Salcon Smart Water Programme (SSWP) was successfully organized Salcon in Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara, Selangor, on 14th of October 2023. The programme was participated by 70 students and trained by a total of 8 teachers, from 7 different schools, which were SMK Puteri Titiwangsa, SK Wangsa Maju Seksyen 1, SMK(P) Air Panas, SMK Batu Muda, SMK Datok Lokman, SMK Maxwell, and SMK Seri Ampang. The teachers were formerly trained in the Training of Trainers session held on the 15th July 2023.
This programme was aimed at generating ripple effects of skilled and enthusiastic educators in the field of river and water education by training teachers to serve as facilitators in their respective schools.
The program commenced with the support of WWP’s trained facilitator, Mr. Sharvind Sivan, providing a brief introduction to river water quality assessments, with the assistance of Programme Officer and another trained facilitator, Mr. Hanson Yeoh, and Ms. Elsheena Edwin. Following that, trained teachers facilitated the students each physical, chemical, and biological assessment of river water quality.
The students were divided into eight groups and began with physical assessments, such as turbidity and river velocity, guided by teachers and assisted by WWP’s facilitators. After a short break, the program continued with a chemical assessment, during which students collected water samples from the river and determined nutrient levels and pH using water quality testing kits. Meanwhile, a certain number of students from each group were guided by trained teachers and WWP’s facilitators to conduct a biological assessment. In this phase, they managed to catch macroinvertebrates such as river shrimps and dragonfly nymphs, acting as bioindicators for the river quality. The highlight of the day was when a participant from the public community successfully captured a rarely found freshwater crayfish.
For more information, please contact Dr. Hong Chern Wern, Executive Manager of WWP, at hong.wwp@gmail.com or reach out to WWP at +60195751253.