What is Community cleanup campaign exploration?

             This exploration is one of our Senior impacts projects which focus on the environmental steward. This impact project is a campaign to clean up a community located in Kompong Speu province Cambodia. The goal wasn’t just clean up but we will give a workshop to government school students and villagers who live in that community. 

What will the workshop be about?

             We have five various stations such as storytelling & visualization, products & artwork, plastic decomposition, round discussion & modern technology, and statistics & facts stations. 

            The first station is storytelling. You will query in your thoughts what’s this station is going to be about. Precisely, in this station, it is about the sharing of the four short stories that the four students have written in the exploration. The stories that have written by our young writers are related to the impact of using plastic on the environment. In addition to the environment, the research said plastic has been used by humans in the world over two million amount in a minute. We want to spread awareness of the effects of using plastic through fun short stories.  

           The second station is products and artwork. The goal of this station is to encourage our Cambodian people to recycle plastic instead of throwing them away. Recycling is important for both the environment and us. When we recycle, used materials are converted into new products which we can use it again. We can save money from buying new products and reduce waste to landfills. 

           The third station is plastic decomposition. This station is mainly focused on how long will plastic takes to decompose. Basically, the participants of this workshop will play a matching game. Participants will arrange the pictures of types of plastic and put it in the right years that it will take to decompose. 

            The fourth station is round discussion. In this station, participants will be given a chance to speak up about the environmental crisis, plastics pollution through the discussion. The goal of this discussion is to also enhance their environmental awareness as well as encourage others to take this as a critical community issue. The other topic that will be brought to the participants is “technology”. Introducing three technology inventions (robot, satellite, and 3D printing) to these Cambodia youth will be fascinating and helpful because currently a lot of impacts come from technology and it helps us expand our knowledge through research on the internet. 

            The fifth station is statistics & facts. The facilitator of the station will show statistics and give some facts about plastic to participants. After that, there will be questions and answers to test their knowledge. 

My reflection on this impact project

            The study of a Community cleanup campaign is really important to me as a change agent. A way to change the whole world, we need to change our actions and perspective. I learned from the project about the affection of plastic toward our natural environment. We also brainstorm some ideas on how we reduce plastic from going to the landfill. My station is about recycling, I choose to recycle product because I learned the fact that only nine percent of plastics are recycled properly, with 91 percent of recyclable items ending up in landfills, polluting our environment or floating in our oceans. This project changed my perspective of throwing trash away, instead, we should recycle them. There are so many creative ways of recycling plastic after I was done some research. I also converted some plastic bags into artwork which I will need for my workshop. We also have a play related to our project. I have never been involving in acting before. So, this project gave me a chance to get out of my comfort zone and try new experiences. This is such a great project for both helping our environment and improving my skills.

     It’s been a long period of joining the Outdoor Leadership program. This is the second round of another 7 weeks completing our mission. We’ve been working on translating our lesson into Khmer since our target participants are all Cambodians. Our lessons have to be clear and understandable. The reason is, in the next round we will create an Outdoor guide book that contents all of our lessons. One of our mission is also to influence all of the government schools to involve in this program. 

Potential Partners

       We were looking for potential partner schools that lack support in this field. We found a school in Kampongcham province called KAPE who interested in partnering with us. We went there to implementing our workshop lessons with them. They loved the workshop and were eager to participate. Here are some of the activities that we did with Kape students.

          Happy Chandara is another school that we gave our workshop, and it was an all-girl school. This was a perfect opportunity for us to bring our program to these female youth because one of our mission is to empower women in outdoor activities, too. 

        By bringing Workshop to participants was such an amazing experience for me. It was an opportunity to teach and learn from others. I was able to teach youth about what I have learned and influence them to love our natural environment which will bring a big impact on our community and country. Besides teaching, I learned how to facilitated others and learn how to share what we have learned. 

Pre-trip

        Furthermore, we went to Aural mountain which the highest mountain in Cambodia as our Pre-Trip. It was one of the most challenging experiences of all. Ways up to our campsite were really steep and our back pages were really heavy. Our plan was to go on top of the mountain that was the reason why we packed lots of food and water which make our backpacks much heavier than the last trip. It was a great challenge for me. 

