A collaboration between Kuching Beach Cleaners, Sarawak Eco-Warriors, Kamek Kitak Stories, Le Café Rouge, Wildlife Conservation Society, Heart Treasures, Honey Bee Management Enterprise, The Moff and Wordsmiths of Kuching to inspire environmental awareness and action among Kuchingites ends successfully in the event held at Le Café Rouge on March 30.
The event began at 4 p.m with an arts and crafts workshop conducted by Heart Treasures to raise awareness on the depletion of our natural resources.
Next was a short introduction on Earth Hour; ‘What It Is and Why We Do It’. From 7 p.m – 8 p.m, a session led by Kamek Kitak Stories and Wordsmiths of Kuching pulled in conservationists and nature lovers of various backgrounds to share true stories and experiences.
Among the topics included were freshwater conservation, river conservation, dolphins and fish bombing in the Sulu Sea. This was then followed by a screening of documentary videos related to the environment. At 8:30 p.m, the crowd cheered in the dark as they were entertained with low-powered shows including an erhu performance by Tan Shao Chien and singing performances by local band, The Moff.
“I feel very proud and hopeful for the community knowing that the number of people who care for conservation is growing,” remarked, Celine Tiang from Kamek Kitak Stories.
“I have definitely learned that conservation work is more than just research and campaigns, it extends into our daily lives as well. I hope more people will start making changes to their routines and advocate for better environmental policies as we are really running out of time to save the Earth”.
“I think the event is good as people are made aware of what is going on around them in the environment. We are being robbed daily of our natural resources and many are unaware of this fact”, said Dr. Achier Chung, lead marine biologist of Reef Guardians.
She also hopes that more Sarawakians are able to voice their concerns on the loss of biodiversity and resources in Sarawak. “I have learned that there are many who wanted to do more but there are very little chances for them to do so.”
Everyone can make a difference in nature and their efforts should go beyond the 60 minutes in Earth Hour. – EcoWarrior
