At the bustling community market situated in Hin Bus Depot, Water Watch Penang held a three-day exhibition and talk as a part of Earth Fest 2024. This event, filled with all sorts of sustainable vendors, was organized by Grow Community Market, and ran from the 4th to 6th of October 2024, 10 am to 6 pm every day for the duration of the event.
As usual, we laid out our chemical water quality test kits to teach kids about the various parameters that must be maintained within a safe level for the aquatic ecosystem and human use. Aside from that, Ms. Fatin Azahara had some simple games prepared for the children who visited the booth. Many visitors, children and adults alike, clamoured to view our macroinvertebrate samples under the microscope – a stonefly nymph and a caddisfly nymph – as well as a live specimen of a stonefly nymph captured just days before at the Penang Botanical Garden.
On the second day of the event, the 5th of October, our Executive Manager, Dr. Hong Chern Wern, gave a talk at the COEX Auditorium titled “What happened to Penang’s water?” that explored the various water-related issues both domestically and internationally, as well as the steps that can be taken to reduce water wastage. One interesting point that drew audiences’ attention was the revelation that rainwater harvesting is more accessible and affordable than most would imagine, and can very easily be implemented in one’s daily life. The talk was attended by 10 participants, and although the crowd was small, everyone was engaged in the subject matter, raising questions regarding the content of the talk and having open discussions with one another.
Over the course of the three days, 319 people came to our booth, and adding on the participants who attended the talk on the second day, sum up to 329 people reached. We saw people from all walks of life, Penangite locals, expats and tourists alike.
A special thanks to Ms. Fatin Azahara and Ms. Nur Atiqah, Water Watch Penang’s Educational Officers, who have worked tirelessly in preparation for this event. We would also like to thank our intern, Ms. Chan Yi Ying, as well as our volunteers for this event, Ms. Deby, Ms. Nurul Fatin, Ms. Nurul Husna and Ms. Khor Ci Shan, the latter three of which were our former interns and took some time out of their busy schedules to make sure our exhibition would be a success.
Water Watch Penang extends its gratitude to Grow Community Market for the invitation to this three-day exhibition and talk. For further inquiries, please contact us at info.waterwatchpenang@gmail.com or +6019-5751253.