        There is a difference between learning in the classroom and being in Outdoor. Learning in the classroom is comfortable and just follow the curriculum. Being in Outdoor is uncomfortable and tired. Trekking millions of miles, can not take a shower and especially using the natural bathroom. However, that is not the point of being Outdoor. The point is I learn how to get out of my comfort zone. We also get to enjoy the new environment from just being in the same old classroom. After, many adventurous trips, I discovered many unknown world species and I discovered my strength of determination. The outdoor program taught me to become an independent girl who can help herself through the challenges and experiences the taste of life. 

        Outdoor Leadership Program Statement: To empower Cambodian youth to be Outdoor leaders and environmental stewards by introducing them to natural spaces, raising awareness of conservation threats, and nurturing the passion and skills needed to positively impact their communities.

          Outdoor Leadership Program is an exploration that is mainly focused on making curriculum for government students. My last exploration was Outdoor Leadership. After seeing the beauty of nature we want to share this view with our Cambodian kids. We want them to protect and deserve what we have. This is the reason why this program happened.

          What is an outdoor leadership program? In this exploration, we are creating a curriculum for government students of being outdoors. Why being outdoors is important? It’s important because once we know the beauty of nature we want to keep and protect it. Most people nowadays don’t know the advantage of nature that’s the reason why they don’t protect it. Our participants’ target is around 15 to 16 years old. we choose this age because they are the next generation who will make the change and protect our natural resources. Kids under 15 years old are also the next generation of change, but we also think about going on an outdoor trip. We think students at this age are still being under their parent’s control, so we chose 15 to 16 years old kids who are more likely working independence. 

         In this program, we divide into four groups of leadership, nature appreciation, wilderness skills, and risk management. My team and I are working on wilderness skills. 

       To go on an outdoor trip, we also need some special skills. Wilderness is one of the important skills that we need while going on an Outdoor trip. Those skills include survival skills such as setting up a tent, making fire, packing, hygiene, etc. Wilderness is also focusing on keeping our environment clean. We also come up with some activities for wilderness, such as picking up trash, leaving no trace, etc. To teach this lesson, we think of creative ways to teach our participants. We have activities that related to what we will teach them. Activities are teaching, engaging and having fun at the same time.

        We are just creating a template for the following rounds. Students in this first round might not be able to teach participants. This template must be understandable for the following students who will teach the participants.  We also did a workshop with our classmates to practice some activities of our lesson template. After the workshop, we gave feedback and make some changes to our lesson templates. 

        Making a curriculum lesson is not easy work. We have never been making any lesson plan before, so it’s really hard for us as students. This job is usually our facilitator’s job. Now, it comes to us. It’s challenging but I think once we made it. We’ll be proud because we can make a lesson about change. I think once my participants learn my lesson. They will love nature like what I do. Nature is your friend who will be with you forever. I wish, they will help me and their communities to protect what we have now before it’s too late.   

 

         Nature is a mysterious place. It hides millions of secrets. The more you explore, the more you wonder. Everything you do, it will have an interesting piece that would catch your interest. Even though it is difficult but you’ll still enjoy it. We went to Kirirom national park in Kompong Speu for our first trip. I love to see the pine trees, who will be my guards. I love to share my fear and my problems with nature. I love to explore what the world has created. What caught my attention the most on the first trip is standing on top of the cliff in the morning seeing the brightness of the sunrise. While standing on top of the cliff, I saw millions of Hornbills. It was my first time to stand on top of a high place and seeing the hornbills. It made me feel like I’m standing in heaven.

          For my own observation, I think the first trip is just to enjoy the view of nature. There wasn’t any fear or difficulty for me. For the second trip, it was the most challenging trip for me. There are still pieces in the corners that always show the beauty of those challenges. On the way to Mondulkiri, I saw many trees on top of the hills. Nothing can describe the scenery of that moment, I will never get tired of it. I’ve never seen the beauty of Cambodia like this before. Tree on the grassy hills. Cold air freezing my heart, which I will remember this moment forever.

