RIVER EDUCATION ACTIVITY FOR THE ‘4TH EDUCATIONAL STUDY VISIT AND 5TH TRANSNATIONAL MEETING OF THE ERASMUS+ PROGRAM 2023’ – 11th JANUARY 2023, TAMAN JAJAR SUNGAI ARA, PULAU PINANG

The first river education activity of 2023 was held at Taman Jajar Sungai Ara on January 11th for the delegates of the ‘4th Educational Study visit and the 5th Transnational Meeting of the Erasmus+ program 2023’. The river activity was attended by a total of 30 participants from Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Spain, Greece, Poland, and Luxembourg. Dr. Hong Chern Wern was the program’s lead facilitator, assisted by Mr. Ooi Che Khai, Ms. Puteri, Ms. Tew Yi Lin, and Ms. Puteri Bandira. The vice president of Water Watch Penang, Dr. Tan Mou Leong who is also the organiser of the meeting, also attended the river activity.

Dr. Tan Mou Leong commenced by giving a short introduction to the participants about Water Watch Penang and its mission and vision. Next, Dr. Hong continued the program by introducing the programme of the day and the content itself, physical assessment, chemical assessment, and biological assessment based on the river at Taman Jajar. Then, he divided the participants into 3 groups to perform physical, and chemical assessments on the river water to determine the quality of the river water, including measuring pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, etc.

The participants also learned to use the “catch and release” method and calculate the number of species of macroinvertebrates such as dragonfly nymph, damselfly nymph, and also water hoglouse to determine the Biological Water Quality Index of the water. After the calculation and comparison among the 3 group members, we could conclude that the river is a class C, moderately clean river.
Kindly contact Executive Manager, Dr. Hong Chern Wern at hong.wwp@gmail.com for further information.

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#riverwatereducation

First Event of the Year: Public Engagement on Challenges of Water Resources Management in Penang – Penang Digital Library – 8th January 2023

8th January 2023: Water Watch Penang was invited to give a short talk by Penang Green Council under Kebun KitaR’s Green Education Program managed by Bayan Greentech Sdn Bhd. The Kebun KitaR, a community farm managed by Bayan Greentech Sdn Bhd, is organising a free green education program session per month from August 2022 until July 2023 at Penang Digital Library to educate the participants on urban farming. The Kebun KitaR’s training and workshop will be done according to three main themes, namely ‘Act At Home’, ‘The Future Is A Garden’, and ‘Learn From Nature’ to promote sustainability and encourage the public to lead a healthy life.

The education program started with the introduction of the topic of water conservation and soil health by Dr. Jen. In order to help the participants to raise their awareness about the importance of clean water and appreciate the current adequate supply of clean water in Penang, Dr. Hong then presented and discuss on the local, national, and global water issues and the related topic such as Baling flood in 2022 that caused the water disruption in Penang. Several challenges of water resources management in Penang had also been introduced such as high water consumption of Penangites, and cheap water tariff.

In the final section, Dr.Hong emphasised various water-saving methods that can be implemented by the public in their houses. Before ending the talk, Dr.Hong also taught the participants to calculate their daily water usage. The participants also share their water-saving practice experience in their daily life. There are also many Penangites feedback to Dr.Hong and share their shockingness about realizing Penang is a water-poor state in Malaysia.

For more information, please contact Dr. Hong via email at hong.wwp@gmail.com

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#riverwatereducationprogramme

FIVE SESSIONS OF “WATER AWARENESS PROGRAMME (STORYTELLING) Every Drop Counts!”

Five storytelling sessions in total were held from August to November 2022. More than 550 children/students, aged from three to twelve, participated in the face-to-face activities at several sites (kindergarten, primary school, and story home). The children were exposed to water-related concepts and their knowledge of water was to be increased through a variety of water-conservation-theme activities, including storytelling led by WWP’s facilitator and teachers, painting, crafting projects, and other activities. They also gained knowledge about water resources, the necessity of water in daily life, the water crisis, and the importance of water conservation and water saving for a reliable supply of water.

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GREW-WWP Partnership: Negalitres for Schools River and Water Education Programme

30th November 2022: Green Educator’s Workgroup (GREW) teachers, Headmistress Madam Yeoh Guan Lean who was trained in the Training of Trainer’s Programme, and a fellow teacher Ms. Leow Siew Ping from SJKC Shih Chung Cawangan, Cikgu Lee Bee Choo from Han Chiang High School, Headmistress Pn. Liew Siat Jin from SJKC Kampung Jawi has successfully conducted river and water education programmes for their respective schools.

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2ND ESCAPE ROOMS: WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUIZ – 26 NOVEMBER 2022, HAN CHIANG HIGH SCHOOL

26th November 2022 – The final event of Water Water Watch Penang for the year 2022, 2nd Escape Rooms: Water And Environmental Quiz has taken successfully with the participation of a total of fourteen teams from a total of ten schools in Penang.

Previously conducted virtually, this year’s quiz was conducted in a face-to-face manner hosted at Han Chiang High School.

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