NAAEE 30u30 Grant awarded to Quek Yew Aun for Project Reef Spawn

Quek Yew Aun, co-founder of Reef Stakes®, was selected by The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) as a 2021 EE 30 Under 30 Changemaker. He will be amongst a cohort of twelve leaders from eight countries who will receive grants, professional development, and a community of support to boost their impact.

The Changemakers Grants program, implemented over 10 months, aims to build the capacity of EE 30 Under 30 as EE leaders through the program’s many learning and networking opportunities. This includes by implementing and adapting their individual projects and sharing experience and knowledge by forming a collaborative learning community. Grantees will also have the opportunity to present their work at NAAEE’s 50th international conference in October 2021.

These leaders will implement environmental education projects that build low-carbon economies, create resilient communities, and protect and restore ecosystems. They will address a wide range of sustainability issues, including reconnecting indigenous communities to traditional land-based practices, empowering youth to inform national climate policies, creating inclusive and culturally relevant E-STEM education kits for at-home learning, and much more.

Yew Aun contributes to this network of leaders by carrying out Project Reef Spawn. Working together with five (5) team members, the project aims to produce three (3) awareness videos on the marine environment in Malaysia and conduct a youth capacity development program. The capacity development program will target twelve (12) Malaysian youths between the ages of 18-25 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,” added participant manager, Natasha Zulaika.

Chow Mei Mei, educational content manager, added that the program will consist of four (4) 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 Reef Spawn Program are accepted from 4th to 23rd April through bit.ly/reefspawn-application. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by the 25th of April (Sunday) 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: https://naaee.org/news/newsroom/twelve-young-environmental-educators

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