SMK St. George's visit on the 25th of May

Students from SMK St. George, Penang, visited our school on the 25th of May. The aim of their visit was to see how our school is run as well as to learn about the various activities held in Sri Aman. They arrived in our school compound at about 10 am and were seated in the school hall. The event kicked off with a welcoming speech by Ashwini, a Form 4 prefect who headed the event of the day. Then, it was time for the slide show presentation on various environmental activities held in Sri Aman which was given by our Toyota Eco Rangers Club president, Farhanah. 

The students were then entertained with many games and they enjoyed themselves. About 11.30 am, they were served with scrumptious food ordered from the school canteen. After they had their brunch, they were brought around the school for an eco tour. They first visited the Solar Station whereby Eishatur and Alina explained to them about the solar system which is located at our PIBG Block. Then, they proceeded to the Herbs Garden. Angela and Siti Sarah, the leaders of our Herbs Garden, explained to them about the various herbs at our garden and showed them our very own sprinkler system at the herbs garden. The students were impressed with the effort we had put in to make the herbs garden a success. They also asked a few questions to Angela and Sarah about the uses of the herbs. The Rainwater Harvesting System which is located near the Surau was their next pit stop. They were given a brief explanation by Atikah and Niraanjana on how the system works. Atikah’s and Niraa’s explanation was precise and detailed to the extent that they had no room to ask questions. 

As a whole, they enjoyed the tour organized by our Eco Team and we, the members of Eco Rangers, hope that more events like this will be held in the future. Similar events would be a great opportunity for us to gain exposure and build our self-confidence.

Our progress thus far.

The meeting this week was more focused on our progress thus far, which, sad to say, was still far from satisfactory. Only a few segments managed to complete everything on their checklist of things to do, which included the networking segment and the documentation segment. Many of our members completely forgot about the presentation about what their respective jobs entail that they were supposed to make, and give to Soo Sun by the end of the week, yet another error which desperately needs to be corrected.

Farhanah then proceeded to say that the Environment Week hadn't been as successful as we had hoped for it to be, due to the fact that our plans for the photography and video competition didn't come to fruition, before adding that Puan Yeo was rather disappointed in us. However, when we were joined by Puan Yeo later in the meeting, she mentioned that despite the disappointment of the week, she was extremely glad about the fact that the Sri Aman Hour was a massive success, with every Sri Amanian eagerly partaking in this event, the first of its' kind to be held in Sri Aman. On top of that, she also congratulated us on a job well done when it came to the No Plastic and Polystyrene Day. At the end of the day, though, the Environment Week only rated a six on a scale of one to ten, and Puan Yeo went on to share her hopes about us learning from our mistakes this time around, and use the lessons we have gained to make future events a bigger success.

The Heads of the Orchid Walkway, MARDI Fruit Orchard, Mini Eco Forest, and Herbs Garden have all come up with a similar project plan to ensure that every competition member knows the details of the plants-by requesting that they study using the information found on the blog. A quiz will be given the next time we hold a meeting, and members who are unable to answer the questions asked would have to pay a fine of RM 1 for every question they were unable to answer.

Eishatur then reminded everyone to bring one 1.5 litre plastic mineral water bottles the next week, adding that the deadline would be the end of the week, and that those who did not do so would once again, have to pay a hefty fine of RM 10. These bottles would be used to protect the trees in our fruit orchard from the external hazards they are exposed to on a daily basis such as grass-cutters. 

The Information Corner was also tidied up, before everyone was dismissed.

The endangered leatherback turtle

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The following is based on information from the Recovery Plan for U.S. Population of Leatherback Turtles, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, 1992. Obtained from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, and used with their kind permission.

Current Status

The U.S. Federal government has listed the leatherback as endangered worldwide.
Within the U.S., the leatherback is known to nest in Southeastern Florida, Culebra, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix.

