Just in case you were thinking that my only loves in life were blogging and drinking, I hasten to inform you that yours in name here also a bit of a fancy for the environment – and the protection of it. One of the latest groups I’ve joined up to help with is this one ‘We Love The Tha Cheen’ River which is assisted by a close friend environmentalist buddy of mine and fellow blogger Nicky Somboonwit (OkNation Blog)
Just in case you had never heard of the Tha Cheen River, it goes through 4 provinces in the central region; Chainat, Suphanburi, Nakhorn Pathom and Samut Sakhorn. Quite funny in that the river actually has four different names, but it’s most frequently called Tha Chin – named after a small Chinese immigrant village in Samut Sakhorn. It once played a major social and economical factor. Just a few decades back before paved road were built, the Tha Cheen River was essential for those traveling from the likes of my town Suphanburi…. to Bangkok (the river also joins the Chao Phraya). Not just that of course, the river was important for the transportation of goods.
According to “We Love The Tha Cheen River”, one of Thailand’s major environmental problems is the sub-standard state of its rivers. Ever since the capital’s factories got the boot out of Bangkok quite a while back, the factories decided to relocate in neighbouring provinces…….. such as the banks of the Tha Cheen. Very appropriate indeed, as for tens of years, factories with a hundreds of tonnes of waste have been able to simply chuck it all in the river – a far better idea than having to pay for proper disposal. Only in very recent years have some folk actually joined hands and tried to do something about this barbaric behaviour committed by factories. Three of the worst offenders are textile dye, chemical and fertilizer companies.
One of those local organizations trying to get something done is the one I belong to ‘We Love The Tha Cheen River”. One of their major objectives is to educate the young about how villagers, but mostly factories are destroying the environment all for the sake of money. Well my friend Nimit, has invited me to some funky seminar at Mahidol University in a few days with a nights paid accommodation etc… so it’s only right that I help out with advertising the seminar in English a bit. Makes a difference from writing a book review I suppose!
So, what is this show all about? Well, Nimit has finally, after a year’s hard work put together a fine educational publication for use in every school in the vicinity of the Tha Cheen River, and this show is to both discuss this nice piece of work and of course how they can continue promoting public awareness. As you can see from the pics here, it’s really user-friendly reading for the kids. Teaches them about the history of the river, the most polluted parts, a map, the types of fish, surrounding agriculture, lots of facts and figures and of course…. how you can help preserve it. So, after Nimit has helped me with stacks of ideas for articles and blogs before, I thought I’d do my best by sticking this on the Internet. Thus showing, I’m actually doing something for the organization and not just drinking their friend alcohol.
If you fancy coming along to learn more about the preservation of the Tha Cheen and joining in the activities, you are most welcome to come along at 8-12am on 18 January at Mahidol University, Saraya Campus in Nakhorn Pathom. It will be presided over by the Asst Minister of the Environment.
