Environmental Clubs of SMK Teloi Kanan

1.School Nature Club

2.River Ranger
River Ranger is a comprehensive programme for schools on the environment , water resources and rivers , which emphasizes not only about water pollution but every aspect of freshwater ecosystems including its biodiversity , functions , values and benifits to mankind.

The River Ranger programme was created within the “Community Participation in River Management’ project funded by DANIDA in 2005 , with an aim to teach students about our water resources and rivers and their ecosystems.

The objectives of River Ranger is

1. To increase student’s awarness and knowledge in managing resources.

2. To provide living skills to students for use in local environment management.

3. To coach students on ways to evaluate and audit river basins.

4. To develop a data base on local rivers by the schools.

5. To motivate students to initiate water and river conservation projects in their school and community.

The Pilot Project of River Ranger Project took place in April 2005 with the help of Global Environment Centre (GEC) . A group of 28 students from SMK Teloi Kanan , Kuala Ketil , Kedah , Malaysia became the first to be trained as RIVER RANGERS by Dr. K. Kalithasan of GEC. They were also the first to set up a ‘Guru RIVER RANGER’ group which consists of trained River Ranger teachers who are able to train other school groups who are interested in starting their own River Ranger. To date , they have helped to train over 100 schools in the state of Kedah. A River Care Education Centre was also constructed , which is being used as a resource centre for information materials related to rivers and water management.

Malaysia is located in the tropical region , where there is abundant rainfall. We receive about 2500 to 5000mm of rainfall annually. We have 189 river systems , consisting of 1800 rivers nationwide , which provide us 97% of our drinking water. Yet , we find ourselves facing water shortages , water supply distruptions and even water rationing during times of drought. We actually receive more water in rainfall than is needed for our consumption purposes. 11% of our river basins are severely polluted and 39% are polluted , leaving only 50% of all rivers classified as clean. The lack of education and awareness of the general public about our water resources , how they are being managed and how they should be managed is a key factor that has led to the state of Malaysia’s overall water quality. Another important factor is the lack of skill for interested people to take action in river management.

Therefore , it is hoped that the River Ranger programme will give everyone a better understanding about the importance of our rivers and appresiate the value of them. Only then will our rivers be taken care of and our source of water be safeguarded for the future generations to come.

How the programme works ?

Establishing a River Ranger Programme involves a 4 step process.

Step 1 : Selection Process

Each school will select 2 to 4 teachers and 20 students to participate in the programme. In a community or organisation this can involve parents , leaders and children.

Step 2 : Support Group.

Once the core members have been decided , they must set up the River Ranger Club under their School Nature Club or Science Club or Scouts. This group will then have to set up a small working committee. Support from the school management and Drainage and Irrigation Department is very important to ensure that the programme gets full cooperation from everyone.

Step 3 : Training

The selected students and teachers will be trained by GEC or River Ranger Teachers based on training modules prepared by GEC.

Upon completing the modules , they will be given a certificate of recognition and they will be fully certified River Rangers. As River Rangers , they are responsible for educating fellow students in their respective schools on water resources management . At the same time students will be able to monitor and help conserve their local rivers and its basin. They should also prepare a Local Action Plan for their next course of action.

Step 4 : Action

Their duties are to carry out monitoring in their area and to undertake the following activities.

Conduct river mapping activities to identify and problems in the local river basin.
Develop a scedule for river observation and pollution and water quality monitoring.
Start water management projects / initiatives in school.- water conservation , rainwater harvesting , water recycling.
We also encourage River Rangers to be part of something BIG
- World Water Day , World Rivers Day , World Water Monitoring Day , World Environment Day , Clean Up The World , International Biodiversity Day , World Earth Day .

Brief outline of Module contents.

Our River Ranger Programme covers 5 training modules , including a full day hands on practical field training at the nearest river.

Module 1 : River & River Basin – Water , Man & River ( Water for Life ).

This module gives an introduction to what is a river and a river basin and to rekindle the relationship between humans and rivers , which is water.

Module 2 : The Malaysian Scenario.

This module gives an overview on the current status of rivers in Malaysia and Malaysia’s water quality ranking at a global level. It also highlights the main sources of pollution here in Malaysia – industrial , agricultural and residential and the effect on humans especially on our drinking water and health.

Module 3 : Integrated River Basin Mangement.

Teaches students about the Integrated River Basin Management Concept , which is how to look after rivers by considering the whole river basin rather than just the river. What is the proper way and integrated approach tto managing our rivers? It needs the involvement of all parties : like goverment , private and public. How we can make a difference ? The way forward is civic science – awarness , knowledge and skill for the general public , which will lead to action.

Module 4 : Field Training Information.

This module gives important information on how to actually audit and monitor rivers in the field and what equipment and safety procedures are needed. It also briefs students on the different paramenters that need to be measured and what they represent in terms of water quality.

Module 5 : On Site Practical Field Training.

Students will be taken to th river and carry out river mapping and river health check activities to assess the health of the river. This involves mapping out the area of the river basin and noting down all the different land uses and activities going on in the river basin. This will help to identify and sources of pollution. They are also asked to do a physical observation assessment of the river’s environment. Following this , they are taught how to fo chemical and biological monitoring to assess the quality of the water in the river by using simple tools and the animals actually living in the river. Biological monitoring is an important part of the assessment as it shows people that there are actually living organisme inside the river that sepend on the river for its survival – that the river is a living entity and not merely a path for water to flow.

In its short time , the River Ranger Programme has managed to grab the media’s attention where thay have covered numerous practical training sessions that were carried out with schools and communities.It highlights the fact that the programme is seen as an important education tool for people tomlearn about river conservation.

In 2007 , The Ministry of Environment has launched a Project called One State One River where 10 schools were selected from a river basin from 14 states in Malaysia. The River Ranger Module were used to train the students. 5 TOT were arranged for the core teachers of River Ranger Programme. To date some 200 schools have adopted the River Ranger Programme.

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan , a big amount of money were allocated for starting River Ranger Programme Nationwide by the Ministry of Environment.


3.Smart Ranger
4.CPCP
5.ENO Environment
6.Life-Link Friendship Club
7.Green Wave Club
8.Roots & Shoots