       Life has many flavors: sour, sweet, bitter and salty. If you always taste the same flavors that are not called “life”. After the beauty of the scenery, you will see what’s behind the scenes. Nature taught me not to judge the cover. Nature is beautiful, but those beauties are beyond my expectations. I saw leeches, worms, and caterpillars which are my biggest fear. It might be great for those who aren’t afraid of it. If I could, I would fly away at that moment. If there will be Outdoor Leadership next round, I will not join it again, but I will still fight through it. I tried to push myself from that situation. What I’m proud of the most is even if I’m scared of leeches but friends will always be there for me. We walk on the same path so we need to collaborate. Teamwork makes the dream works. They help me, they cheer me up and they give me warmth. Even my facilitators, they played the role of being my parents. They calm me down and we made it. I have to deal with it. If I still cry, who will make it? No one, so I need to fight through. If I still cry, Will the leeches go away? No, it won’t. I need to deal with it.

       This exploration taught me a lot. It taught me to be strong, to fight with fear to get new experiences, to be independent, even though we have a lot of supporters, but we still need to push ourselves. It taught me to be a leader, who can lead myself. I’m so proud of myself. Trekking helps me a lot with my life. It helps me to be stronger and to get used to it. It made my life much easier.

        In this exploration, I also learned about leadership roles. There are four leadership roles which are designated leader, active follower, peer leader, and self leader. I think I played a really great job as a self leader. I’m so proud of myself that I can lead myself to fight through that situation. I have never done that before. I will keep doing it because no one will help me forever beside myself. For an active follower, I’ve been following what people said and focus on where they are going. If I’m not focused, I’ll get lost, but because of being an active follower we didn’t make any trouble. Being a peer leader is really important for me, we can’t do something alone. We need partners to get things done and sometimes we also need to be a leader. Showing ideas can also be a leader. People have different ideas, we can’t judge other people’s idea and we also can’t judge our idea. We have to show our ideas, it might be right or wrong, but expressing your idea is better than not to.

      Anyway, this trip is challenging, but I also met my goal. I’ve always wanted to see and touch the elephant. I achieved my goal. I felt uncomfortable, but I love it. I fed the elephant and it’s so kind. Even though the elephant looks really big but it’s not aggressive. When I first saw it, I’m also afraid of it. After giving bananas to it, I felt comfortable with it. Another goal that I met was when I walk on the grassy area. I love walking in that kind of area. It’s kind of relief, I can walk like that all day long. One more interesting thing is that while walking there was a little rain which makes me feel so fresh. It was an amazing experience.

What is Ecotourism exploration?

          In this exploration, we are planning to create an Ecotourism site located in Preah Vihear province Cambodia. Which on the lop to Angkor Wat temple and Sombor Prey Kok temples. We want to create an Ecotourism site over there because in that area. Some people are cutting down trees and hunted wildlife animals. We don’t want to see that, so if we create an ecotourism site over there. We will save our natural resources. Most people might know, cutting down the tree is illegal. If they see a lot of tourists or people visiting the forest. They are guilt to cut down the trees. This exploration is also to find jobs for the community. Once there are tourists go to visit our place. They need to charge. 

       Creating an Ecotourism site is not easy. We need data, to know the interest of the tourists. If there is no one interested and not willing to go. How can we create it? We got to do the survey with the tourists to know their interests. Here is the data. There are 82.6% of tourists that willing to go. However, 11.1% are not sure and 6.3% are not willing to go.

          We also went to Chambok which located in Kompong Speu province Cambodia. Chambok is also protecting natural resources by creating the Ecotourism site. We went there to interview the tour guide and get to know what we need to do to create an Ecotourism site.

       If you are going to an Ecotourism site, you will have some activities with the villagers, explore the village and trekking. Here are some activities that Chambok Ecotourism site have provided:

       After getting some ideas from Chambok. We prepared all the information together both the data from the tourists and Chambok, for the villagers in Preah Vihear province to give them some idea of what is Ecotourism. We want them to know what is Ecotourism. They are living in the countryside, so they might not know what is Ecotourism. We need to let them know how many percents of the tourists will come to visit their community. After doing the presentation to them. We start to interview them if they let us create an ecotourism site over there or not. If they do not allow how can we create the ecotourism site in their community? After interviewing, every single one of them agrees with the idea of creating an Ecotourism site in their community. They really want us to create an Ecotourism site over there because they can make money and protecting forests.

