Online Biodiversity Loss talk @ Surbana Jurong Consultants (Jul)

Ms Vivian Sng, HR Manager of Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Biodiversity Loss talk for their staffs on 28 Jul. The online talk is part of the company’s program for 2022 World Nature Conservation Day.

On 28 Jul, Earth Society team joined in the session via MS Teams at 11.45 am. We conducted a Biodiversity Loss talk for about 50 staffs from 12 pm to 1 pm.

We presented on Biodiversity Loss, Overfishing, Deforestation, Climate change and Factory farming. Our planet Earth is facing the 6th Mass Extinction driven by Humans. Up to 1 million species of animals and plants are at the risk of going Extinct. From WWF Living Planet Index report, 68% of wildlife are lost in the past 50 years. The Biodiversity Loss is driven by Overfishing, Deforestation, Habitat loss and Climate change. We recommended Solutions such as reduce Fish consumption, reduce Animal Factory farming, Meatless Mondays, protection of Ocean and Forest Eco-systems etc. We need to reduce our consumption pattern to keep our needs within the limit of 1 Earth.

Surbana Jurong Consultations staffs listened to the talk and actively participated in the Question and Answer session after the talk.

Feedback from Staffs:

The session has been a fruitful and informative session. I have certainly gained a lot of insights from the presentation. The topic was presented in an interesting manner which captures the audience attention. The speaker is also very passionate when he does the presentation and I especially like the part where he included videos/clips from various media/platform (eg. youtube/netflix/pictorial statistics gathered from related parties). Can see lots of effort and research has been put into it. Well Done and Good Job!                                                 - Charmaine Lian, Staff, SJ Consultants Pte Ltd

The event is truly meaningful and informative especially on the topic in biodiversity. It greatly raise my awareness of the massive impact and damage that can caused to the environment just on meat consumption alone.                - Hock Guan, Staff, SJ Consultants Pte Ltd

It is interesting to know some real facts statistics that we are not aware of and where we stand right now and how we can try to work towards for a better world. - Mika Lee, Staff, SJ Consultants Pte Ltd

Biodiversity Loss talk @ Engie South East Asia (Jun)

Ms Corin Tan, Asst Training Manager in Engie South East Asia, invited Earth Society to conduct a Biodiversity Loss talk for their staffs on 09 Jun. This is the 2^nd year that Engie South East Asia invited us to conduct a talk for their staffs. The company especially catered Veg meals for the staffs who attended the talk.

On 09 Jun, Earth Society team reached Engie South East Asia at 11.30 am. We conducted a Biodiversity Loss talk for about 40 staffs on-site from 12 pm to 1 pm. The session was joined by another 90 staff online.

We presented on Biodiversity Loss, Overfishing, Deforestation, Climate change and Factory farming. From World Wildlife Fund 2020 Living Planet Index report, global wildlife population has decreased by 68% in the past 50 years. This is due to deforestation, hunting, overfishing and pollution.

Human’s consumption of the world’s resources now exceeds the world’s capacity to regenerate by 56%. (We are using the eqv of 1.56 planets to support our activities). We need to Reduce fishing, reduce Factory farming, reduce Consumption, support Meatless Mondays and Conserve Nature to protect the Biodiversity on our Planet.

Engie South East Asia staffs listened to the talk and actively participated in the Question and Answer session after the talk.

Feedback from Staffs:

Alarming to know about our current biodiversity Loss. Certainly willing to try Meatless Monday. Thank you for your insights. Thank you for taking the time to come down to our office for conducting the talk.                               - Corin Tan Shu yi, Asst Training Manager, Engie SEA.

Enjoy the meaningful and informative sharing by Earth Society. Good message for collective efforts to save the planet. Thank you!  – Verena Poh, Head of HR, Engie SEA.

Thanks for an informative and insightful session. - Renegarcia Naidas, IT Manager, Engie SEA.

Eco-Instagram Projects with Temasek Poly Students (Feb)

From Nov 2021 till Feb 2022, Earth Society collaborated with 4 groups of students from Temasek Polytechnic to create Instagram Pages to spread Meatless days. The Instagram Pages has posts on Veg recipes, Reasons for going Veg, Happy cow App, Meatless Monday video clips etc. 

Many students tried Meatless Monday for the first time in their life and wrote about their experience in their Instagram Page. Some students find it easy to adopt Meatless Mondays while others find it a challenge. :> 

The following are the Instagram Pages created by the students:

 

1. TP ClimateCrew Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/climatecrew.sg/

This instagram page has all 5 members sharing (via video) their experience of going Meatless for 1 day.

 

This team took an extra effort to create an Interactive Powerpoint slide :

http://tinyurl.com/climatecrewsg

 

The Powerpoint slides have videos to show how to cook veggie meals at home, videos that recommend good Veg restaurants and Fun facts on Climate change. It also has additional info such as What is Singapore’s effort to reduce Climate change and What local organizations are doing for Meatless Monday.

2. TP HeartyMeaty Instagram: \https://www.instagram.com/heartymeaty/

This team has explored veggie restaurants/ vegan options at meat-based restaurant and share their experiences in the Instagram Page. They created a Survey using Google Docs to gather info on students’ view of Meatless Monday. They also partnered with Tiktok Vegan youth (Bakeyvakey) to feature vegan recipes in their instagram Page.

 

Bakeyvakey  Tiktok Vegan cooking show by youth (Sg)

https://www.tiktok.com/@bakeyvakey

 

3. TP Meatless Mondays Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/tp_meatlessmondays/

This team shares many veg recipes.

 

4. TP Earth Healers Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/earthhealers_asc/

This team shares much info on “Why go Meatless”

…

Lionel Lim, HeartyMeaty team leader, wrote the following comments after the project:

“To sum up everything, it is a fun and enjoyable journey to get in-depth of learning about 'Meatless Monday' and how it is environmentally friendly to climate action and gaining pieces of knowledge from Earth Society Global Warming talk (NTU event) as well.”

…

 

After doing the project, the students have more understanding of how a Meatless diet can benefit the Environment and are more willing to make some lifestyle changes to help the Environment.

Eco-Comics with Temasek Polytechnic Students (Feb)

From Nov 2021 to Feb 2022, a group of student from Temasek Polytechnic collaborated with Earth Society to create 3 Eco-comics to raise awareness on how to live an Eco-friendly lifestyle in Singapore.

The team presented their knowledge in 2 comics to inform readers of the benefits of supporting Meatless Monday. The team has also researched on the overconsumption of Earth’s resources and creatively designed 1 futuristic comic to reflect on this topic.

The 3 Comics point out that we have to protect the world’s forest / ocean and reduce meat consumption / support meatless days / buy only what we need / change to green energy to create a sustainable future for everyone.

Project team leader, Wang ZhiChao, emailed us the following comments after the project:

On behalf of my group members, I would like to thank Earth Society for giving us the opportunity to carry out this volunteering project and we would especially like to thank you for your continued support. Our group has learnt a lot during this project on the conservation of natural resources and reducing meat consumption. The resources you have provided us have expanded our knowledge on the topic and we are very grateful for that. We look forward to collaborate with Earth Society again in future.

The following are the 3 Comics they created:

Meta Earth Awareness Week event (Apr)

Ms Denise Fung, Admin officer in Meta Culinary Team, invited Earth Society to participate in their Meta Earth Awareness week (18 to 22 Apr) event. The event was spearheaded by Mr Michael Muller, the Head chef of Meta Culinary team.

Meta is previously known as Facebook. In 2019, Earth Society was invited to participate in the 1^st Facebook Earth Awareness Week event. This is the 2^nd time Meta/Facebook invited us participate in their Earth Awareness Week event.

Meta has a Café (Cafe30) that serves food/drinks to their staffs. All Meta staffs have the privilege to eat breakfast and lunch at the Café for free.

During the Earth Awareness week (18 to 22 Apr), 80% of the food served at Cafe30 are Vegan! Meta cooks and culinary staffs really worked hard to create many vegan versions of eastern and western food to offer the 1050 staffs during the week.

Meta invited Earth Society team for a lunch discussion at Meta Café 30 on 21 Apr. Ms Jenny Lim, Admin officer, and Ms Lifang hosted the lunch discussion session with us from 12 pm to 1.30 pm.

On 21 Apr, Ms Jenny Lim and Ms Lifang gave us a guided tour around Café 30. They showed us the Western, Indian and Chinese cuisines offered to the staffs for Earth Awareness Week. We are pleasantly surprised that the cuisine is 80% vegan including vegan Pizza, vegan pasta, vegan Burger, Corn soup and even vegan lemon tart dessert. With so much vegan delights, it is no wonder that 80% of their staffs opt for Vegan meals during the Earth Awareness Week. :>

After the tour, we sat down to have a sumptuous vegan lunch with Ms Jenny and Ms Lifang. We discussed on the environmental and health benefits of providing vegan meals for the staffs.

After the meeting, Ms Jenny Lim requested Earth Society to do a calculation on the Green House gas Savings and Water savings that Meta achieved for the Earth Awareness Week event.

We calculated that by providing 80% vegan meals for 1050 staffs for 5 days, Meta saves 13,440 kg of CO2 eqv and saves 5,638,500 lts of water for this event!.

We are glad that companies like Meta is leading the way to reduce environmental impact of their staffs by providing vegan food for them. Let’s hope other companies join in the movement and create a sustainable future for the world. :>

Marymount CC Earth Hour event (Mar)

Mr Tan Hoe Sing, Chairman of Bishan North Zone 1 RC, invited Earth Society to participate in the Marymount Community Center Earth Hour event on 26 Mar. This is the 2^nd year Mr Tan invited us to participate in their Earth hour event.

Due to the pandemic situation, the Marymount CC Earth Hour event was held online via the Facebook platform from 2.30 pm to 8.30 pm. The programs included Environmental presentations from Catholic High school, Whitley Secondary and Eunoia Junior College. Marymount residents were invited to join the online event. The organizer also encouraged the residents to switch off lights from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm in support of Earth Hour.

Earth Society conducted a 7 mins presentation on Biodiversity Loss during the event. We gave a brief overview of how Biodiversity Loss is affecting the world. From World Wildlife Fund 2020 Living Planet Index report, global wildlife population has decreased by 68% in the past 50 years. This is due to deforestation, hunting, overfishing and pollution. Human’s consumption of the world’s resources now exceeds the world’s capacity to regenerate by 56%. (We are using the eqv of 1.56 planets to support our activities). We encourage our citizen to reduce our consumption pattern, support Meatless Mondays to reduce Biodiversity Loss.

The video was placed in 'Marymount CC' Facebook page to provide more info for the residents:

https://www.facebook.com/MarymountCC/videos/1000985050833564/

We are glad that more grass roots organizations are organizing Green events online to spread the Eco-message to the residents. We hope the green message can spread far and wide among the residents in Singapore.

Env/ Health talk @ LGT Bank (May)

On 20 May 2022, LGT Bank (Singapore) Ltd. (LGT Bank) kicked off its first "Lunch and Learn" series with a talk on "Compassion and Veganism". Mr CK Low from Earth Society spoke on the impact of meat on the environment and the health benefits of a vegan diet. 

During this session, Mr Chin-Mong Koh, Executive Director, LGT Bank, shared his personal vegan journey and how adopting a vegan diet has led to positive health benefits. 

Mr Low started his presentation with the impact of producing meat on the environment. Livestock farming contributes to 15% of the world's greenhouse gas, uses 70% of the world's agricultural land and consumes more than 50% of the world's crops. It takes 2 kg to 10 kg of grains to produce 1 kg of chicken/pork/beef. Producing 1 kg of vegetables and rice uses 200 litres to 2,500 litres of water, while 1 kg of meat (chicken/pork/ beef) uses 4,300 litres to 15,400 litres of water. The United Nations (UN) has recommended that developed nations cut their meat consumption by half to reduce greenhouse gas and conserve the world's food and water resources.

In addition, Mr Low highlighted the drawbacks of overeating meat versus the healthy benefits of transitioning to a vegan diet. High meat consumption is linked to obesity and increases heart disease and cancer risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) report shows that eating 50 g of processed meat (e.g. one hot dog) every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Moreover, the animals produced by factory farms live in congested conditions and are fed with growth hormones, antibiotics and grains. In contrast, vegetables/plants are rich in fibre, protein, vitamins and nutrients. Some doctors in the USA promote the Whole-Food, Plant-based diet to prevent/ reduce chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Even athletes such as bodybuilders, Olympic cyclists and marathon runners show improved sports performance when changing to a plant-based diet. Mr Low encouraged the staff to adopt Meatless Mondays and gradually increase the number of vegan days for health and the planet.

After the talk, Mr Koh shared the health benefits of adopting a vegan diet (e.g. reduced body aches, no more joint pains, better skin complexion). He also shared that vegan food is delicious and encouraged the staff to adopt two vegan days a week to better health and protect the environment. 

The company especially catered Vegan Burgers (from VeganBurg) for the 70 employees who attended the event. The employees enjoyed the Vegan Burger lunch very much, were engaged during the presentations, and actively participated in the Question and Answer session. 

Feedback for the talk:

Very educational and heartfelt presentation. This message of veganism needs to be widely communicated and internalized. Thank you. – William Chia, Investments, LGT Bank

The presentation was very insightful and well-received. The speaker was very engaging. – Mariam Ashroff, Sustainability Management, LGT Bank

Informative and happy to learn more about Climate change/ Human/ Animal kingdom. Perhaps the speaker can introduce some recipes and make them interactive. – Doreen Chan, Investments, LGT Bank

Very informative sharing! Thank you for taking the time to share with us. – WJ, staff, LGT Bank

Online Biodiversity Loss talk @ CHIJ Toa Payoh Pri (Apr)

Ms Lim Siew Choo, Teacher-in-charge of Earth Day Activities in CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary, invited Earth Society to conduct a Biodiversity Loss talk for the school on 20 Apr.  This was the 3^rd time the School invited us to speak to the students.

On 20 Apr, Earth Society team joined the school via Zoom at 12.20 pm. Mrs Jennifer Kwek, Level Head Science, hosted the session and invited the P1 to P6 classes to join in the session.

We conducted a Biodiversity Loss talk for the P1 to P6 students from 12.40 pm to 1.10 pm. We presented on Overfishing, Deforestation, Climate change, Loss in Biodiversity and Factory farming. We also touched on issues such as No Shark fin, reduce Factory farming and Meatless Mondays. We also introduced some Environmental heros such as Shark Savers, Sea Shepherd and Dr Jane Goodall to the students. The students listened attentively to the talk.

Teachers’ Feedback

-  The talk was very engaging and informative, with interesting videos to illustrate the points mentioned.

- The talk was very insightful and all of us learnt a lot. The Duration is just right.

-  The speaker is very clear in his presentation and language used is appropriate and suitable for the primary students

Online GW talk for UOB Client (Apr)

Ms Maureen Tan, Marketing and Business Development Manager (Workplace Banking) in UOB Bank collaborated with Earth Society to provide an online Global Warming talk for their client (Reda Production Systems) on 14 Apr. Ms Sherloy Teo, Senior Relationship Manager (Workplace Banking), hosted the online session.

On 14 Apr, Earth Society joined Ms Sherloy Teo (via MS Teams) at 1.40 pm. We conducted an online Global Warming talk for about 30 staffs from 2 pm to 2.45 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 the issue of deforestation and world hunger. Reda Production Systems staffs listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Ms Sherloy Teo shared with the staffs on UOB deposit Accounts available for the staffs (eg. UOB One Account, UOB Lady’s Savings Account).

We are glad that UOB Bank is collaborating with Earth Society to provide Environmental talks for their clients. Let’s hope the green message spread far and wide.

Online Save Water talk @ NLB CCK event (Mar)

Ms Melissa Lim, Associate Librarian at National Library Board, invited Earth Society to be part of their Green Market: World Water Day Event held at Chua Chu Kang Library. NLB requested us to conduct an online talk on 20 Mar on the topic of “Climate change and Saving water”. Thus, we designed a “Climate Change, Water Shortage and Ways to save water” talk for the event. 

NLB published the event in Eventbrite and invited library members to attend the online event. (https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/green-market-climate-change-water-shortage-and-ways-to-save-water-registration-274539935337 )

 

On 20 Mar, Earth Society joined Ms Sarannya Anil (another Associate Librarian) via Zoom at 2.45 pm. We conducted a “Climate Change, Water Shortage and Ways to save water” talk from 3 pm to 4 pm for about 50 participants.

We presented on Climate change causing water shortage in the world. We showed PUB’s ‘5 tips to save 140 lts of water per day’. We introduced the concept of Water Footprint to the participants and showed them how to use a Water Footprint Calculator. We also showed that an ave Singaporean uses 150 lts of water at home per day (for bathing, washing etc). Going Veg for 1 day will save 1610 lts of water, equivalent to saving 10 days of water we can use at home.

