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.

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.