YAWA visit on the 28th of March

On the 28th of March, we were treated to a visit by two representatives-one from YAWA, and one from Toyota, who came to our school to check on our progress thus far. It was to be the last time they would check on us-the next time they pay a visit to our school, it would be for the final judging.

They arrived at our school at approximately two-thirty, immediately after which they were treated to an Eco Music Drums performance put on by us, featuring every single song we have ever come up with. After being given a warm welcome, they were then ushered to the Bilik Kuliah Bakti to view our presentation on every single aspect of every single activity, plan, event, or even job we have ever carried out, which took around one hour. The representatives commented that although our presentation was very informative and nicely-done, it was a tad too long. They added that for the final judging, they would probably limit the amount of time we can spend on our presentation to around 20 minutes, and followed that comment up by giving us tips on how to shorten our presentation.

A Q&A session ensued, during which members seized the opportunity to ask the representatives for tips on how we can improve the numerous environmental initiatives we have undertaken, on top of asking them how we can overcome some of the problems we face in our endeavours to carry out the aforementioned initiatives. The representatives were then taken around the Bilik Kuliah Bakti, in which numerous booths exhibiting some of our environmental projects were set up, which included paper-recycling, composting, bio enzyme making, solar cooking, arts and crafts, games and to top it all off, a booth exhibiting some of the plants from our herbs garden encased in glass containers so that the representatives may get a whiff of the aroma of our herbs. That booth also featured three types of drinks made from our self-planted, edible herbs, which included our very refreshing bangun-bangun tea. Each booth was manned by our very knowledgeable members, who explained the activity or project a particular booth was exhibiting, on top of answering every question the representatives posed.

Each representative was then presented with a goodie bag as a small token of our appreciation for their invaluable tips and enthusiasm in learning about the numerous environmental initiatives we have undertaken. They were then taken on a tour around our school, so that they could take a look at the improvements and additions we have made to our existing gardens, as well as take their first peek at our newly-adopted gardens. We also took them to our 'Eco Workshop', which was essentially, the area where we make and store our bio enzyme. The judges were very helpful in giving us tips on how we can market some of produce from our gardens, on top of answering all of our questions. We are students after all, the fact that students are inquisitive is not something new. :)

They arrived at the end of their visit at around 5.15 pm. Before taking their leave, they heaped words of support and encouragement upon us, keeping our enthusiasm and determination in winning this competition blazing hot. It was, undoubtedly, a tiring and eventful day, but we wouldn't have had it any other way.