Description

The leatherback is the largest living turtle and is so distinctive that it is placed in its own separate family, Dermochelys.
All other sea turtles have bony hard plates on their shells (carapace). The leatherback's carapace is slightly flexible and has a rubbery texture. No sharp angle is formed between the carapace and the under-belly (plastron) so a leatherback is somewhat barrel-shaped. Many can grow to be bigger than one too.
The front flippers of a leatherback are longer than in the other marine turtles, even when you take the leatherback's size into account. They can reach 270 cm in adult leatherbacks.
The largest leatherback on record was a male stranded on the West Coast of Wales in 1988. He weighed 916 kg.
Leatherback hatchlings look mostly black when you are glancing down on them, and their flippers are margined in white. Rows of white scales give hatchling leatherbacks the white striping that runs down the length of their backs.
While the Recovery Plan (being a scientific document) makes no mention of this, Turtle Trax would be remiss not to mention it here: hatchling leatherbacks are cute and engaging little animals.
Of considerable interest is that the core body temperature of adults in cold water has been shown to be several degrees Centigrade above the surrounding water. This allows leatherbacks to prosper in ocean regions where other marine reptiles cannot. Fellow Canadian Michael James of Dalhousie University has been training fishermen in eastern Canada to spot leatherbacks, resulting in numerous sightings and an increased awareness that sea turtles inhabit Canadian waters too.
In 1982, Peter Pritchard estimated that 115,000 adult female leatherbacks existed worldwide and that roughly half of them probably were nesting in western Mexico. In recent years, however, the number of nesting leatherbacks has been in an alarming decline.

Threats

Leatherbacks have historically been taken only rarely for their meat. The greatest threat used to be to their eggs, and this threat still exists. There aren't as many eggs to poach these days, however, because fewer and fewer leatherbacks show up to nest. Scientists have concluded that gill-net and longline fisheries are to blame,

Commercial Fisheries

In 1987, it was estimated that offshore shrimp fleets capture about 640 leatherbacks each year. About a quarter (160) die from drowning and many others die when they are injured unintentionally on the decks of these trawlers. A few years ago, US regulations made the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) mandatory. While compliance remains a problem, TEDs have saved many leatherbacks.
A group of sea turtle biologists recently concluded (June, 2000) that gill-net and longline fisheries were probably causing the decline. They published their findings in the prestigious journal Nature. They based their findings on the steep decline in the number of nesting turtles. Although some actions have been taken to limit the impact of longline fishing in the Pacific, the future of the leatherback is still seriously in doubt.

Nesting Environment

Leatherbacks prefer open access beaches possibly to avoid damage to their soft plastron and flippers. Unfortunately, such open beaches with little shoreline protection are vulnerable to beach erosion triggered by seasonal changes in wind and wave direction. A presumably secure beach can undergo such severe and dramatic erosion that eggs laid on it are lost.
The theft of eggs for local consumption is not currently a problem in Florida but continues in low levels in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Even though the harvest of turtle eggs is illegal in Puerto Rico, law enforcement efforts have been unsuccessful in deterring it. Historically, the situation was no better on Puerto Rico's smaller islands: e.g. egg poaching has been described as "extensive and unrelenting" (Carr 1978) and a "major problem" (Tucker 1988) on Culebra. Today poaching has been all but eliminated on Culebra as a result of nightly partrol and nest protection programs initiated by FWS on important nesting beaches in 1984.
Leatherbacks are also vulnerable to beach armouring, beach nourishment, artificial lighting, and human encroachment, as described in Threats to Marine Turtles.

Entanglement at Sea

Leatherbacks are the most pelagic of turtles, feeding in the open ocean rather than near shore as other marine turtles do. At sea, they become entangled fairly often in longlines, buoy anchor lines and other ropes and cables. This can result in injury (rope or cable cuts on shoulders and flippers) or drowning.

Ingestion of Marine Debris

Leatherbacks have mistaken plastic bags, raw plastic pellets, plastic and styrofoam, tar balls and balloons for their natural food. Ingesting this debris can obstruct the gut, lead to absorption of toxins and reduce the absorption of nutrients from their real food.
Leatherbacks appear to mistake floating plastic in the form of bags or sheets for jellyfish and then eat it. Ten of 33 dead leatherbacks washed ashore between 1979 and 1988 had ingested plastic bags, plastic sheets or monofilament.

Conservation Accomplishment

The Recovery Plan for the U.S. Population of Leatherback Turtles states:

A substantial effort is being made by government and non-government agencies and private individuals to increase public awareness of sea turtle conservation issues. Federal and State agencies and private conservation organizations such as the Centre for Marine Conservation, Greenpeace and National Audobon Society, have produced and distributed a variety of audio-visual aids and printed material about sea turtles. These include: a booklet on the various types of light fixtures and ways of screening lights to lessen their effects on hatchlings (Raymond 1984), the brochures "Attention Beach Users, "Lights Out" bumper stickers and decals, a coloring book, video tapes, slide/tape programs, full color identification posters of the eight species of sea turtles, and a hawksbill poster. Florida Power and Light Company also has produced a booklet (Van Meter, 1990) with general information on sea turtles. In the USVI, the St. Croix Environmental Association, the University of Virgin Islands Extension Service, the Environmental Association, the University of the Virgin Islands Extension Service, the VIDFW and NPS are actively involved in circulating newsletters and information packages, and in presenting slide shows and seminars. EARTHWATCH-supported projects in Puerto Rico and in the USVI have involved many people in sea turtle conservation efforts. These projects on Sandy Point, NWR, St. Croix, and Culebra, Puerto Rico, have both brought a great deal of attention to this species and have generated high levels of local involvement and awareness. In both locations, the general public has become aware of the problems facing the species and in general has developed protectionist attitudes, in contrast to previous attitudes of exploitation.

Leatherback Quick Facts

Reprinted from Florida's Sea Turtles, Copyright 1992, courtesy the Florida Power & Light Company.
The leatherback is the largest of the sea turtles; it travels the farthest, dives the deepest and ventures into the coldest water.

• Named for smooth, rubbery shell
• Feeds on jellyfish
• About 50 nests a year reported in Florida, estimates of 70,000 to 115,000 breeding females worldwide
• A huge turtle: adults weigh 700 to 2,000 pounds and measure 4 to 8 feet in length
• Hatchlings: 2-1/2 inches long
• Nest in Florida from April through July
• Many leatherback turtles die from ingesting plastic debris mistaken for jellyfish

Robotics Talk on the 13th of May

On the 13th of May, a representative from the Anugerah Hijau panel of judges gave an hour-long talk in our school about robotics. The talk was attended by every single member of our school's environment team, as well as the team who would be representing our school in the Anugerah Hijau robotics competition. He started things off with a presentation on the importance of recycling as well as well as the effects on not recycling. He also introduced some interesting ways of recycling certain products, such as making a disco ball out of used CDs. 

He then gave a brief introduction of robotics and all the good it can bring mankind, on top of telling everyone present about how his deep passion of robotics have brought him so many good things in life. He has made a lot of extra income out of renting his beautiful works of arts to various enterprises which utilizes his robot to capture the attention of potential customers. He also mentioned that many people have the misconception that robotics is a purely engineering-based field, that in actual fact, robotics is a field which is based more on art. 

His introduction was followed by a brief rundown on what kind of products one could use to make a robot-though he emphasized more on recyclable or reused products. He used his robots as examples: One of his robots was made using a food cover as its' head, and has two dustpan bases for legs. Another has plastic bottles as arms.  

He concluded his talk with brief question and answer session, where participants of the Anugerah Hijau competition asked questions about the contest criteria such as whether or not it has to have a function, and whether or not it has to move. He told us to focus less on the function of the robot, and focus more on its' aesthetic value. As for whether or not it has to move, he stressed that it was entirely up to us, that it was our robot, and we're free to create it any way we want to.  Everyone thanked him for sharing his invaluable information, and went home content with the fact that they had all learnt something that day.

The AGM

The meeting on the 3rd of May was chaired by our teacher advisor, Pn Yeo Yen Fern. It was the day where the new board of directors were to be elected. First of all, members voted for the president post. Amirah from 4 Science Amanah was chosen to become the new club’s president. 

Then, they elected the vice president and Alya Zulaikha from 2 Cekap was given the post. The new secretary would be Alya Amir from 4 Science Amanah and Santralega from 2 Gigih is the new treasurer. Then, Pn. Yeo said that other posts would be elected next week as not many members came for the meeting. Everyone hopes that the new board of directors would do their best to run the Toyota Eco Rangers club.

After the AGM, Pn. Yeo taught the members how to make skeleton leaves. She demonstrated each step and gave clear instructions to make sure members were crystal clear on how to make the skeleton leaves. Then, the members were split into groups in which they would make the skeleton leaves. The groups then proudly showcased their works of art once they completed it. 

Learning something new and unexpected was a priceless experience for all of the members present, and they were shown an entirely different side to the club, which once gave off the impression that documentation was its' sole concern.

Herbs Garden Clearing Number 3973539237452527

Today's meeting kicked off with a progress report on what everyone has been up to in the previous week, like it was supposed to. However, the main agenda of the day was to make our herbs garden look its' best for the visitors from Bandung who would be descending upon our school the next day, and would be shown our herbs garden.

Unfortunately, the weeds in our herbs garden grows at an alarming rate. In just a week, it was as thought our herbs garden has disappeared and in its' place lies a tropical rain forest which has materialised out of no where. Needless to say, weeding was an unimaginably tedious chore, and we were all glad once it was finally over and done with, though weeding was only the first task of many more to come.

After we weeded our herbs garden, we arranged the tiles we had gotten from Sungai Buloh on Friday to make a walkway which cuts across both sides of our herbs garden vertically and horizontally. Making these walkway goes beyond just plunking down the tiles in a straight line. We had to make sure that all of the tiles were places on even ground, and if the ground wasn't even, well, it was up to us to make it even. That explains our soil-covered hands after making the walkway. Also, we had to make sure the tiles were nicely arranged in a line as straight as possible.

If you think that's the end of it all, you're mistaken. We still had to put fibre in every nook and cranny of our herbs garden which didn't house a plant or have a tile lying across it in order to slow down the growth of tjose pesky weeds. This task was simpler compared to making the walkway, though Elsa claimed to be allergic to the dust found in the fibre as she couldn't stop sneezing and her body itched. We didn't have enough time on Monday to get everything done, which was why Eishatur, Angela, Siti Sarah, and Atikah had to be excused from class for about half an hour the following day to finish up the task of covering the second half of the herbs garden with fibre. 

All that drama was worth it in the end, though. Those visitors from Bandung thought that our herbs garden looked more than just 'presentable', which boosted our ego just a little bit. 

The Big Reveal.

Today's meeting begun with Puan Yeo walking into the biology lab in which about 30 Eco Ranger members were seated, and briefing us once again about what this club is all about. 'It's not just a club,' she said. 'It's a club formed with the sole purpose of competing in the Toyota Eco Rangers competition.' She went on to say that being in this club takes up a lot of time, and she understands the fact that all of us have our priorities, and that carrying out our duties as members of TER might not necessary be one.

Hence, she has personally handpicked 15 members who would make up the 'competition team'. The competition team would be in charge of everything that has to do with this competition, be it judging, going for an exhibition, or even documentation. There would be no leader for this team, each of the 15 members would have their respective duties to carry out, and they would each have to give a progress report on what they have been up to in the past week. That means Farhanah, who is now in charge of networking, wouldn't be breathing down our necks anymore. Is that a cause for celebration? Only time would tell.

As for the rest of the members, they would have an AGM once again, whereby they would elect an entirely new board of directors. And now... without further ado, the 15 members who have been selected to be part of the competition team, arranged in alphabetical order.

• Angela Chong Wan Zhen
• Atikah Abd Rahman
• Alina M. Faizal
• Chong Soo Sun
• Eishatur Rodhiah
• Elsa Athira
• Niraanjana Sunathan
• Nur Amalina Hisham
• Nur Anisa Areej
• Nur Farhanah Adam Malik
• Nur Farah Dinah
• Nur Syafiqah Adam Malik
• Punietha Vijaya Kumar
• Siti Sarah Rohaizad
• Wan Ili Munirah

May the force be with us.

Iceland's disruptive volcano

Today, British civil aviation authorities ordered the country's airspace closed as of noon, due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. The volcanic ash has forced the cancellation of many flights and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Collected here are photos of the most recent eruption, and of last month's eruptions, which were from the same volcano, just several miles further east. (18 photos total)

Smoke billows from an erupting volcano which seems to be close to the top of the Eyjafjalla glacier on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik. All London flights, including those from Heathrow, will be suspended from noon (1100 GMT) today due to volcanic ash from Iceland that has already caused almost 300 cancellations here, officials said. (AFP/Getty Images)

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An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. The volcanic eruption on Wednesday partially melted a glacier, setting off a major flood that threatened to damage roads and bridges and forcing hundreds to evacuate from a thinly populated area. Picture taken April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg) #

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Melting ice caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg) #

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Photo taken on April 14, 2010 the Markarfljot glacial river, west of the Eyjafjalla glacier. Iceland's second volcano eruption in less than a month melted part of a glacier and caused heavy flooding on April 14, forcing up to 800 people to evacuate and grounding some flights over Norway. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Flooding caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg) #

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A man takes a picture of a road that has been washed away by flood water following the melting of the Eyjafjalla glacier due to the eruption of a volcano on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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In this Wednesday April 14, 2010 photograph, smoke and steam are seen rising from the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, which erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. (AP Photo/Icelandic Coastguard) #

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A natural-color satellite image shows lava fountains, lava flows, a volcanic plume, and steam from vaporized snow. The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The lava fountains are orange-red, barely visible at the 10-meter (33-foot) resolution of the satellite. The scoria cones surrounding the fissure are black, as is the lava flow extending to the northeast. White volcanic gases escape from the vent and erupting lava, while a steam plume rises where the hot lava meets snow. (The bright green color along the edge of the lava flow is an artifact of the sensor.) (NASA'sEarth Observatory/Robert Simmon)#

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This picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows lava spurting out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano some 125 km east of Reykjavik. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #


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Tourists gather to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on March 27, 2010. Up to 800 people were evacuated in Iceland early on April 14, 2010 due to a volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of the island, police and geophysicists said. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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People gather to watch lava flow at the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier on March 27, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Heat shimmers above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on March 28th, 2010. Original here. (Bruce McAdam / CC BY-SA) #

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Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland. (RAGNAR AXELSSON/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Lava spurts out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland on March 27, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Smoke and steam hang over the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, early Thursday April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gaudi) #

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Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in Hvolsvöllur in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland. (Fior Kjartansson/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Steam and hot gases rise above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 3rd, 2010. Original here. (Ulrich Latzenhofer / CC BY-SA) #

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This image made available by NEODASS/University of Dundee shows the volcanic ash plume from Iceland, top left, to the north of Britain at received by NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/NEODAAS/University of Dundee) #

A visit from Bandung on the 6th of May

On the 6th of May, a beautiful Thursday, a group of 12 students and around 10 parents and teacher's  from Bandung, Indonesia visited our school. The aim of their visit was to learn more about our school's educational  system and the co-curricular activities held in our school. A few members of the Toyota Eco Rangers Club were asked to show them every environmental project and activity we hold in the school

The students and teachers from bandung arrived at 9 am and they were seated in the school hall. The event began with a welcoming speech and introduction about the school by Pn. Alainal Hasani. She explained the school educational system. After that, Husnul, our head prefect, gave a short video presentation which portrayed every single gleaming facet of our school, from the facilities available to the way our teachers conduct classes. Finally, Farhanah, as the president of the Toyota Eco Rangers Club presented the eco projects held in our school to everyone present. They were impressed by how our school was doing our very best to contribute to the betterment of the environment. 

The event continued with a short speech by their student and teacher representative. They also performed a traditional indonesian dance for us. Refreshments were then served and the students were entertained with the "I have A Dream Musical" which was played on the projector. We then took them around the school to show them the various environmental projects in school. The compost team demonstrated the Sri Aman composter to them. Syafiqah and Elsa showcased the Ember Window Cleaner, our very own eco-friendly alternative to the harmful industrial varieties of window cleaners commonly used. 

They were also shown the solar panels and the rain water harvesting tanks in school. They were very impressed with the sprinkler system of our herbs garden and they praised us for maintaining the herbs garden well. After the short tour around school, it was time for them to leave. All of us exchaged our contact details and they boarded the bus. It was a great experience for all of us and we sure had a great time! As members of the Toyota Eco Rangers Club, we are proud to have shared our knowledge on saving the environment with these visitors from Bandung, and we sincerely hope that they, in turn, would take that knowledge and share it with as many people as possible.

The very first Sri Aman Eco Week

The very first Sri Aman Eco Week was carried out from the 26th of April to the 30th of April. A number of activities which the school has never seen prior to this were held in conjunction with the Sri Aman Eco Week, including the Sri Aman Hour and the No Plastic and Polystyrene Day.
We were very pleased to note that every teacher and student of Sri Aman enthusiastically went without their air conditioners, fans, and lights for the entire duration of the Sri Aman Hour. Even the teachers who were eating at the canteen during the Sri Aman Hour agreed to us switching off the lights and fans! We were also pleasantly surprised at the fact that the air conditioners and lights in the staffroom and discipline room were switched off. We would like to take this opportunity to thank every teacher and student of Sri Aman for helping us make the first Sri Aman Hour a massive success.
On top of that, we would also like to thank all of you for forgoing plastic and polystyrene for the entire ‘No Plastic and Polystyrene Day’. We know it wasn’t easy going without plastic and polystyrene, and would like to thank every one of you for having made that activity a success. We were also thankful for the support of the canteen operators who had more plates to wash as a result of the activity. However, we would like for the students and teachers of Sri Aman to use less plastic and polystyrene on a daily basis, as that would undoubtedly reduce the amount of waste our school generates, and save the environment in the long run.
On the whole, we are proud to announce that the very first Sri Aman Environment Week was a groundbreaking success

MIRACLE Programme

On the 19th of April, UPM sent two representatives from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to conduct a programme about the importance of saving the environment in our school. It was called the Malaysia Interactive and Cultural Learning Experience (MIRACLE) programme. The programme was conducted by Ali, whom we assumed to be Caucasian before he introduced himself, and his colleague. Well, you can't blame us. He spoke in a husky voice laced with a sexy accent and he had blonde streaks in his brown hair. Before this blog post gets transformed into a Mills and Boons novel, I hereby halt all further descriptions of him. The seminar was attended by some a class of Form 4 students and 8 Eco Ranger members.

He kicked things off with a Powerpoint presentation which showcased the importance of saving the environment and how we can do our part. The focal point of the seminar was recycling, however, and after the presentation was over, we were treated to a recycling activity reminiscent of the 'get to know each other session' held when I was in Form 1-making clothes out of newspapers.

After an all-too brief period of time, each team consisting of 4 members were asked to showcase their clothes. The poor models had to catwalk down a makeshift runway, which was essentially a path cleared by moving tables and chairs out of the way. He played some techno music stored in the deep recesses of his computer, and voila-we have ourselves a fashion show!

Three winners were selected based on the volume of shrieks and screams everyone present emitted, and everyone received a consolation prize, a Pelikan goodie bag with a watercolour set, one highlighter, one correction tape, a stick of glue, and a notebook with neon coloured papers. All too soon, the event was over, the tables and chairs were arranged in neat rows perpendicular to one another once again, and we all returned to class with heavy hearts and bits of newspaper attached to our uniform.