Online GW talk and Biodiversity Loss talk for IRAS (Nov)

Ms Zhuang Jiayang, Principal Data Management Officer in Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), invited Earth Society to conduct 2 online Environment Talks for their staffs during their IRAS Green Week event. IRAS organized a Green Week from 09 Nov to 13 Nov to promote environmental awareness and eco-friendly life style, such as Bring your own container, reduce plastic usage etc. This is the 3^rd year IRAS invited us to conduct talks for their staffs.

Earth Society supported their Green Week event by conducting 2 online talks for the staffs. We conduct a Global Warming Zoom talk for 30 staffs on 09 Nov. We conducted another Biodiversity Loss/ Environmental Conservation talk for 40 staffs on 13 Nov. Both talks are conducted from 12 pm to 1 pm.

In the Biodiversity Loss talk, we presented on Overfishing in our Oceans, Deforestation on our Land, Green House Gas emissions in our Atmosphere, Loss in Biodiversity and Factory farming. We also touched on issues such as No Shark fin, reduce Factory farming, Veggie days and UNEP ‘Planetary Health Diet’. We introduced various environmental heros to the participants. We introduced Sea Shepherd (protect the Ocean), Sharksavers (protect the Sharks), Dr Jane Goodall (protect the Rainforest) and Dr Jame Hansen (reduce Global Warming) in the talk. IRAS officers listen attentively to the talk and many staffs requested us to share our slides with them after the talk.

IRAS recorded the 2 Zoom talks and placed it in their website so that staffs who could not attend the online talks could watch and benefit from the talks after the event.

Feedback for Global Warming:Talk

Eye-opening talk that makes clear the realities of our actions. I didn’t realise the amount of water and trees used to produce the meat that we eat. Good session packed with loads of useful information on the steps we can all take to do better. Thank you!  - Yeo You Liang, Senior Tax Auditor, IRAS

The talk was informative with well-organised content. The speaker was engaging and explained the various concepts well. Even if we haven’t done so before, its never too late to start and take steps in the right direction. – Joseph, IRAS staff

Feedback for Biodiversity Loss Talk:

Good intro to raise awareness on the impact of our daily actions on our environment. Appreciated the quick tips given by speaker. It gave everyone an opportunity to start small in saving the environment (e.g. meatless Monday concept) I tried it out and I hope to sustain the weekly “ritual”. Peer support from the Green Ambassador community helped!  -  Hui Yan, IRAS staff.

It was a very informative talk to learn facts on how our current way of living is severely draining the Earth’s resources in an irreversible way. The speakers’ tips are constantly on my mind now and I have started making some small personal changes e.g. avoid eating large fishes, reduce usage of plastics whenever possible etc. Lifestyle changes are always hard so hopefully I can sustain these practices!
-  Zhuang Jiayang, Principal Data Management Officer, IRAS 

Online GW talk for UWCSEA Dover (Nov)

Ms Arushi Sivasankar, a student from United World College of South East Asia Dover, invited Earth Society to conduct a Global Warming talk for her student group on 06 Nov.,

Ms Arushi Sivasankar belongs to a student group ‘Biosverde’. She informed that UWCSEA has Veggie Wednesday in the school and they are very interested in knowing the difference it would make,

On 06 Nov, Earth Society joined in the online Zoom meeting at 12.30 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for 30 youths from 12.45 pm to 1.40 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). We also spoke about the environmental benefits of supporting Veggie days. The youths listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Ms Arushi Sivasankar helped to gather some feedback from the participants and send the feedback to us via email.

Feedback from Students

- I found Earth Society’s presentation extremely engaging, the combination of statistics with visuals made it very interesting.

- The presentation was very informative and factual, with many statistics to illustrate the effects of Climate Change.

- The presentation was very in depth about the effects of Climate Change all over the world. It would be interesting to have more of an emphasis on how Climate Change is affecting Singapore specifically. This would help combat the problem of us students feeling detached from the climate crisis (which we find to be quite a pervasive sentiment here).

Online GW talk for Katong School (Nov)

Ms Korinn Peh, a teacher in Katong School, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Zoom workshop for the school cohort on 02 Nov.

