A TOTAL of 28 students from Sixth Form Centres across the nation recently participated in a Green Leadership Camp (GLC). The second edition of the two-day one-night camp was organised by Green Brunei, a non-profit organisation that focuses in promoting environmental education and conservation. Initiated by the organisation’s founder, Khairunnisa Ash’ari, and led by Camp Leader Firdaus Ismail, the camp was held to raise the awareness of environmental issues among youths while adapting to the theme “Ideas into Action”. Four students from Belait-based Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (SMSA), who participated in the camp, shared their experiences.     “The camp has inspired me to further educate the youth within our community as our planned project. This will mainly focus on raising awareness on the environmental issues that we are currently…

OPEN burning is so common that it has become “a culture” in Brunei, despite repeated warnings and laws to deter people from burning their garbage. Dk Haryanti Pg Hj Petra, environment officer and head of Belait branch at the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRE), said officers even get threatened when they advise offenders not to practise open burning. Advisories were given to prevent open burning in all four districts, but the bad habit still occurs frequently, she told The Brunei Times. The environmental officer said open burning has already become “part of Brunei’s culture”, and most of the open burning violators were senior citizens. “It is understood that we live in a society where disposing crops and grass by burning is considered normal as our parents and their…

THE United States (US) Embassy in Brunei Darussalam yesterday hosted an outreach event for local Non-Hovernment Organisations (NGOs) and Bruneians who have actively participated in the US government-sponsored cultural exchange programmes. Titled ‘Conversations’, the public diplomacy programme was aimed at encouraging dialogue and the exchange of ideas on volunteerism in the Sultanate. Present at the event was the co-founder of Green Brunei, Khairunnisa Ash’ari, who shared her experiences as a participant in the recent International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the US. Khairunnisa’s recent three-week trip focused mainly on volunteerism and youth. She said that the IVLP programme gave her a better understanding of the volunteering culture in the US. “The program itself was beyond exposure to the work of various nonprofit organisations; it was also about understanding the service-learning…

SOME 16 people representing 1stopbrunei Wildlife Club, Brunei Nature Society, Museums Department, Police Rangers, Green Brunei and Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Research of Universiti Brunei Darussalam attended a field training session held in Ulu Belait recently. During the eight-hour walk in the jungle which began at 3pm, participants surveyed the local wildlife in the region and more specifically kept an eye open for suitable pangolin habitats. The trek was led by Muhammad Shavez, who was accompanied by British conservationist and pangolin expert, Louise Fletcher, who provided information and advice to the other participants. A bird count also took place, with the rare Great Argus being heard twice throughout the journey. Participants included the President of Brunei Nature Society, Professor Ulmar Grafe, who spotted and identified seven different species of frogs,…