Nurturing eco-volunteers for UKM sustainable campus: a case study of the rainforest discovery journey programme

Abstract

In 2007 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia launched the Sustainable Campus Programme with a commitment to practice sustainable development by 2020. The programme is directed towards its communities' well being and ecosystem health as well as enhancing the sustainability of its natural and built environments through management, research, development and sustainable practices of communities inside and outside the campus. To implement and further enhance efforts towards achieving the objectives of UKM Sustainable Campus Programme, three research working groups has been established. They are Ecosystem Management Working Group, Sustainable Community Working Group and Sustainable Design Working Group. The three working groups are required to conduct research activities with respect to specific areas of interest. In this regard, the Ecosystem Management Research Group undertakes activities in four different areas namely, forest, water, energy and waste management. It was realized that the effective implementation of sustainable campus initiatives must be implemented with the support of the entire UKM population particularly the students. As a pioneering effort, an eco-volunteer group was established at the Ibu Zain International College. The current members of the eco-volunteer group are mainly undergraduate and graduate students with a modest strength of 54 volunteers. Initially they are given basic training on various aspects of environmental issues and activities. The first training programme for the eco-volunteers was the Rainforest Discovery Journey in Bangi Forest Reserve. The programme was mainly introducing the unique tropical rainforest in the UKM Campus. This paper will provide the initial effort undertaken to establish eco-volunteers and highlight the initial activities undertaken by the eco-volunteers of UKM in community activities particularly as facilitators for the environmental education programme among school children conducted by Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA).