Youth Sustainability Boot Camp @ Science Center (Nov)

Mr Tan Yi Han, from GUILD (Ground-Up Innovation Labs for Development), invited Earth Society to attend their Youth Sustainability event at Science Center in Nov.

GUILD had partnered with Science Centre to run a Youth Sustainability Champion boot camp on the theme of Food Sustainability. The boot camp involved primary school students who have earned the Sustainability Young Scientist badge. Over a period of 4 weeks, GUILD aims to encourage the students to deep dive into food sustainability issues and come up with creative solutions.  

Mr Tan invited Earth Society to share with students about sustainable food choices including challenges/ needs and opportunities/ solutions. GUILD also invited other Eco-organizations such as Nature Society and Foodscape Collective to share their knowledge with the students.

On 25 Nov, Earth Society team reached Science Center at 1.20 pm. Mr Aston, from GUILD, was at the entrance to escort us to the Tinkering Lab where the event was held. We set up a learning station in a corner of the classroom from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm.

There were 4 learning stations in the classroom. Students (in groups of 4) would rotate among the 4 learning stations to learn about different aspects of Food sustainability The students had 15 mins to learn from each of the learning stations.

At our station, we used a laptop to present to the students on the amount of Green house gas emitted / the amount of water required to produce different types of food. We showed that producing meat was not sustainable and recommended to reduce meat consumption by half and support Meatless days to conserve the food and water resources on the planet.

Students paid full attention to the lesson and eagerly jotted down notes in their worksheet when listening to the presentation.   

We participated in the event again on 26 Nov and shared the knowledge with another batch of students.

We are glad that organizations such as GUILD are engaging primary school students on Sustainability issues. We hope the Eco-message will spread far and wide among the children in Singapore.

Ecosperity Webinar with Dr Jane Goodall (Sep)

In Sep, Ecosperity (Temasek Holdings) organized a Free online “Reconnect with Nature” Webinar. The Webinar included a 25 mins sharing by Dr Jane Goodall and a 30 mins Discussion/ Q&A with Panelists.

Dr Jane Goodall is a famous primatologist/ environmentalist and a UN Messenger of Peace. The Panelists included Ms Audrey Tan, Straits Times Environment Correspondent, and youth leaders such as Mr Tan Shi Zhou (NTU Earthlink President), Mr Ernst Kwok (JaneGoodall Institute Volunteer) and Raha Islam (Roots & Shoots Club Leader).

Ecosperity team send an email to invite Earth Society members to attend the online Webinar.

On 28 Sep, Earth Society members attended the Webinar from 8 pm to 9 pm.

In the Webinar, Dr Jane Goodall shared on the importance of connecting with Nature, conserving Nature to reduce Climate change and to reduce the risk of disease transmissions from animals to humans.

The Panelists discussed on how COVID-19 had impacted Singapore, how to develop sustainably and ways to collaborate among public, private and people sector to reconnect with Nature.

During the discussion session, Earth Society member suggested to reduce meat consumption, support Meatless days to reduce deforestation and conserve the world’s food and water resources. Mr Tan Shi Zhou (NTU Earthlink President) informed that NTU Earthlink had embarked on a Meatless Monday Campaign in the campus this year to encourage students and stall owners to take on plant-based meals. NTU Earthlink would be scaling up the Meatless Monday Campaign in the future.

We are glad that more organizations such as Temasek Holdings are holding more online Eco-events to spread the environmental message.

We treasure the opportunity to learn from Dr Jane Goodall on topics such as connecting with Nature / protecting Nature and are pleased to learn that NTU Earthlink is promoting Meatless Monday in the school campus to conserve the world’s resources.

Online GW talk for NEA (Nov)

Ms Sindhusha, from Vector Control, Environmental Public Health Ops Group, in National Environment Agency (NEA), invited Earth Society to conduct an online Global Warming/ Zoonotic disease Talk for their staffs on 17 Nov. This is the 3^rd time NEA invited us to conduct a talk for their staff in 2020-21.

On 17 Nov, Earth Society team joined Mr Sindhusha online (via MS Teams platform) at 2.45 pm. We conducted a Global Warming / Zoonotic disease talk for about 50 staffs from 3 pm to 4 pm. 

We presented an update of the Disasters that happen due to Climate change (e.g. 6 months of forest fires in Australia in 2020, 1 month of rain fall on 01 Jan 2021 in Singapore etc ) We touched on SG Green Plan, Meatless Monday and reduce meat consumption to reduce Climate change and preserve the forest, food and water resources on the planet.

For Zoonotic diseases, we show that 75% of emerging diseases are Zoonotic diseases (transmitted from animals to human).

We showed that the World need to reduce animal factory farm to reduce diseases from farmed animals (such as Bird flu and Swine flu).

We shared that COVID-19 was spread from bats to pangolins and then to humans.

To prevent future pandemics, the World should stop wild life trade, stop eating wild animals and preserve the Natural habitats of wild animals. (e.g. Forest, Oceans)

NEA staffs listened attentively to the talk.

Feedback from NEA Staffs:

1) Enriching, interesting and educational talk .

2) Thought provoking. Inspires me to go meat free as much as I can.

3) The talk was really an eye opener. Very informative and useful, a timely reminder for us to take heed of the threat and warning on Global warming. Must start now to go green and adopt Meatless Mondays. Everybody should play their part. Eat more vegetable and less meat. The Talk should be a must for all staffs for a start. The staffs should show strong support and walk the talk.

Online GW talk for Big Heart Student Care (Sep/ Nov)

Ms Sng Yi Lin, Partnership Engagement and Development Specialist in Self Help Groups Student Care Limited, invited Earth Society to conduct 4 online Global Warming talks (via Zoom) for students in 13 Big Heart Student Care Centers.

We conducted 2 talks in Sep and 2 talks in Nov.

The talks were conducted from 10 am to 10.45 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). Students and teachers listened attentively to the talk

We managed to reach out to students in the Big Heart Student Care Centers in the following Primary schools. Innova Primary, Woodlands Ring, Princess Elizabeth, Xing Nan, Yang Zheng Zhang De, Damai, Teck Whye, Xi Shan, Qi Hua, Evergreen, Qi Fa and Yuneng Primary school.

Feedback from teachers :

- Students were engaged and found the videos interesting.

- The talk shared new information on sustainable farming.

- The presentation shared some interesting facts about our environment and knowledgeable information to help our Earth.

Natural Disaster Expo Asia

In Sep, Ms Ee Wei Khor, Marketing Executive in Fortem International, wrote to Earth Society to invite us to participate as a partner in a Natural Disaster Expo Asia 2021.

The Expo is scheduled to be held at Singapore Expo in Dec 2021.

Natural Disaster Expo Asia 2021 is divided into 4 zones - Heat & Fire, Earthquake, Flood and Storm. It aims to bring over 400 leading companies and NGOs together to showcase the latest products and developments in the management and mitigation of natural disasters.

Earth Society is glad to join NEA, Red Cross, Mercy Relief etc to be a Media Partner in the Natural Disaster Expo Asia.

We are listed in their website :

https://www.theheatandfireexpoasia.com/partners/

https://www.theheatandfireexpoasia.com/partners/23269/

Due to the COVID situation in Singapore, the Natural Disaster Expo Asia is postponed to Apr 2022.

More info of the Expo can be found in their website:

https://www.theheatandfireexpoasia.com/

Online GW talk @ NUS Scholars Retreat (Sep)

Mr Steven Zhu, NUS Scholars’ Retreat Planning Committee member, invited Earth Society to attend a Marketplace event for NUS Scholars on 18 Sep.

At NUS, every scholarship holder is required to initiate a Seed of Good Project. The Seeds of Good Programme (SOGP) aims to support students who are interested in participating in a Community Learning Programme.

For the Marketplace Event, NUS invited different community partners (including Earth Society and Animals Lovers League) to an e-session to share about their work and possible opportunities for collaborations with the scholars.

