By: Nurul Atikah Mohd Rosli
MELAKA, May 4 – Sekolah Kebangsaan Chabau, Melaka is the first school in the state selected to run a rainwater harvesting system in its school buildings, a project led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarva Mangala Praveena from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Also involved in the project were other UPM lecturers, Dr. Irniza Rasdi, Dr Karmegam Karuppiah, support staff, Siti Khatijah and Ahmad Fauzi and Dr. Tee Boon Tuan, a lecturer from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia (UTeM).
It is the best approach taken by the school and also acts as an initiative in teaching the young people about water conservation. Its implementation is able to benefit the environment and the school as it helps to reduce the use of clean water, as well as reduce water bills and the burden faced by the government on infrastructure and construction costs.
The SK Chabau rainwater harvesting project is an Eco-School Programme, a collaboration project involving UPM, World Wildlife Fund (Malaysia), Green Growth Asia Foundation, UTeM and the Community and Industry Transformation Society through Education and Research.
The project was launched by the Deputy Dean (Graduate Study & Industry and Community Relations), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FPSK), UPM, Prof. Dr. Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin with Green Growth Asia Foundation Executive Officer, Bala Murugan Rathakrishnan.
According to Prof. Dr. Shamsul Bahri, apart from reducing water bills, the rainwater harvesting system could also educate the students on the importance of using clean water in schools.
The Headmaster of SK Chabau, Ishammuddin Ab. Hadi, said the Eco-School Programme was a part of its curriculum activities that teaches students on the importance of the environment.
Prof. Madya Dr. Sarva Mangala Praveena said that the implementation of the environmentally-friendly technology will reduce the amount and cost of clean water usage in schools, and she hopes it will enhance awareness on clean water conservation, especially among the school community.
Melaka aims to gain the participation of 100 schools in the Eco-School programme which was launched in 2017. The project will continue with the participation of four more schools, i.e. SK Padang Temu, SK Durian Tunggal and SK Iskandar Shah.
Several water conservation education programmes were also held during the launch of the SK Chabau rainwater harvesting project such as prototype design, colouring contest, board games and quizzes on water-saving.
Thirty nine primary school students from Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 participated in the activities which were facilitated by the school programme coordinator (Ms Roslina and other teachers) and FPSK ENVOCH Club (UPM) which aim at increasing students' awareness of conserving and saving clean water usage. - UPM
