Nilai UC Life Science Society spearheads institutions' efforts to be a green campus.
Movie screenings, interactive activities and educational talks on saving our planet. These were the activities that the 'Greenagers' (the label that members of Nilai University College's Life Science Society members had given themselves) managed to pack into the pro-environment campaign called 'Dawn of the Green Age'.
Most of the Greenagers are students in Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) Biotechnology programmes and have through their studies become more environmentally conscious. "One of the main objectives of this event was to raise consciousness on various environmental issues and to encourage greater activism among our students," says Shuba Salvam, lecturer in Nilai UC Maths and Sciences department and also advisor to Nilai UC's Life Sciences Society.
The week long event included everything from the commonplace but necessary collection of recyclable materials from all departments to interactive games that were designed to highlight green initiatives. In an attempt to make students to think environmentally-friendly at all times, entry to the movie screenings were not paid in cash but in recyclable materials.
"Making us bring a piece of recyclable material is a very good way to drum home the message that a lot of stuff we treat as rubbish still has plenty of uses and has value. I now think whether an item can be used again for some other purpose before throwing it away," says Ikhwan Tarwan, a student in Nilai UC's American Degree Transfer program.
"It may not be much but I now make sure all newspapers, plastic bottles and tin cans are packed away fro the refuse collector to recycle. If everyone does a small bit, I believe we can make a big difference" says William Tan, student in Nilai UC's Certificate in Manufacturing and Maintenance Engineering.
Shuba says that the whole event was a great success as many students now incorporate environmentally-friendly practices into their everyday lives. "Many students tell me that they no longer use Styrofoam boxes for their packed lunches, preferring instead to bring their own reusable containers. Many more have said they take all their items to a recyclable centre. We aim to change attitudes with more similar events in the future," she says.