On 02 Nov, Earth Society hosted a Zoom meeting at 12.20 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk (primary version) for 20 teachers and 200 students from 12.30 pm to 1 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). Teachers and students listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Ms Korinn Peh helped to gather some feedback from the teachers and send the feedback to us via email.

Feedback from Teachers

- Videos and examples used make students understand better.

- Very informative. Make it easier and simpler for lower primary students to understand.

Ecosperity Webinar (Oct)

Ecosperity team send an email invitation for Earth Society members to participate in their “Biodiversity: An Essential Service “ live webinar held on 19 Oct.

Speakers invited for the webinar included:

- Dr Daniel Friess, Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 

- Dr Sonja Luz, Director of Conservation, Research & Veterinary Services at Wildlife Reserves Singapore and 

- Dr Andie Ang, President of the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore),

On 19 Oct, Earth Society member participate in the webinar from 5.30 pm to 7 pm to listen to the presentations and join in the discussions after the presentation.

Topics discussed included:

- How a healthy natural environment has strengthened the economic performance and liveability of Singapore;

- How quantifying the economic and societal values of biodiversity can help incorporate nature into urban planning; and

- Actionable steps that everyone can take to help conserve nature

We raised the question of reducing meat consumption and supporting Meatless/ Veggie days as a step that everyone can take to help conserve Nature.

The speakers were supportive of reducing meat consumption to reduce deforestation and conserve the biodiversity of the planet. The participants discussed actively on Zoom Chat on ways to reduce meat consumption such as creating meat tax and subsidizing plant-based diet. Participants also suggested recommending documentaries such as “Cowspiracy”, “What the Health’, “Game changer” to others to encourage them to reduce meat consumption.

We are glad that the speakers and participants of the webinar are aware of the detrimental impact of the animal industry on the environment. We hope the environmental people will be more vocal about encouraging people to reduce meat consumption, support veggie days to protect the Biodiversity of the planet and conserve the natural resources in the world.

Online GW talk for Saint Gobain Pte Ltd (Oct)

Ms Desy Ang, from Saint Gobain (Sg) Pte Ltd, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Global Warming talk for their staffs on 13 Oct. As this is the first time a company used Microsoft Teams platform to invite us, we arranged with the company to have a trial test before the actual presentation itself.

On 13 Oct, Earth Society team joined Ms Desy Ang online via Microsoft Teams at 9.45 am. By 10 am, 20 Saint Gobain staffs joined in the platform to attend the talk.

We conducted a Global Warming talk for Saint Gobain staffs from 10 am to 11 am. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). The staffs listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Ms Desy sent us some feedbacks for the talk:

“Each and every one can contribute to the sustainability of our planet. This talk is a good reminder to all of us.”

“I feel more motivated to have a balance diet as suggested by Health Promotion Board.”

Online GW talk for Overseas Family School (Aug)

Mr Shaurya Gandhi, Climate change club leader in Overseas Family School, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Zoom workshop for the students on 31 Aug.

On 31 Aug, Earth Society joined in the online Zoom meeting at 5.15 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for about 20 youths from 5.25 pm to 5.50 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). The youths listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Mr Shaurya Gandhi helped to gather some feedback from the participants and send the feedback to us via email.

Feedback from Students

The talk was really helpful for my club as it made students realise the importance of reducing their carbon footprint however they can. Even though the talk was short due to time constraints, it was very detailed. The speaker was really nice and polite, He gave a great presentation in a short notice of only 3-4 days and helped encourage all the students in my club to do better.  - Shaurya Gandhi, Climate Change Club Leader

The facts provided in the talk were really engaging and inspired me to an extent to reduce my overall carbon footprint and play my role in this, The speaker sounded really interested in what he was doing and motivated me to do something for my school. - Student, Overseas Family School

One thing I really liked about the talk was Meatless Monday's as the facts relating to it really interested me and I thought that I could play my part in this by just creating a small change in my diet pattern. The speaker was very motivating.  – Student, Overseas Family School

Online GW talk for Galmon Pte Ltd (Aug)

Mr Ivan Lim, Assist Manager (After-sales product support Department), in Galmon Pte Ltd, invited Earth Society to conduct a 2 Global Warming talks (1 Chinese talk and 1 English talk) for their staffs on 19 Aug.

On 19 Aug, Earth Society team joined Mr Ivan Lim online via Zoom at 9 am. By 9.15 am, 24 Galmon staffs joined in the platform to attend the talk.

We conducted a Chinese Global Warming talk for 24 Galmon staffs from 9.15 am to 10.15 am. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). The staffs listened attentively to the talk. After the talk, a Galmon staff gave a short Chinese briefing on the COVID-19 measures for the company.

At 10.30 am, we conducted an English Global Warming talk for another batch of staffs. 26 Galmon staffs joined us online for the English presentation. We completed the presentation at 11.30 am.

After the talk, Mr Ivan Lim sent us an email to comment on the talks: “It was a great presentation. The message are well conversed and the slides / videos are excellent.”

Feedback from staffs:

- Now we know what carbon footprint is.

- Support Health Promotion Board “My Healthy Plate”

- Support Meatless Monday to help the planet.

- Thanks Galmon Safety Team for organising the great talk !

Eco-Comics Project with Temasek Polytechnic Students (May to Aug)

 From May to Jun, 6 groups of students from Temasek Polytechnic wrote to Earth Society to express interest to work with Earth Society on a project in their Global Citizenship and Community Development (GCCD) module. The student groups are interested to create Eco-comics, Eco-audio books etc to raise awareness on how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle in Singapore.

We corresponded with the students and placed forward the idea of reducing meat consumption, supporting meatless Mondays as a way of Eco-living.

Environ-man, a group of students, took up the idea and work with us for 2 months to create 6 comic strips, introducing Meatless Mondays to the readers.

The following are the Comics they created: (Click on the Comic to view in "Full Screen" mode)

At the end of the project, Environ-man’s team leader, Mr Mohaamed Akram, commented :

“Thank you for allowing us to work with Earth Society. Our group is extremely grateful to Earth Society for gaining this opportunity for our project. We are glad that you appreciate our comics. Our group had fun and learnt a lot of new things such as Meatless Monday and different ways of environmental conservation. “

We are glad that many students are now taking on Eco-friendly projects to play a part in protecting the environment. We hope more students join in the environmental movement to protect the Earth and create a sustainable future for all to live in.

Online GW talk for NTU Ideathon (Jun)

Ms Han Xiao, Business Development Manager at NTU Welfare Service Club, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Zoom workshop for their “Impact through Inspiration “ Ideathon event in Jun 2020.

The Ideathon event aimed to involve youths in a dialogue to discuss on environmental sustainability and conceive solutions to environmental problems through team work and innovation. The organizer arranged a series of online training workshops for youth participants from 06 to 12 Jun 2020 for the event. Participating organizations included Zero Waste Singapore, NEA, Earth Society, Halogen Foundation Singapore etc.

On 10 Jun, Earth Society joined in the online Zoom meeting at 2.15 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for about 50 youths from 2.15 pm to 3.15 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). The youths listened attentively and asked many questions during the Q&A session after the talk.

During a poll after the talk, 65% of the youths showed that they are optimistic that we can fight Climate change and 78% of the youths showed support for Meatless Mondays to fight Climate change.

After the event, Ms Han Xiao helped to compile some feedback from the participants and send to us via email.

Feedback from participants

1) On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the talk?

(1-not good, 5-Very good.)

Majority of the participants rated the talk 4 (~45%) with the next top rating being 5 (~21%)

2) What did you learn from the talk?

- our impact as a community on the environment

- climate change is an imminent problem that needs to be solved

- the severity of global warming

- the meat production industry has grave environmental consequences

- the importance of a plant-based diet

- the difficulty in managing climate change/ CO2 emissions

3) What will you do to reduce Global Warming?

- be more mindful of the impact of my actions

- eat less meat, waste less food

- promote more plant-based diet

- watching my daily actions more closely to see if they negatively impact the environment

- reduce my carbon footprint

- switch off the aircon

- Influence my friends to reduce meat consumption

- use less water and engage in more sustainable buying habits

We are glad that more universities are organizing environmental workshops for their students. May the youths join in the environmental movement and help to make life-style changes to create a sustainable world.

Online GW talk for Neste Singapore Pte Ltd (Apr)

Mr Lim Kok Thye, an automation engineer in Neste Singapore, invited Earth Society to conduct a Global Warming talk for the staffs on 22 Apr. The talk was part of the Environmental Awareness program in the company.

Due to the COVID situation in Singapore, the company talk was changed to an Online presentation via Google Hangout. Mr Lim arranged with us to have an online trial to check on the feasibility of conducting the talk online. The trial was successful and we were all set to conduct the first Online Global Warming talk for a company.  

On 22 Apr, Earth Society team joined Mr Lim online via Google Hangout at 9.50 am.

By 10 am, 120 Neste staffs had joined in the platform to attend the talk !!

We conduct a Global Warming talk for Neste staffs from 10 am to 11 am.

We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs).

The staffs listened attentively to the talk and participated actively in the Q n A after the talk. Mr Lim then conducted a 15 mins Quiz with the staffs on the topic discussed.

The online session ended on 11.30 am.

After the event, Mr Lim helped to compile some feedback from the staffs and send to us via email.

Feedback from Staffs

- Great and meaningful session! This topic discuss on the survival of human beings.

- Thanks for enlightening us or at least opening our eyes to the real happenings in the World.

- Good  presentation,  very informative and I now understand how human behaviour impact the earth.

- It was really interesting and engaging. Keep up the good work!

This is the first time Earth Society conducted the Global Warming talk Online.

We are glad that the session is successful. It opens up a new way for us to spread Environmental information without being physically present.

Livestream Water Conservation talk @ Stamford and CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary (Mar)

To commemorate 2020 World Water Day (WWD), Mdm Jackie Chua, a teacher in Stamford Primary, invited Earth Society to conduct a “Water Conservation” Assembly for the school cohort on 11 Mar. This is the 3^th time Stamford Primary invited us to speak to their students.

Due to the COVID situation in Singapore, the Assembly talk was changed to a talk for a small group of students in the Computer room with the school technical team video-recording the talk and live-streaming it to the school cohort. The talk was projected onto the projector screen of each classroom and the students listened to the talk in the classrooms.

On 11 Mar, Earth Society team reached Stamford Primary at 7.15 am. Mdm Jackie Chua escorted us to the Computer room where the ICT team set up a video camera to record and live-stream the presentation.

We conducted a “Water Conservation” talk for the school cohort from 7.30 am to 8 am. We presented on “Water and Climate change”, showing United Nation’s 2020 WWD message that Climate change is causing more droughts and floods in the world. We also showed Global water shortage, and shared PUB’s 5 tips to save 140 litres of water at Home.

We also shared that the bulk of a person’s daily water usage is embedded in the food we eat. United Nations shows that a person drinks 2 to 4 litres of water a day, uses about 150 litres of water at home a day, but ‘eats’ 2000 to 5000 litres of water a day. (embedded in the food that we eat.) It takes 200 litres of water to produce 1 kg of veggies, but 15,400 litres of water to produce 1 kg of Beef. By reducing meat consumption, we can save 1000 litres of water a day. By supporting 1 meatless day, we can save 1600 litres of water that day.(equivalent to saving 10 days of water usage at home.)

Mrs Jennifer Kwek, Level Head Science in CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary, invited Earth Society to conduct a “Water Conservation” Assembly for the school cohort on 25 Mar. This is the 3^th time CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary invited us to speak to their students.

Due to the COVID situation, the Assembly talk was changed to a presentation in the Science Lab with the school technical team video-recording the talk and live-streaming it to the school cohort.

On 25 Mar, Earth Society team arrived in CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary at 12.15 pm. Mrs Jennifer Kwek escorted us to the Science Lab where the ICT team video recorded the talk. We conducted a ‘Water Conservation” talk (similar to the above talk) to the school cohort from 12.35 pm to 1.05 pm. The students watched the live-streamed presentation in their respective classrooms.

After the talk, Mrs Jennifer Kwek helped us to compile some feedbacks from the teachers and students who watched the talk in the classrooms.

Teachers’ feedback:

Feedback from Stamford Primary’s teachers:
- very informative and educational.
- videos and language used in the ppt is suitable for primary students to understand.
- duration is a little long for students to stay focus.

Feedback from CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary’s teacher:
Please send us some of the video links that are showed during the presentation. They are useful for teachers to follow-up or to upload for further reference in Google in classrooms. Content is useful for P6 students.

Students’ feedback:

The content of the talk was very educational and helped raised my awareness. I appreciated the many facts provided to promote saving water which were interesting, yet easy to understand.  

- Natalie Tong, Student, CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary 

The videos were interesting and there was a lot of info and facts about water. One video tells us how meat uses more water to produce than vegetables. The videos also show us how to save water. 
– Charleen Boon, Student, CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary

There was a lot of content and it was easy to understand. Plus, the video made it more entertaining. It motivated me to start saving water and adopt Meatless Monday. – Hannah Tang, Student, CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary

Assembly talk @ Zhong Hua and Clementi Primary (Jan)

Mdm Joan Tan, Teacher-in-charge of Environmental Education in Zhong Hua Primary, invited Earth Society to conduct an Assembly talk for the school cohort on 21 Jan. This is the 4^th time Zhong Hua Primary invited us to speak to their students.

On 21 Jan, Earth Society team reached Zhong Hua Primary at 7.20 am. We conducted an Environmental Conservation Assembly talk for P1 to P6 students from 7.35 am to 8.05 am. We presented on Overfishing in our Oceans, Deforestation on our Land, Green House Gas emissions in our Atmosphere, Loss in Biodiversity and Factory farming. We also touched on issues such as No Shark fin, reduce Factory farming, Veggie days and Ways to save Water.

The students and teachers listened attentively to the talk.

Ms Wang Jie Hui, Head of Department CCE in Clementi Primary, invited Earth Society to conduct an Assembly talk for the upper primary students on 21 Jan.

On 21 Jan, Earth Society team reached Clementi Primary at 12.45 pm. We conducted a Global Warming Assembly talk for the P4 to P6 students from 1 pm to 1.30 pm. Students and teachers listened attentively to the talk. After the talk, Ms Wang Jie Hui helped us to compile some feedbacks from the teachers and emailed us the feedbacks.

Teachers’ feedback:

Engaging presentation with many ideas covered within the given time. The videos were interesting and provided good visual impact on the pupils so that they can really picture what is going on in the World around them.

– Ms Irene Lm, Teacher, Clementi Primary

Informative for the pupils and I felt that the speaker could focus the pupils attention to the details and objectives of the talk. Good ! - Ms Yan Ru, Teacher, Clementi Primary

Interesting facts about Global Warming. A bit packed - may be too much info for primary school children to digest. But there will be follow-up lessons, so it should be alright.. - Mr Matthew Lim, Teacher, Clementi Primary

Company talk @ NEA Central (Jan)

Mr Haizad Jalal, Executive (Sanitation – Jalan Besar GRC) in National Environment Agency, invited Earth Society to conduct a company lunch talk for their staffs on 16 Jan.

On 16 Jan, Earth Society team reached NEA Central Regional Office at 12.45 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for 40 staffs from 1 pm to 2 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs). We also touched on issues such as Deforestation, world hunger and water shortage.

When we informed that Climate change can also increase vector-borne disease as mosquitoes can now spread across the globe due to warmer climates, many NEA officers nod their head in agreement.

We have an interactive presentation with NEA staffs. Many staffs came forward to get more info on Climate change after the talk.

GW talk @ Kampung Senang Student Care (Jan)

Ms Goh Pin Pin, Centre Supervisor of Kampung Senang Student Care Centre (Tampines), invited Earth Society to conduct a Global Warming talk for the students on 03 Jan.

On 03 Jan, Earth Society team reached Kampung Senang Student Care Centre at 1.45 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for 50 primary school students from 2 pm to 3 pm. We presented on the effects of Climate change on the world and showcased various solutions that scientists recommended to curb climate change. (Plant trees, Eat less meat, Green energy and 3Rs).

The students listened attentively to the talk and actively participated in the Quiz after the talk.

Teacher’s feedback:

Very informative talk, the children showed interest in the presentation. Thank you!

- Ms Goh Pin Pin, Centre Supervisor, Kampung Senang Student Care Centre