UNRE Vudal campus cleanup

From UNRE

 

Students of the University of Natural Resources & Environment’s Vudal campus have formed a group to promote the sustainable use and conservation of Papua New Guinea’s natural environment.

The environmentalist group will conduct its first awareness this Friday with a major clean-up of the campus. 

As part of this initiative they will also be putting up signs to discourage people from littering and spitting betelnut; and will be installing new garbage bins.

Group chairman, third-year agricultural student, Robert Martin, said the bins would be marked for different types of garbage - organic, plastics, tins and paper.

He said this would help slow down the rate which the university garbage landfill is filling up.

“Recycling rubbish is one way of protecting the environment and we want campus residents and visitors to be mindful of how they dispose their garbage,” he added.

After the clean-up, the group will travel to Rabaul to look for plants to beautify the campus.

Mr Martin said a public awareness on the El-Nino induced drought that had been predicted to hit Papua New Guinea in 2012, would be carried out by the group next month in conjunction with officers of the National Agricultural Research Institute’s wet lowlands’ programme in Kerevat.

“Being students of an environmental university, we are concerned about the future of our natural environment because we know that much of its destruction is due to the influence of humans.

“Forming this group and collaborating with likeminded individuals, organisations and stakeholders to promote its sustainable use is our contribution towards educating the people of Papua New Guinea on the value of our natural environment and why it is important to take care of it,” he said.

University vice chancellor Prof Philip Siaguru, who is a strong advocate of protecting the environment, commended the students for their initiative.

“I commend the students for looking beyond today, as the environment they are helping to protect today will support them when they are employed, have families and live in tomorrow with their children. I am firm in my commitment to the environment and it is pleasing that students see the need to give such attention to the environment,” he said.

Prof Siaguru said the environment we live in today had changed dramatically.

“We hear stories from our parents who speak of the gud taim long bipo when their catch was big and plentiful, whether they went fishing or hunting. Sadly, this has now changed with population increase and disturbances to the natural environment. Land and sea life food sources are either chased away or have simply declined due to human consumption needs,” he said.

“Such student groups will not only educate students in secondary and primary schools but our students themselves because there is still a lot to learn about the environment. I commend them for their initiative.”

This is the second student group that has been formed at the university this year.

The first group, Katalyst, consists of students who promote the concept of being employers, not employees, after they graduate.