ALTHOUGH Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, is home to the 30 students participating in the environmental camp Rainforest To Reef (R2R), they were all eager to learn more about the island and its surroundings. It didn’t matter to the students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pulau Perhentian that they probably knew the island better than the camp facilitators; they wanted to learn how to conserve and protect coral reefs.

R2R is an outreach educational programme put together by Reef Check Malaysia with the co-operation from the Marine Parks Department of Malaysia and the United Nation Development Programme.

The camp aim to instill a love for the environment in children.

Beginning this year, Alstom Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, a French multinational conglomerate, is funding this programme for three consecutive years. The fund, pledged by Alstom Foundation, is for the development of a curriculum to educate school children on the Marine Park islands of Tioman, Redang and Perhentian, off the East Cost of Malaysia, and where better to start than with pupils in the local schools.

Alstom Country Manager Saji Raghava n said that supporting the R2R programme is part of his company’s global corporate social responsibility. “Our focus is on the young ones as they will be the future guardians of our environment. We need to teach them and raise their awareness on the importance of the coral reefs,” says Saji. “I was here 15 years ago. Many things have changed. More and more resorts and businesses are being set up on this island.

Money have been put in to develop this place but it is time to fund programmes like R2R to educate the people on the importance of the ecosystem, especially the young,” says Alstom Power’s Customer Manager for Global Sales Ng Hock Sin. “I wanted to know more about the coral reefs in the sea and how to conserve not only the coral reefs but also the environment,” says Nur Syafiqah Bt Mohd Sabri, 12, as they gathered at the jetty.

It was apparent from their broad grins that the students were excited about participating in the camp. Throughout the three-day camp, Nur Syafiqah and her classmates took part enthusiastically in activities that emphasise the importance of conservation. They also learnt the do’s and don’t’s of protecting the environment in their daily living.

Although they live on the island, the children learn to look at their surroundings differently at the camp

Although the students live by the sea, the activity they enjoyed most was snorkelling as they do not get the chance to do that. There was nothing like seeing the beauty of the coral reefs and marine lives for themselves to convince them they are worth saving.

For some of the students, it was their first time seeing and being so close to corals. “I enjoyed the snorkelling very much. I got to see lots of different kinds of corals and marine life swimming around them, such as the clown fish, also known as the Nemo fish. It was much better than seeing them on television,” says Nur Syafiqah.

On the last day of the camp, the participants and facilitators could be seen wandering around the beach, not to take a break from the programme or for sight-seeing, but to clean it up. For half an hour, they walked along the beach and picked up rubbish on the beach. Apart from having lots of fun, the children also learnt how to stand together to protect mother nature and its beauty. “My father is a boatman. From now onwards, I will try to advise my father not to step on the coral or to pick up any of them when he goes snorkelling,” said Nurul Fazilah Azwani Mohd Faizal at the end of the camp.

Creative expressions...enacting green message onstage

“I am very lucky to be able to participate in this programme, and I wish that there will be more in the future,” said Shafiq Hazimi, 12. The R2R camp in Pulau Perhentian is the second camp of the year. The first one was held in Pulau Redang in Mac, and the next one will be in Pulau Tioman in June. As a follow-up to the first round of R2R camps, the facilitators and volunteers will conduct another round of camps in July and Aug to reinforce the lessons taught, and to support green activities by the local communities. There will also be Nature Walks and recycling campaignson the islands.