KUALA LUMPUR – Marine biologist and civil servant Quek Yew Aun has been selected by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) as a 2021 EE 30 Under 30 Changemaker following his efforts to broadcast marine environmental education in the country and around the world.
A key effort undertaken by the 27-year-old officer currently attached to the biodiversity division of the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry was co-founding Reef Stakes, the first marine themed role-playing card game in Malaysia.
The game is designed to mimic real-life stakeholder relationships, introduce some of Malaysia’s most iconic marine species, and highlight threats to coral reefs.
Speaking on championing environmental education on NAAEE’s website, Quek said his interest in biodiversity first manifested as a love for the great outdoors.
“Although I grew up in the city, I was an active boy scout and would often go camping in the tropical rainforest. Aside from that, my personal experience with conducting outreach programs spurred me to think about more effective methods of delivering environmental education.”
Instead of using standard outreach script such as: “Sir, the reason why you shouldn’t use styrofoam and plastic is that it does not biodegrade, affecting marine organisms and their food chain thus leading to an ecosystem imbalance”, Quek said people are easily turned off because there is often much negativity and jargon attached to environmental messaging.
“In the past few years, I have been lucky enough to explore the gamification of basic environmental concepts through the Reef Stakes card game, as my co-founders and I believe that games can be an effective medium for environmental education.”
Quek will be among 12 leaders from eight countries who will receive grants, professional development, and a community of support to boost their impact from their work via NAAEE’s Changemakers Grants Programme.
The programme, implemented over 10 months, aims to build the capacity of EE 30 Under 30 as EE leaders through its learning and networking opportunities.
This includes implementing and adapting their individual projects and sharing experience and knowledge by forming a collaborative learning community.
In the case of Quek and his team of five, they would be carrying out Project Reef Spawn that aims to produce three awareness videos on Malaysia’s marine environment and conduct a youth capacity development programme.
According to the team, the project will target 12 Malaysian youths between the ages of 18 and 25 from diverse academic backgrounds and interests.
“Aside from students in marine biology or environmental science, we hope to encourage more youths from a non-science background to apply
“The marine environment is threatened today more than ever before so until we get everyone involved, there can be no progress,” said team member and participant manager Natasha Zulaika.
Another team member Chow Mei Mei, educational content manager, added that the programme will consist of four practitioner-led virtual sessions followed by a three-day, two-night hands-on bootcamp.
“We will be involving stakeholders in the public and private sectors, NGOs and local communities in the syllabus to ensure we equip the budding conservationists with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to the marine environment.”
Applications to the Reef Spawn programme are accepted from today until April 23 through. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by April 25 for interviews. The 12 successful participants will be announced in the first week of May.
Learn more about all of this year’s grantees through the NAAEE website. – The Vibes, April 4, 2021
