The Beach School in Port Dickson started with something simple: a family that loved the sea and wanted to protect it. Over time, Kent Leong and his wife turned their weekend cleanups and curiosity about marine life into a community education initiative rooted in nature-based learning. Now, The Beach School invites people of all ages to explore, discover, and build a more mindful relationship with the coastline. We speak to Kent about how the school works, what it stands for, and why coastal education feels so urgent now.


Image Credit: The Beach School

The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thebeachschool.net/">Beach School</a> in Port Dickson started with something simple: a family that loved the sea and wanted to protect it. Over time, Kent Leong and his wife turned their weekend cleanups and curiosity about marine life into a community education initiative rooted in nature-based learning. Now, The Beach School invites people of all ages to explore, discover, and build a more mindful relationship with the coastline. We speak to Kent about how the school works, what it stands for, and why coastal education feels so urgent now. Image Credit: The Beach School

Climate change, ferocious weather and ‘the haze’ are now part our everyday lives. How are our lifestyles connected to them, and what can we do about it? What does the economy have to do with it? Earth Matters engages with activists and experts to explore our changing relationship with the planet that we only borrow from our children.

Earth Matters

Nature-Based Learning with The Beach School

Malaysia’s coral reefs are in trouble, and the numbers are getting harder to ignore. Reef Check Malaysia’s latest survey shows that live coral cover has fallen again, marking the third straight year of decline. But what does that actually mean for our oceans, our livelihoods, and our future? We speak to Julian Hyde, the CEO of Reef Check Malaysia, to unpack the findings of their 2025 Annual Survey, and to explore why a major new global agreement, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, also known as the BBNJ or High Seas Treaty, matters for Malaysia, and the wider ocean.


Image Credit: Reef Check Malaysia

Malaysia’s coral reefs are in trouble, and the numbers are getting harder to ignore. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.reefcheck.org.my/">Reef Check Malaysia</a>’s latest survey shows that live coral cover has fallen again, marking the third straight year of decline. But what does that actually mean for our oceans, our livelihoods, and our future? We speak to Julian Hyde, the CEO of Reef Check Malaysia, to unpack the findings of their <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://reefcheck.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Annual-Survey-Report.pdf">2025 Annual Survey</a>, and to explore why a major new global agreement, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, also known as the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en">BBNJ</a> or High Seas Treaty, matters for Malaysia, and the wider ocean. Image Credit: Reef Check Malaysia

Malaysia Loses 47,000 Football Fields of Coral

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is the show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us. Every month, we team up with the good folks at Sunda Shelves, an independent bookstore with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads. For this month's episode, we speak to Su Mei Toh, a freelance researcher and advisor at Wild Asia. Together with co-host Surin Suksuwan, the co-founder of Sunda Shelves, Su Mei joins us to share more about a selection of books that range from environmental classics and Indigenous knowledge, to science writing and field guides rooted in Malaysia.


Books discussed on this episode include:

1. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

2. Soil and Soul by Alistair McIntosh

3. The Orang Asli and the Contest for Resources by Colin Nicholas

4. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

5. Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

6. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez

7. An Immense World by Ed Yong

8. Birds of Malaysia - Lim Kim Seng, Yong Ding Li & Lim Kim Chuah


9. Beyond Mimo's Tree by Abyan Junus-Nishizawa & Farah Landemaine


10. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Trees of Southeast Asia - Saw Leng Guan

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is the show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us. Every month, we team up with the good folks at Sunda Shelves, an independent bookstore with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads. For this month's episode, we speak to Su Mei Toh, a freelance researcher and advisor at Wild Asia. Together with co-host Surin Suksuwan, the co-founder of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://linktr.ee/sundashelves">Sunda Shelves</a>, Su Mei joins us to share more about a selection of books that range from environmental classics and Indigenous knowledge, to science writing and field guides rooted in Malaysia. Books discussed on this episode include:1. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson2. Soil and Soul by Alistair McIntosh3. The Orang Asli and the Contest for Resources by Colin Nicholas4. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer5.&nbsp;Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky6.&nbsp;Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez7. An Immense World by Ed Yong8. Birds of Malaysia - Lim Kim Seng, Yong Ding Li &amp; Lim Kim Chuah<ol start="9"><li>9. Beyond Mimo's Tree by Abyan Junus-Nishizawa &amp; Farah Landemaine</li><li>10. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Trees of Southeast Asia - Saw Leng Guan</li></ol>

Nature Reads: Books Rooted in Place and People

Waste management is something most of us only think about when the bins aren’t collected or when landfills overflow. But behind the scenes, big decisions are being made about how Malaysia deals with its waste, and one solution that keeps coming up is Waste-to-Energy, or WtE. It’s often described as a win-win. Burn the waste, generate electricity, reduce landfills. But critics say the reality is far more complicated, and that these projects come with serious environmental, financial, and health implications. Joining us is Yuenmei Wong, an independent researcher and consultant to UN agencies, who has spent years studying Waste-to-Energy projects in Malaysia and globally, and who has been actively involved in analysing and responding to current proposals here. We discuss the realities, misconceptions, and policy implications of WtE, and also ask the big question: if not this, then what?



Editor's note: The Bukit Nanas hazardous waste plant was modelled after the Danish hazardous waste treatment facility, Kommunekemi, located in Nyborg. It is therefore Danish, not Dutch, as mentioned in the interview. Our apologies for the error. 

Waste management is something most of us only think about when the bins aren’t collected or when landfills overflow. But behind the scenes, big decisions are being made about how Malaysia deals with its waste, and one solution that keeps coming up is Waste-to-Energy, or WtE. It’s often described as a win-win. Burn the waste, generate electricity, reduce landfills. But critics say the reality is far more complicated, and that these projects come with serious environmental, financial, and health implications. Joining us is Yuenmei Wong, an independent researcher and consultant to UN agencies, who has spent years studying Waste-to-Energy projects in Malaysia and globally, and who has been actively involved in analysing and responding to current proposals here. We discuss the realities, misconceptions, and policy implications of WtE, and also ask the big question: if not this, then what?Editor's note: The Bukit Nanas hazardous waste plant was modelled after the Danish hazardous waste treatment facility, Kommunekemi, located in Nyborg. It is therefore Danish, not Dutch, as mentioned in the interview. Our apologies for the error.

Nature-Based Learning with The Beach School

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