Education Pillar
Sowing A Sense Of Responsibility To Preserve Our Planet For Future Generations.
With The Habitat Penang Hill established as an acclaimed rainforest discovery centre, we aim to serve as a hub to raise the quality, reach, and impact of environmental education for schoolchildren. In addition, we support targeted programmes to enhance public environmental awareness and effective community engagement.
The Habitat Foundation believes in the importance of ensuring that future generations have an affinity with nature and understand our dependence on the natural environment.
Working closely with The Habitat Penang Hill, the Foundation will provide resources to support environmental education both in and out of the classroom – an essential investment in sowing a sense of responsibility to preserve our living planet among future generations.
Our education programmes will focus on building capacity and supporting innovation in the area of Communication, Education and Public Awareness to benefit all sectors of society.
The Habitat Rainforest Explorer Programme
The Habitat Penang Hill is perfectly placed to serve as an outdoor classroom for children of all ages to learn about the natural world. Our nature trails and canopy walkways afford the opportunity for memorable encounters and unique perspectives of the plants and animals of the forest canopy as well as the forest floor.
To optimise the potential for learning in the forest environment, we are proud to offer our very own Habitat Rainforest Explorer Programme. This is a specially-designed resource for Scientific Field Exploration to complement the teaching and learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). There are five modules in the Programme and each has been customized for specific age groups, from ages 4 to 17.
Beginning with the first module which provides a companion for pre-schoolers exploring the forest habitat, the modules increase in depth and complexity as they invite students to learn about ecology and natural ecosystems.
The Habitat Penang Hill provides educators a safe yet stimulating setting for the outdoor component for topics covered in the school curricula. Learning becomes a breeze as students immerse themselves in the forest under the guidance of our Environmental Education team.
The Habitat Rainforest Explorer programme provides a springboard to engaging with more and more sophisticated topics as students continue to visit the rainforest over their school career.
Providing Funding
Apply For Education Grants
The Habitat Foundation Education Grants have been created to fund initiatives to build capacity and strengthen the practice of ecotourism and conservation in Malaysia. This grants program is motivated by the belief that travel to natural areas can be a driver for conservation and environmental awareness. Ecotourism can also be a way to generate sustainable financing for protecting nature and incomes for local businesses and households. However, for this objective to be achieved, we need to do better.
Programme Modules
Module 1 : My Rainforest
Kindergarten kids ages 4-5 years old. Children will be encouraged to describe their sensory experience with appropriate vocabulary and learn about the basic needs for animals to survive in their rainforest habitat.
Module 2 : LIFE IN THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST I
This encourage students to work scientifically by asking simple questions, identifying and classifying things they observe as they explore the rainforest.
Module 3 : LIFE IN THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST II
This is to encourage students to work scientifically by recognising that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways. To learn about the fascinating ways different organisms have adapted to live in the rainforest habitat.
Module 4 : PRACTICAL FIELDWORK – SOIL ECOLOGY
Students will identify the major producers (trees) contributing to the supply of soil organic matter and major decomposers (soil organisms) responsible for the cycling of nutrients and energy in the ecosystem.
Module 5 : PRACTICAL FIELD SURVEY – PLANT POPULATION ECOLOGY
Objective: To develop students’ skills in conducting field surveys to document abiotic components (soil pH, ambient temperature & humidity) and biotic components (population of plants) in a study plot.