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GREEN thumbs went beyond their backyards yesterday as they participated in a mangrove planting activity that was held along the river banks of Sg Damuan. Organised by local non-government organisation Green Brunei, the event is supported by the Forestry Department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and HSBC Brunei. A total of 39 participants — comprising members of the organiser as well as staff from the Forestry Department — planted 105 mangrove saplings and at the same time learn about the importance of the plants in the ecosystem. “Mangrove forests provide protection and shelter against extreme weather events such as floods,” shared Forestry Assistant and Head of Bukit Patoi Forest Recreational Park and Selirong Island Unit, Mohamad Rozizan Mohd Maslin to the participants at the planting site. At the same…

ONE hundred mangrove trees were planted along Sg Damuan, Bengkurong on Saturday by over 30 volunteers. The Mangrove Planting Project 2014 hopes to rehabilitate the area to restore the habitat for the wildlife at the river bank such as the proboscis monkeys. Aside from planting trees, the volunteers from Green Brunei, HSBC, educational institutions, the Forestry Department and general public, also collected trash on the river bank to be recycled. It was the second mangrove tree planting in Bengkurong organised by Green Brunei. “Last year, we planted 200 trees with the help of the Forestry Department together with participants of the ASEAN Young Professionals Volunteer Corps (AYPVC) Seminar. Both events were supported by HSBC Brunei. “Hopefully we will be able to engage more volunteers to take part in our future…

THE Green Brunei team was given the opportunity to visit the site of Brunei's first renewable energy project on Saturday. Located at the former Seria Power Station, the Tenaga Suria Brunei Photovoltaic Power Generation Demonstration Project (TSB Project), is a joint project between the local government and Mitsubitshi Corporation, and is part of Brunei's commitment towards developing sustainable energy sources. The seven-member team from Green Brunei, led by Lim Yong Chee, were hosted by TSB officers from the Energy Department Hj Jufri and Raymee. The visit began with an introduction to the history and milestones of Tenaga Suria. According to the presentation, the plant began operations in 2011. The TSB PV system has a nominal capacity of 1.2 MW and is able to generate 1,344 MWh of electricity per year,…

ENVIRONMENT groups have called for a ban on plastic bags in the sultanate. The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said it was time for the No Plastic Weekend campaign in major supermarkets to be turned into a daily basis. Community Engagement Director at Green Brunei Khairunnisa Ash’ari said a much stronger move was needed to change habits among members of the public. “Although we see more people bringing green bags to supermarkets during the weekends, it is not the same case during the weekdays. “This clearly shows that most people only comply in bringing their own bags because supermarkets are taking part in the government initiative by not providing plastic bags,” she said in an interview. Khairunnisa said it takes time for habits to change, and banning plastic bags would encourage people…

HEWLETT-PACKARD (HP) in collaboration with local non-profit organisation, Green Brunei, will be introducing its Recycling Drive campaign in schools soon. The campaign is being organised in line with its vision to create a sustainable environment by encouraging the participation of local schools. The HP - Green Brunei Recycling Drive is jointly organised by HP through their distributor, Sulaiman Development Services Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with Green Brunei and also in partnership with Daikyo Environmental Recycling Sdn Bhd and supported by the Department of Schools under the Ministry of Education. According to the Sulaiman Hj Ahai, Managing Director of Sulaiman Development Services Sdn Bhd, the event will mark its first collaboration with Green Brunei to raise awareness of recycling amongst the public, especially students in schools. “This is the first project…

THIRTY youths took part in an Eco Race which was set around the capital last Friday, July 5 as part of Green Brunei's Nature's Avengers Project with the theme, "Green Nature's Camp". The programme involved a total of 30 youths between 14 and 20 years of age, coming together to be involved in a series of activities that focused on environment work and how they, as youth, can take leadership in advocating towards environmental susceptibility. The programme which is for youth and is run by youth provides a platform for young people to gather and learn about environmental awareness through interactive games and discussions. The Eco Race event saw participants search for clues in different parts of the capital such as the Water Village and the Language and Literature Bureau.…

IT IS important to educate youth on the urgency of combating various environmental issues and protecting nature to ensure a sustainable future. Nature's Avenger Project is a programme for youth run by youth, where participants engage in games and fun activities to spread awareness on the importance of being environmental- friendly and to improve their attitude towards helping the environment. Held at Youth centre yesterday and led by Dk Hanna Afiqah Pg HassanalAli Saifuddien, a Green Brunei Student Ambassador and Project Coordinator, the two-day programme was sponsored by HSBC and supported by Relentless Entertainment. The highlight of the programme was the Eco-Race activity, where participants had to search for clues in different parts of Bandar Seri Begawan. Each location had an environmental challenge they had to complete in order to…

FIFTY students from various learning institutions took part in a pilot workshop jointly conducted by a local eco-awareness non-governmental organisation and a Singaporean-based youth development organisation. Green Brunei an organisation that promotes environmental education and awareness, and Envisage Education Pte Ltd (Envisage) conducted the workshop aimed at creating awareness about the complex link between the economy, the environment and societal needs with a focus on sustainability. The Eco-Socio Entrepreneurship Seminar was held at Pusat Belia (Youth Centre) in the capital yesterday. It saw students from public and private education institutions, including Cosmopolitan College of Commerce and Institut Teknologi Brunei, Politeknik, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Seri Mulia Sarjana Secondary School, St Andrew's School and Tutong Sixth Form Centre. The students played games designed by a three-person team from Envisage a social organisation…