FROM rearing their own chickens to adopting lightbulbs, the young people of Malaysia have sure risen to the challenge of preserving our planet.

It’s one thing to turn off your lights for an hour every year to reduce your carbon footprint as was done in the recent Earth Hour global campaign, and another altogether to spend your weekends saving the natural habitats of turtles, or cleaning up waterfalls.

But that’s exactly what some young people have been doing; and in conjunction with Earth Day today, R.AGE checked out some of the activities our youth are getting involved in to help protect our little blue planet.

Can’t adopt a tree? Try a lightbulb!

Planting trees may not be something everybody can afford to do in the concrete jungles that we have built around ourselves, so why not try something else more creative?

A group of 18 A-Levels students in Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar (KTJ), Negri Sembilan, came up with an idea for people to start living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. The students organised an “Adopt-A-Lightbulb” campaign as part of their school’s Eco Fair (taking place today at KTJ), and have so far raised enough money to sponsor over 200 energy-saving lightbulbs to various schools and charity homes.

Energy-saving lightbulbs have a much higher light-to-power ratio and lifespan compared to normal lightbulbs, which is why Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar students like Sheela Ratnam here organised an Adopt-A-Lightbulb campaign to help promote their use.

“These lightbulbs are actually much more practical,” said Tai Yang, 19, one of the students.

“A Grade A energy-saving bulb can save up to 80% energy, and they have a lifespan of 6,000 to 15,000 hours, while normal bulbs last a maximum of 1,000 hours.

“That’s why a lot of businesses use energy-saving lightbulbs. They’re more expensive, but if you consider how long they last, it actually comes up to about the same price.”

Tai initiated the campaign as part of the Global Debate competition (organised by United Nations Foundation initiative The People Speak), a worldwide project that encourages youth to speak out about pressing global issues.

Tai hopes that the event won’t just impact his fellow schoolmates, but that it will help others beyond the school realise the benefits of even small acts like switching lightbulbs.

He said: “I used to think global warming was a myth. That’s what a lot of young people are still like. They don’t believe it’s a serious problem.”

Rearing to go

While the KTJ students are working on a campaign as a group, others choose to do it their own way.

Take Mah Chong Ee, 25, for example, whose hobby of rearing chickens ensures that he and his friends not only have healthy food to eat but also helps to do away with commercial waste associated with purchasing poultry from say, a supermarket.

Mah Chong Ee rears his own chickens as he says free range chicken taste better, and the process harks back to an older, more sustainable lifestyle.

“I just find it sad that we barely know what real chicken tastes like anymore. Once you have tried free range or kampung chicken, you’ll taste the difference. It’s like the birds we eat these days aren’t even real chickens anymore,” said Chong Ee who, together with his father, has been rearing a few small chicks for their meat.

Free range animals are those brought up in a more natural environment, compared to those mass produced in farms.

He was quick, however, to distance himself from those caught up in the organic food trend.

“I’m not some organic food freak. The rest of my eating habits are quite normal. I just feel that it’s a small step I can take to have a better lifestyle. I don’t expect people to start growing their own fruits and vegetables, but it would be great if they could,” he said.

Waterfall Survivors

In July 2008, nature enthusiast Joe Yap established a Facebook group called “Waterfall Survivors”, a group that would unite over 1,000 waterfall lovers in Malaysia.

“I found Kanching Waterfalls in Rawang, Selangor, online while searching for a perfect family outing venue,” Joe, 30, explained.

“I was immediately interested in locating more waterfalls, and decided it would be a good idea to hold waterfall expeditions.”

Members of the Waterfall Survivors taking a breather.

Waterfall Survivors organises regular waterfall exploration trips – day trips as well as overnight trips, where members gather to collect rubbish, socialise and, bathe in, as well as explore, the waterfalls.

Last Sunday’s expedition was the group’s most successful to date as 300 people, made up of the Facebook group members and their friends, showed up to clean up Kanching Waterfalls.

This was the first time Kong Yink Heay, a 25-year-old production executive, had taken part in a collective effort.

“Whenever I picked up a piece of rubbish during that campaign I feel I’ve given back something to nature. After clearing up the rubbish, the waterfall looks more undisturbed.”

Check out the Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/dhjqe4 or e-mail waterfallsurvivors@hotmail.com for more information about the group.

PENYUinc

Mohd Amzari Abas, 29, last saw a Giant Leatherback turtle when he was a small child, on a trip to Rantau Abang, Terengganu, with his family.

“That was the first and last time I have encountered that mighty creature. From then on I vowed to do something to help preserve these beautiful sea turtles,” said the founder of PENYUinc.

In 2006, Amzari visited Turtle Sanctuary in Cherating, Pahang, and to his shock discovered that the Giant Leatherbacks no longer lay eggs on Malaysian shores. He decided then that he would set up a volunteer group to help the sanctuary out.

Volunteers at PENYUinc are educated on sea turtles and then release them into the sea.

“At first it was just me and a few friends, but now we have around 600 members from all over the world who are passionate about saving the turtles,” Amzari said.

At the centre, volunteers clean up the beach, give information to tourists, learn about turtles and release baby turtles into the sea.

“The best part is helping the beach rangers during their night patrols on the beach and coming across sea turtles! The most valuable experience would be watching them lay eggs and learning about the process,” Amzari noted.

“I don’t want my grandchildren to only encounter turtles as figurines in a museum. They should have the same experiences we do,” Amzari added.

Those interested to take part in the programme must be over the age of 18. Visit myspace.com/penyuinc or e-mail penyuinc@yahoo.com.au for details.

Sri KDU River Rangers

At 17, nature lover Richard Liew already knows how to test water pollution levels, and, along, with 30 other students of Sri KDU, has cleaned a river.

Not many 17-year-old teenagers, let alone adults, have experienced anything quite like the River Rangers at the Sri KDU school in Selangor, who recently attended a training session run by the Global Environment Centre.

Prior to the river clean up last month, the students were given theoretical sessions at the school to educate them on the status of rivers in Malaysia, the main sources of pollution and its impact on our drinking water and health.

The Sri KDU River Rangers learning about river pollution , before proceeding to the cleanup.

Richard and his peers went to Sungai Penchala in Petaling Jaya and were astounded by the strange things they discovered submerged in the river.

“Apart from regular rubbish, there were bicycles, cables, even a mattress floating in the river!” Richard shared.

“Being a part of this programme makes me feel useful. As a teenager, I have a role to play in society, and I’ve done my part and will continue to do it.”

The River Rangers will continue to carry out periodic checks and river cleanups and in the process learn to appreciate that rivers are the lifeblood of the environment.