On 18 Sep, Earth Society team joined in the Marketplace event (via Zoom) at 8.45 am. We conducted a 30 mins Global Warming presentation (followed by a 5 mins Q & A) for about 50 NUS scholars.

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 the issue of deforestation and world hunger.

NUS scholars listened attentively to the talk and participated in the Q & A after the talk.

We are glad that more Tertiary institutes are engaging the students on Environment and Sustainability issues and hope the green message would spread far and wide among the youths in Singapore.

Eco-website Projects with Temasek Poly Students (May to Aug 21)

In May 2021, student groups 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 were interested to create Eco-websites to raise awareness about Climate change. This is the 3^rd time Temasek Polytechnic student groups write to invite us to participate in their projects.

Earth Society corresponded with the student groups from May to Aug 2021 on their projects. The following are 2 projects completed by 2 student groups.

1. Eco-Website.

The students designed and created a Website to promote Meatless days to reduce Climate change : https://gccdgrp1.github.io/tpgccdgrp1/

The colourful website has posters, News reports, youtube videos, recipes etc to promote Meatless days.

The following is an extract from the website:

A 2010 Canadian Study warns of a livestock greenhouse gas boom where soaring international production of livestock could, by 2050, release enough carbon into the atmosphere to single-handedly exceed safe levels of climate change: the livestock sector's emissions alone, if continuing on the current demand, supply trajectory, could send temperatures above the 2 degrees Celsius rise optimistically said to be the threshold above which climate change will be dangerously destabilising

2. Eco-Instagram Page.

The students created an Instagram page to promote Meatless Days

Ecoglobe_sg Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/ecoglobe_sg/

The Instagram Page has News Report, youtube videos and Team members view on Meatless days etc.

At the end of the project, Angel Li, Ecoglobe_sg team leader wrote:

“We are grateful to be able to have this opportunity to work with Earth Society who taught us many new things about the environment and how consuming meat- free meals can have a significant impact on climate change. We would also like to thank you for providing us with all the necessary information needed for our project and also taking the time to educate us.”

We are glad that the schools have Environmental modules which requires the students to take on projects to protect the environment. We hope the environment movement would spread among the youths to create a sustainable world for all to live in.

Eco-Instagram Projects with Hwa Chong and Temasek Poly Students (Feb to Jul 21)

In Feb 2021, Project Reverie, a student group from Hwa Chong Institution (College) wrote to Earth Society to express interest to work with Earth Society on a project in their Service Learning module. The student group was interested to create an Eco-Instagram Page to raise awareness about Climate change through the use of social media.

We corresponded with the students from Feb to Jun 2021 on their project. The students created an Instagram page to spread awareness about climate change.

Project Reverie Instagram Page:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNrVwyQrcFm/?igshid=fln5s1p9hm1c

They also put up posters in the school canteen to encourage reduction in meat consumption to protect the environment.

At the end of the project, Bernice Ng, Team leader of Project Reverie wrote:

“Our team is very thankful to have the opportunity to embark on this journey with Earth Society and sincerely thank you for your support and encouragement.”   

On May 2021, Ecowarriorss, a student group from Temasek Polytechnic wrote to Earth Society to work on a project in their Global Citizenship and Community Development (GCCD) module. The student group was interested to create an Instagram Page to spread information on Climate change. This is the 3^rd time Temasek Polytechnic student groups write to invite us to participate in their projects.

Earth Society collaborated with Ecowarriorss via Zoom and email from May to Jul 2021. The students created an Instagram page to promote Meatless Days.

Ecowarriorss Instagram Page:  https://instagram.com/ecowarriorss

The Instagram Page has News Report, youtube videos and Team members view on Meatless days etc. 

Ecowarriorss team wrote:

“As a team, we feel that Meatless days are a great initiative as it benefits not only our health but also the environment and wildlife too! We really hope that this Instagram account helped to educate our followers on eating lesser meat. This will bring about a positive change and thus save our planet together.” 

We are glad that students from different Institutes are taking on Eco-friendly projects to spread info on protecting the environment. We hope more students will join in the environmental movement to protect the Earth and create a sustainable future for everyone on the planet.