Elucia Yong Siew Lean

On the 24th of July 2010, the Lower Sixth formers of SMK Sultan Ahmad Shah participated in the Community Stream Investigation programme (CSI) initiated by the Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (REACH). This programme is conducted to raise awareness about the condition of the rivers and streams in Cameron Highlands. And indeed, it was an eye opening experience for each of the students.

The programme started with a briefing by Dr. Liau, firstly introducing REACH and how it had been established, and how it had grown to be a strong organization. This was followed by talks on how our land has been polluted and damaged by over-development in the highlands. Pictures of how beautiful and pristine Cameron Highlands used to be were presented, there’s indeed a big difference of the Cameron Highlands then and the Cameron Highlands now. Photos of the rampant clearing of the land for development and methods of pollution of the streams and montane forests were shown. It was truly educational for the students as they were all so ignorant of the consequences of the over-development in the highlands. To know that it has a severe impact on the water that we consume everyday was eye opening. Short tea breaks in between the lectures were a big help for participants to ask more questions about the conditions in Cameron Highlands.

Next, was a briefing on the Community Stream Investigation programme (CSI). The students learnt the ways on how to test the water. The World Water Monitoring Day was also introduced by Uncle Balu, who was also one of the trainers there to help us out with the programme. I find it interesting that there are actually organizations that stresses on global water crises, for instance the World Water Association. The students were also taught on how to distinguish between healthy and polluted water through the presence of macroinverterbrates. It was indeed an interesting revelation to us as many of us were unaware of the presence of these macroinvertebrates.

After the briefing, we were provided with a sumptuous lunch at the Country Lodge Restaurant. In between lunch, we also got to know more about the environmental problems afflicting the highlands from Dr. Liau.

We later adjourned to the Sungai Pauh Forest Reserve where we conducted our research on the quality of the water along Sungai Bertam and Sungai Pauh. We were briefed on how to use the multi meter tester to determine the pH value, ppm(parts per million) and also electrical conductivity of the water. We were later taken for a little “tour” by Dr. Liau to determine which stream was to be tested on and also to observe the physical conditions around the stream. Dr Liau said that a stream is healthy when it is shaded by foliage, and when there are presence of rocks and also lively plants growing by the banks of the stream.

At the end of the little “tour”, the students started their CSI research under the guidance of Dr. Liau. The students netted various species of invertebrates to identify their various tolerances towards the quality of water (level of pollution). The students had discovered that Sungai Bertam is actually very much polluted due to the agricultural activities upstream. On the other hand, Sungai Pauh achieved a high water quality index, even sensitive creatures like crabs could be found there!



As an added bonus to this programme, the students were allowed to test their own water brought from their various homes. And from the results, it was quite and eye opener. Even how much filtered the water was, there were still traces of pesticides detected in all the samples of water.

In conclusion, the students of SMK Sultan Ahmad Shah were unanimously agreeable that the CSI programme was an extremely valuable experience to behold. It has also inculcated in them the need to preserve the various sources of the streams and also the catchment areas. Overall, it was an educational yet exciting and enlightening experience which will linger in each one of the students for a long time. Our heart felt thanks to REACH for giving each one of us this invaluable experience.