation. A total of 19 UTAR students contributed and facilitated the station games to educate the participants.
The W.A.T.E.R, 'Working Actively through Education and Rehabilitation’ Project, spearheaded by SPARK Foundation and GEC, was an educational outreach effort to rehabilitate the three tributaries of Sungai Kinta, namely Sungai Kledang, Sungai Buntong and Sungai Senam.
Aimed at developing and expanding the community river monitoring and protection programmes through community ownership and engagement, the project was also organised as part of a wider effort to raise public awareness of the Sungai Kinta under the River of Life (RoL) project. UTAR students named “River Rangers” participated in the project and engaged in the Sungai Kinta Basin by promoting and supporting localised resource management activities as well as by supporting government’s ongoing initiatives on the river and solid waste issues along these six years of collaboration.
UTAR FEGT’s Lecturer-cum-Sungai Kinta River Education Programme Coordinator for UTAR Dr Toh Pey Yi said, “W.A.T.E.R is indeed a great effort to raise awareness on the importance of river rehabilitation among the community. I greatly feel that, education is one of the most effective methods to change the mentality and attitude of people towards river cleanliness. This project is indeed a great platform for teenagers, secondary school students as well as primary school students to learn to preserve and conserve rivers in the state and the whole country. Through the project, the knowledge learnt can also be transferred among the family members and friends where it may lead to greater outreach.”
She added, “The official alliance of UTAR with SPARK Foundation and GEC will formally end this year. However, I personally hope the collaboration could be continued to educate the younger generation on the importance of river rehabilitation by exploring community outreach activities organised by the institutions.”
She also explained, “The project has been a great platform for UTAR students to learn about the cleanliness of the river as well as to learn the knowledge and skills on how to conduct water quality monitoring. The students also had the opportunity to do field work by collecting the water samples from few rivers along Sungai Kinta. This certainly gave the students an opportunity to gain laboratory and analytical skills. Apart from that, various activities parked under the project also enabled the students to improve their communication level.”
One of the activities conducted by UTAR under the W.A.T.E.R project was Water Quality Monitoring programme, for selected rivers. Under the programme, the students measured dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity, COD, BOD, total suspended solid, nitrate content and phosphate content of the water. Apart from Water Quality Monitoring, the students also participated in the river ranger training programme, an educational workshop on river rehabilitation. Last but not least, the students also had the chance to take part in community outreach activities such as gotong-royong project at Taman Dr Seenivasagam in Ipoh, Perak.
UTAR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the SPARK Foundation and Global Environment Centre UTAR on 4 June 2013. The tripartite MoU saw the participation of UTAR students in the million-dollar Sungai Kinta river education programme.For the past six years, a total of 50 UTAR students from various fields of study were trained to assist in monitoring the water quality and biodiversity of Sungai Senam, Sungai Buntong and Sungai Kledang, the three chosen tributaries of Sungai Kinta. In addition, they were also assisting in the training workshops and community outreach programmes.
One of the river rangers Ooi Min Huey said, “The W.A.T.E.R programme provided an opportunity for us to learn more in depth about river conservation and its best management practices. If we had not joined this programme, we would never know that rivers are our most important and major water supply. It is important to take care of rivers by managing our waste properly. This programme has enlightened me on how important it is to maintain the cleanliness of rivers as it holds a significant role in the water cycle.”
More than 100 educational outreach programmes were held to engage over 500 people in and around the W.A.T.E.R project.
Dr Toh (second from left) with UTAR river rangers and officials from SPARK Foundation and GEC
UTAR river rangers during the station games
Certificate of appreciation given to UTAR for the smart-partnership on Sungai Kinta rehabilitation
© 2019 UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN DU012(A).
Wholly owned by UTAR Education Foundation Co. No. 578227-M LEGAL STATEMENT TERM OF USAGE PRIVACY NOTICE