Category: News

Published: Tuesday, 09 April 2019 18:44

by: Teoh Wei Jiet

On the 8th of March, in the early hours of the morning, a 5-man team from EcoKnights traveled south to visit the Malaysian Maritime Academy in Melaka, widely known as ALAM, to participate in their Health, Safety, Social, and Environment Day or HSSE Day. In conjunction with this event, EcoKnights held a short film screening and a DIY self-watering system workshop, both congruent with the theme of plastic pollution in the ocean.

Gathering at 9 in the morning at the Polaris Hall on the academy grounds, 200 cadets and a few ALAM staff members seated themselves to watch the short films and PSAs that EcoKnights have selected for the 30-minute screening. Following the screening was a curation of the movies and also a Kahoot Quiz session in regards to plastic pollution, in which the top 5 scores were awarded prizes.

After the quiz session has been completed, there was a short intermission before starting the DIY self-watering plant systems workshop. 50 volunteers eagerly filled the seats prepared for them, while those who were not able to take part in the workshop directly crowded the space. Some cadets started making their own self-watering systems even before the demonstration ended! The cadets were allowed to choose from 3 types of herbs; mint, rosemary, and bird’s-eye chilli. At the end of this workshop, the cadets of ALAM learned a new way of upcycling used plastic bottles instead of just discarding and recycling them.

All in all, it was a great experience for the EcoKnights team to get a glimpse of life in the maritime academy and it was also an opportunity for the cadets and staff of ALAM to learn about the impact of plastic pollution on our planet and how to combat it. At the end of the day, both parties learned and benefitted from each other, and everyone got to bring home their own herb!