The participants listened to the talk attentively and participated in the Q&A after the talk. 

NLB recorded the online presentation and placed it in their website.

NLB Green Market “Climate Change, Water Shortage and Ways to save water” talk :

https://nlb.ap.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=52c63487-7e2a-41b3-a4fd-ae7c00380aac

We are glad that NLB is now actively seeking out NGOs to promote green messages in the Library. We hope that the green messages will spread far and wide.

Online GW talk @ NTU Earthlink (Mar)

Ms Aileen, from NTU Earthlink Green PEAS invited Earth Society to conduct an online Global Warming talk for NTU students on 09 Mar. NTU Earthlink organized this talk as part of their Green for Good event.

On 09 Mar, Earth Society joined Ms Aileen (via Zoom) at 5.15 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for about 25 NTU students from 5.30 pm to 6.45 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 touched on the issue of deforestation and world hunger.

We also touched on the topic of Zoonotic diseases and COVID-19. We shared that the World need to reduce animal factory farms to reduce diseases from farmed animals (such as Bird flu and Swine flu). The World should stop wild life trade, stop eating wild animals and preserve the Natural habitats of wild animals (e.g. Forest, Oceans) to reduce Pandemics (such as COVID 19)

NTU students listened to the talk attentively and participated in the Q&A after the talk.

We are glad that University student groups are now actively spreading the Green messages in their campus. Let’s hope the Eco-message spread far and wide among University students.

Online GW talk @ CMC Materials (Feb)

Mr Suresh, from CMC Materials company, invited Earth Society to conduct an online Global Warming talk for their staffs on 11 Feb. The company was organising the EHS event as part of their goal to increase EHS awareness.

On 11 Feb, Earth Society joined Mr Suresh (via MS Teams) at 1.15 pm. We conducted a Global Warming talk for about 50 staffs from 1.30 pm to 2.30 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 the issue of deforestation and world hunger. CMC Materials staffs listened attentively to the talk.

Mr Suresh compiled and emailed us some feedback after the event.

Feedback from Staffs:

- Very educational. Need similar session in the future. Thanks.

- The most important thing about Global warming is this. Whether humans are responsible for the bulk of climate change is going to be left to the scientists, but it's all of our responsibility to leave this planet in better shape for the future generations than we found it.

- Good to know that starting with one Veg day a week can help to save the Earth. 

Online Talk @ NTU Binjai Hall (Jan)

In Jan 2022, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Binjai Hall hosted a Meatless Monday event in the hall.

Ms Tracy Chow, Head of the Environmental Awareness division of Binjai Aware, wrote an email to invite Earth Society to conduct a 30 mins talk about the impact of eating meat on the environment and the health benefits of eating a balanced diet.

The initiative aims to instil habits that allow Binjai residents to make conscious decisions to reduce meat consumption and cultivate long term healthy eating habits.

On 17 Jan, Earth Society joined Ms Tracy Chow (via Zoom) at 6 pm. We conducted a “Impact of Meat / Health Benefits of Veg Diet” talk for about 40 students from 6 pm to 6.40 pm.

We presented on the detrimental effects the meat diet has on the Environment (Deforestation/ Green house gas emissions/ Depletion of food and water resources) and showcased the Health benefits of adopting a more plant-based diet. (Reduce cholesterol, Reduce risk of Cancer and Heart disease etc). The students listened attentively to the talk.

After the talk, Ms Tracy Chow helped to gather some feedback from students and email us the feedback.

Feedback from Students:

1. Better than expected, because the speaker has a lot of interesting facts. Feel more motivated to eat vegan food

2. Quite informative, didn’t know there was an Happy Cow app for Veg food.

3. Amazing talk, learnt a lot. Now I’m more AWARE of the types of food I consume. Looking forward to more of such events! :)

4. Thanks for the sharing, it was very informative. Really enjoyed the infographics of various degrees of harm to the planet, and about which
vegetables are high in protein.

5. Food was amazing and I loved the facts and statistics regarding the
current context. Numbers help get a sense of how critical the situation is.

6. The talk is very educational. It is far from boring, since there were a lot of interactions happening. This also help
further raise awareness on a topic which is widely known. I have
learnt a lot from it, like rearing cattles/cows produce massive amount
of CO2 and greenhouse gas, and there are a lot of wastages when
raising them. Overall, it is an enriching and educational experience.