PROFILE: Treating the world around us like home

Educating students on being good stewards of the environment is not a high priority subject. KOH SOO LING talks to senior university lecturerLim Loong Fatt about the importance of environmental education.

WHEN Lim Loong Fatt talks about environmental issues, his face lights up. Ask him anything from the mating rituals of pandas to reafforestation, Lim will delight the listener with facts and stories. After all, Lim is a senior lecturer teaching environmental education at the Faculty of Education in University of Malaya."It is important for the young especially to know about issues such as climatic changes. Many do not realise the impending danger should this present phenomenon be left unchecked," says Lim.Interestingly enough, the World Environment Day theme selected for June 5 is Melting Ice — a Hot Topic? In support of International Polar Year, the 2007 theme focuses on the effects of climate on polar ecosystems and communities, and the ensuing consequences around the world.Lim, who teaches undergraduates and Master in Education students, believes that environmental education should be caught and not taught.
Basically there are four objectives in the teaching of environmental education: creating awareness, gaining knowledge, developing skills and participating in environmental issues. Master in Education students are also taught how to teach environmental education."It is pointless if a student gets a good grade and yet fails to internalise the dynamics of environmental education. That is why they should roll up their sleeves and take part in actual environmental projects."Due to his belief in hands-on education, Lim concentrates on getting his students to work in groups on environmental topics ranging from pollution to the depletion of the ozone layer. Students also go on field trips to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia or Kuala Selangor.Lim says: "Students have to present their group work. Every topic has four areas: the history of the issue, the cause, the effect and the solution. As the students have to look for materials on their own, they are more passionate about what they are studying."Lim says many people may be aware or may even have knowledge about environmental issues. Yet, without practice, this is all void. In fact, participating in environmental issues is the most rewarding stage.However, this awareness should not only be at tertiary level. Lim feels that primary and secondary students should be made more aware of environmental education. Unfortunately, there are no teachers trained in environmental education and this subject is usually left to the biology teacher or any teacher who takes the initiative to incorporate environmental awareness into his lessons."There’s this lower secondary teacher in Malacca who took the initiative to recycle damaged fans and furniture. He turned broken fan blades into signages and hammered faulty chairs together to form long benches." Indeed, there is a need to give a human face to environmental issues. Most of all, realising that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues will help ensure that there is a safer future. The first step is to teach students to treat the world around them the way they would treat their home — with care.