27th JULY 2023 – Water Watch Penang (WWP) in collaboration with The Habitat Foundation successfully conducted a river and water education programme for SMK Air Itam Penang at the Penang Botanic Gardens on 27th July 2023.
The education programme was organised by The Habitat Foundation as part of their Field Excursion for Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve (PHBR) Gateways with support from CIMB Islamic. WWP was invited to conduct an interactive and hands-on practical river activity which aims to educate the participants about the water crisis on a global, regional, and local level, and the essential role of rivers as one of the water resources.
A total of 25 Form 3 and Form 4 students as well as three teachers participated in the programme from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm. WWP Executive Manager Dr Hong Chern Wern served as the programme’s lead facilitator with assistance from Ms Ong Ke Shin (WWP) and The Habitat Foundation team, Ms Lingesh, Mr Uzeir, Ms Rebecca, Mr Ethan, Mr Rong, and Ms Iman.
The Habitat Foundation Education Team Leader Ms Lingesh commenced the programme by welcoming the participants, followed by a talk from Dr Hong in which he introduced WWP and outlined Penang’s water issue as well as the importance of water conservation to the participants.
The river activity was separated into two sessions. The first session was the physical and chemical assessment which is to analyse the quality of the river water, including measuring pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, phosphate, nitrate, and nitrite. The second session was the biological assessment which is to determine the Biological Water Quality Index by using the catch and release method to compute the number of macroinvertebrates species found. The participants were divided into three groups with a facilitator each to guide them on the assessments.
WWP would like to extend its gratitude for the opportunity given in this collaboration.
For more information, please get in touch with WWP Executive Manager, Dr Hong Chern Wern, at hong.wwp@gmail.com or contact WWP at +60 19-575 1253.