              Robotic is an exploration that related to coding and finding the idea of helping to solve the problem. This theme for this year is about space (into orbit). We have to code the robots to complete the mission while finding the solution to help the astronauts. We also have competition in Singapore, which is the First Lego League.

         My team chose stress as a problem with our theme. One of the problems that astronauts faced the most is stress. Stress does not only happen in space or on the astronaut. It’s also happening on earth. Why we chose stress as our main problem? Stress is a response of the body as it adapts to hostile environments. The “feelings” are produced by the central nervous system working closely with our immune system.  Stress is a serious mental health problem. It can lead us to depression and suicide.

          The cause of stress in space is a hostile environment, loneliness, and uncomfortable sleeping. We found out that, there are 93% of the astronaut are facing stress problems. After finding solutions to our problems. We went to a competition in Singapore. We presented our project really well to the judges. Our team did a really great job. We have the spirit of collaboration. We got to go to the final pitch. We didn’t make it but we did get a new experience.

      Experience is playing a big role in this exploration. I got to learn how to code and to create new innovative ideas. One more thing is about spending time with the host family and another country. When I went to Singapore, I stayed with my host family. It’s my first time of staying with strange people that I never knew. Two of my friends who were also staying with me in that host family. They treated us as their children. They are really kind. They provided everything, we need. Not only that, but they also bring us to visit many places in Singapore. We the luckiest one, who got this host family. It was really fun with great experiences.

           This Round 2, my exploration is about Precious Plastic Machine. In this exploration, we are trying to create machines that can recycle plastic because there are so many plastics that have been used. We have been researching on some machines such as shredder machines, injection machines, compression machines, and extrusion machines. Our exploration we just only want to make a shredder machine and injection machine.

             We also went to Siam Reap to Naga Earth and Rehash Trash. We visited Naga earth to see their shredder machine and injection machine. To Rehash trash, we went there to know what were they doing and how they recycle plastic bags.

Naga earth

           Naga Earth is a really interesting organization. Naga means Protecting so this organization is to protect Cambodia and the world. This organization, they’ve been made the wash hand soap, Biodiesel and recycle paper. They also have the shredder machine and injection machine. We also get to learn many things from this organization.

           They decide to create the Biodiesel because they want to recycle the old cooking oil. As you all know that after we used the cooking oil, we can not use it anymore. If you use it again, we will some diseases because we eat the food that cooks by old cooking oil. If we left the old cooking oil, it will seep through the ground then flow to our ocean and kill marine life. If we take all those used cooking oils to make Biodiesel, our environment will not be harmful because Biodiesel didn’t harm our environment.

             Making soap, it’s just a part of their business. Those soap are also made from used cooking oil plus some more materials. After that, they also give out some soap to some government schools in Cambodia.  

            We also got a chance to make some papers at Naga earth. Those papers are made from recycling paper and corn starch. They made paper because they want to recycle paper and stop cutting down the tree for making paper. There are 35% of reducing paper from cutting the tree. After made some paper, we also get to learn how to paint them with silkscreen.  

Rehash Trash

           Rehash Trash is a kind of organization and shop that recycles plastic bags into some products. We went there to see what product we can make out of plastic and we got to learn how to make some products. There are so many prodcut that can be made out of plastic bags such as basket, key chain, bags and more. This organization is really helpful to our world because they recycle plastic bags into the product which will save our environment.

               Rehash Trash is not only making product and sell but they also help old women to have jobs. Some old women in Siam Reap, they are working in Rehash trash. Most of the old people in Cambodia didn’t have jobs but after Rehash Trash has been created they have jobs to do and get some money to sustain their family. It does not only help the plastic pollution problem but it helps the poverty in Cambodia. 

How it impact me? How you impact your country?

