2012 APR EE Workshop and World Environment Day

World Environment Day launched in the State of Sabah Author: Saved From : www.scout.org 5th June 2012: The launching of the World Environment day was marked today amidst many of the key Scout Leaders coming from 12 National Scout Organizations (NSOs) across the Asia-Pacific Region who had gathered for the second consecutive year for the regional workshop on environmental education in Scouting.

The day began for the participants with demo of practical environmental activities at the Sandakan Scout Nature park, to understand better the environment we live in. Activities among the workshop participants included those which could be played among children for them to feel and admire the beauty and textures of natural trees, and looking at the possibilities of creative use of natural materials which otherwise could be treated as waste.

For the 400 campers from Sandakan who had gathered at the same nature Scout park as a pre-camp of the Sabah centenary Jamboree, the day began with sessions on environment education in Scouting to understand environmental problems and ways of reducing these problems with proposed actions, facilitated by Dr. Arabaat bin Hussain, Senior Lecturer of the Sultan Idris Education University in Sabah and a long time scouter who had worked and produced many materials on environment education. He also covered common environment activities among Scouts involved in conservation work which includes tree planting, recycling of waste materials, beach clean up, campaign for reducing of the use of plastic bags, garbage disposal, pollution and forest deforestation and afforestation.

The issue of climate change and the role of young people was the session for the participants facilitated by Mr. Jupiri Titim, Sabah Forestry department of the State of Sabah, which was befitting for the day to mark the world environment day which preceded the formal launching of the world environment day the National Scout Chief Commissioner of Malaysia Dato Shahurum. The State Chief Scout Commissioner Dato Awang Zaini, welcomed and highlighted on the mangrove reforestation project done by the Sabah Scouts being shared among all the participants with a video presentation of the work done in the recent past.

World Environment Day launched in the State of Sabah

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On behalf of the Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee, first Vice Chairman Dr. Mukhyuddin bin Sarwani congratulated The Scouts Association of Malaysia, The Scouts of Malaysia Sabah State in particular, for organising this World Environment Day Programme in conjunction with the APR workshop on Environment Education in Scouting. He said, ?our founder has foreseen the importance of taking care of nature. It is a reciprocal situation where nature will take care of mankind if it is taken care of. Nature study is one of the key activities in Scouting even at the time Scouting started and the Scouts have stressed the importance to take care of its surroundings?.

He further said, ?I am glad that the Asia-Pacific Region is encouraging and supporting the NSOs to join the WSEP and to integrate environment education with the Scout programme and share these experiences with other NSOs. On this World Environment Day, we look back at the American Cree Indian Proverb ?only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money. ?

On the occasion of the Environment day, each participating NSO representative planted a skyfruit at the Sandakan Nature Scout Park. A skyfruit tree or biologically known as Swietenia tree has medicinal and nutritional properties and a large number of uses, which was discovered in 1996 by famous researcher Dr. Larry Brookes.

This second workshop on environment education began in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia on 4th June with over 40 participants. Sandakan is a city known for its most accessible tropical rainforest and forest reserves with its Rainforest Discovery Centre, which is only about 24 km from the city centre. The state of Sabah is well known for its Sepilok Orang Utan rehabilitation.

World Environment Day launched in the State of Sabah

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