(From left) Eco World Development Group Berhad chief operating officer Datuk Sundarajoo Somu, Voltron managing director Tan You Soon, Chang, Greentech Malaysia Alliances Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Woon Foo Wen and Eco Sanctuary Sdn Bhd general manager Ho Kwee Hong giving the thumbs up to the EcoFestival 2016.

IT WAS a fun and educational outing for visitors at EcoWorld Development Group Berhad (EcoWorld)’s EcoFestival 2016.

The second instalment was even bigger and brighter this year with the theme of “Light Up the World”.

Held in conjunction with World Environment Day 2016, the annual event was held on May 28 and 29 in EcoWorld galleries at Eco Terraces (Penang), Eco Majestic (Klang Valley) and Eco Botanic and Eco Spring and Eco Summer (Iskandar Malaysia).

Last weekend’s closing celebrations took place concurrently in Eco Sanctuary and Bukit Bintang City Centre (Klang Valley), Eco Meadows (Penang) and Eco Tropics (Iskandar Malaysia).

The celebrations saw the sales galleries and show villages of all eight participating EcoWorld projects offering various activities such as electric and recycled playgrounds, which showcased things like how human power could generate electricity and what we could do to reduce waste by recycling and upcycling.

Children were also not left out as they had fun making jar lamps and played with solar-powered toy cars at the interactive workshops to showcase the wonder of solar power.

Highlights in Eco Sanctuary included a 3D Projection Mapping show titled “A Beautiful Journey of Nature”.

Chang trying out the humanpowered blender.

This animated projection featured the changing seasons projected onto a backdrop made out of recycled materials.

Visitors to Eco Sanctuary were treated to free rides in a Tesla electric car brought in by GreenTech Malaysia and they also tried out the electric pedal-assisted bicycle, which will be launched in a few months.

EcoWorld president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said the group was delighted to be able to organise EcoFestival 2016 following last year’s successful event.

“This year, we have more educational activities on how to be more environmentally conscious.

“With a theme titled ‘Light Up the World’, we hope EcoFestival 2016 will not only be an enjoyable and enriching experience for our visitors but also raise public awareness to take environmental action where possible besides protecting planet Earth and nature,” he said.

He added that the group’s respect for nature was exemplified in the project of transplanting and preserving native trees at Eco Sanctuary.

“It costs us about 30% extra in landscaping costs to transplant the trees.

A 3D Projection Mapping show titled ‘A Beautiful Journey of Nature’. This animated projection features the changing seasons projected onto a backdrop made from recycled materials.

“We carefully marked the location of the trees and try to plant each as close to its original location as possible (after construction works).

“Houses are designed to maximise ventilation, and we chose roof tiles and paint that provide UV-protection,” he said, naming a few of Eco World’s green efforts.

Also on display were art installations using recycled materials.

The installations, created using used or rejected pallets from construction sites and EcoWorld supplier’s factory, are part of a collaboration with students from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and other institutions who were invited to take part in a competition.

The panel of judges for the competition were from EcoWorld, GreenTech Malaysia, Voltron and the public.

Chang said the group was excited to be able to provide these students with the opportunity and platform to encourage their creativity further by working with recycled materials and turning them into art.