         These two trips were impact me a lot of things. When I went to Naga earth, one thing that it was impact me is recycle paper. Making biofuel and washing hand soap, it’s kind of hard because we need some machines to make them. Recycle paper is easy because we didn’t need machines. We just need used paper, cornstarch, water and some of the materials. It impacted me to teach my friends and my community to recycle paper. I want to teach them how to recycle paper because it’s apart of reducing paper from cutting down the tree.

          After went to Rehash Trash, I know how to make some of the products.  It impacted me to teach my friends to know how to make products from plastic bags and reduce using plastic bags. I want to teach them because plastic is everywhere. Rehash trash is a small shop but if I teach my friends, my friends will teach other people, others teach others, together, we will reduce some plastic bags from going to the landfill.

          After we came back to our school, we also think about the idea of teaching our friends to make paper and some products from plastic bags. Our exploration group will be the facilitators who teach them to make paper and plastic products. We start to teach them on Wednesday which is in the creative arts class.

          I really love this exploration because we are trying to eliminate plastic from our planet. We are trying to research and finding some products and machines that can recycle plastic. We went on trip to see what were some of the ideas that we can help our environment. After that, we found out that we can reuse plastic bags to make some products. Not only that we also found out how to recycle paper to reduce cutting down the tree. I think this project is really helping our country to be more developed. As I am a change agent, I need to know how can I stop using the weapon to destroy my country and my planet.

             In Liger Leadership Academy, we also have some explorations. Exploration is a seven weeks project. This exploration is really important for our school, not only for our school but also important for our environment. This exploration was created by one of our facilitators. It was created because there are so many plastics that have been used in Liger. This exploration of stops using plastic. In these seven weeks, we’ve been collecting all the trash around our school and do a survey on how many plastics get in Liger in one day. Now we are trying to eliminate plastic straws, Styrofoam, and cups. We also find some products that can replace plastics. The product, that we found to replace plastics are mental boxes, metal straw, stainless steel water bottles or cups. We also went on a trip to get some more information about other products. There are two places that we have been visited and interview.

 Better U

             Better U is a cafe located in AEON Mall 2. This cafe a great place from other cafes because they use grass straw instead of a plastic straw. We got to interview them about the grass straw. These grass straws made in Cambodia and it does not affect the environment. They started to use grass straw because they help to save our environment.

Only One Planet

             For only one planet, this company is selling some biodegradable products. That company is really good. They are not only selling biodegradable products but they also sell stainless steel products such as water bottles, cups, and mental straw.

              After interviewing them, we also bought some products such as bags and mental straws for some of our students. Then we interview our students for those who got the product. After they use those products. Most of them said those products were really good. After getting all this data, we bought more products for all our students and staff.
             After these seven weeks, we have a Sharation about our project. We get to share our exploration’s idea for people that come to join our Sharation, for them to know how plastics affect our environment. We do that because we want to spread our idea to all people in Cambodia because some people come from outside Liger.

 Pixar pitch for our Sharation

Once upon a time, a new product was invented to help makes people life easier and it was single-use plastic.

Every day, people started to use it and it became well known all around the world that makes packaging and packing a lot easier.

One day, researchers and scientists found out about how plastic can pollute the environment, our planet and mainly it, affect us, humans. They had tried to persuade people to think about the problems but unfortunately, they still use plastic because it’s easy to use and convenient for them.

Because of that, The long terms plastic problems started to spread all over the world affecting Cambodia along the way.

Because of that, an exploration was created by a group of Liger’s students to solve the single-use plastic problems in  Liger community.

Until Finally, they launch a campaign, giving out stainless steel straws and nylon bags to everyone in the Liger family to reduce the single-use plastic.

Reflection

I really love this exploration because it saving our environment. As you all know plastic is really bad for our environment. If we stop using it, it gonna be great for our environment. Using plastic is like using poison to kill yourself. Nowadays there are so many plastics in Cambodia. That plastic ended up in the ocean. All the marine life was living in the trash ocean. Even it affects marine life but one day it also affects our life. Our future plan, we are not trying to eliminate in Liger but we also want all Cambodia people to stop using plastics and we want Liger students the one who change agent. The one who stops the idea of using plastic in Cambodia is Liger.

“Some people just only think what easy for them, but they don’t even think about the environment and other”