(Left) Winners of the Penang Green School Award 2022/2023 posing for a group photo.
GOOD teamwork is key to the success of SMK Convent Butterworth which won the Penang Green School Award.
This is the first time the school took home the overall champion award.
The competition, introduced 13 years ago by Penang Green Council, is held in collaboration with Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP) to inculcate a love for the environment among students.
As the award winner, the school received a prize money of RM5,000 and a certificate.
Its principal Lim Lean Yolk attributed the victory to the hard work of students, staff and parents.
“I want to thank all of them for supporting and encouraging each other during the project.
“This was not a one-person job. It was a team effort.
“Individually, we would not have been able to reach this stage.
“Not everybody is willing to go green.
“For example, many still prefer single-use plastic containers that they can easily throw away without having to wash them,” Lim told Buletin Mutiara during an interview after the prize presentation ceremony.
She said SMK Convent Butterworth students were encouraged to bring their own containers and segregate items for recycling.
The school has special bins for boxes, cans and recyclable plastics.
Lim said that when she became the principal in 2018, she gave strong support to the teacher in charge of the green school programme to continue with the initiative.
Besides growing spinach, bitter gourd, winter melon, cabbage and mushroom, the school has also introduced a herbal garden.
Since the school has limited space, it has embarked on vertical planting by using mineral water bottles and cooking oil containers.
Last year, a succulent plants project was introduced and the cacti were sold at Juru Auto City, Bagan Ajam Market and MBSP.
Lim said the school would reinvest the prize money to carry out new projects.
“We usually spend the money received from winning competitions or from sales, on buying soil and plants.
“For me, going green is not just saying or telling it but putting it into action.
“I always tell my students that whatever knowledge gained from school can be practised at home and shared with the community,” said Lim, who also thanked SMK Convent Pulau Tikus for sharing its experience with the school.
SMK Convent Butterworth is also proud that three of its students – Kirtanah Poomaran, Tang Jia Jia and Siti Alyssa Saadi Azlee – advocated for environmental sustainability when taking part as presenters in the online International Best Practices Sharing Session 3.0-Eco Schools last year.
Nine schools from Malaysia took part while the foreign institutions were from India (two), Singapore (one) and Qatar (one).
Siti Alyssa, Jia Jia and Kirtanah said they had passed on what they learned from volunteers and the Consumers Association of Penang to other students.
“We are all in Form Five this year, so we hope our juniors will continue the good work,” said Kirtanah.
