Green Brunei to hold more nature conservation activities

GREEN Brunei is keen to strengthen its initiatives on environmental education and conservation next year.

The initiatives include holding more green camps, school talks and encouraging more people to take part in tree-planting, said the non-profit organisation’s community engagement director Khairunnisa Ash’ari.

She said through its activities this year, she realised there is great potential in engaging more young people.

“So far, all our programmes have been short-term, and we want to look into having more long-term programmes which are sustainable,” she said.

This year, it initiated two tree-planting activities in Bengkurong apart from other conservation activities.

However, Khairunnisa said plans are under way to turn them into long-term programmes by having them more frequently.

“We still have a lot to do in terms of reaching out to the community and making a real difference in Brunei,” she said.

“What I am really glad is that a lot of stakeholders have engaged with us and helped us in achieving our goals,” the community engagement director added.

Since Green Brunei was formed, Khairunnisa said it has been working closely with the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

“They have supported us from the start and we will continue engaging with them. It is not one department only, but several departments under the ministry that have helped us tremendously through sharing of knowledge and giving us advice on carrying out initiatives,” she said.

Currently, the NGO has 30 members and over 300 volunteers. However, she said they are always open to welcoming more volunteers who are committed to conserving the environment and are willing to contribute to the development of Green Brunei.

According to its website, Green Brunei aims to become the biggest green community in Brunei, with the goal of providing green resources and to be an enabler of youth-initiated environmental projects.

Green Brunei was established in August 2012 (under the name Helwa’s Green Services) and has organised various activities that cater to children, youth and adults, such as nature camps, tree-planting, workshops and talks.

The NGO is run by a team of youth volunteers dedicated to promoting the beauty of Brunei’s nature and the importance of practising an eco-friendly lifestyle. – Rachel Thien

Source: The Brunei Times