Earthlink Environmental Camp 2013
Month: March 2013
Visit To Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Located in Kranji, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is one of the most peaceful places I have visited in Singapore, so far. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city and its maddening crowd that is always in a rush to get to some place, this piece of land spanning over 130 ha, is a nature lover “!s paradise.
Listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003, this patch of greenery amidst all the high rises is one of the four gazetted nature reserves in Singapore. Initially given only the status of a Snature park due to its global importance as a stop-over point for migratory birds, this park was officially opened on 6 December 1993 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Earthlink NTU took the opportunity on 2nd March to take its members on a guided tour of the place. As always, it was a full house and the 20 of us were all eager to see what awaited us. After a quick breakfast we were on the road enroute to the park. As we entered the reserve we were directed into a little theatre where we watched a movie that gave us a short summary of all that awaited us in the midst of the mangroves!
Once that was done we were on our way to explore and absorb the beauties that lay ahead. Guided in two groups by our Nature Guiding Officers, we walked through the Nature Cove and Gallery, both housing creatively made structures of what was yet to come. The trail was made all the more interesting when we were handed out sheets of paper that contained a crossword puzzle and a quiz, whose answers lay with the creatures that would greet us in the wilderness .Hence, all through, the trail also became a learning experience as we filled out our respective sheets with enthusiasm learning much more in the process.
During the rest of the trail we walked in tandem with our Nature Guide who stopped at regular intervals to show us the intricacies of the reserve and its flora and fauna, which would have otherwise missed our line of vision. Starting with the less scary ones, we observed the different roots of the mangroves, the two types of bamboo trees, the wide spread banyan tree and the tiny snails that stuck to them. Then came the mudskippers, horse shoe crabs and the Lobsters, all slimy, slithery and excessively quick in their movement. Next in line was the Malayan Water Monitor, a smaller cousin of the Komodo dragon .This carnivore, not afraid of humans, is said to roam the reserve fearlessly and at its own choice. It “!s often mistaken for a crocodile while in the water! Not only were we lucky to watch this agile swimmer in its favourite atmosphere, we also got to see it basking in the sun and taking a leisurely nap!
Finally while crossing the observation deck; perched at vantage point above the river, we caught a glimpse of a crocodile. We were shown this sight by some reserve officials who were on watch then and very patiently explained its habits to us.
After this exciting and eventful Saturday morning had passed we all gathered for a nice lunch, with each one bringing their own cutlery and adhering to the values of Earthlink! The reserve officials even informed us of the various modes of volunteering and the steps to becoming a nature guide. Trust me on this, it “!s quite easy and it looks like it can be a great experience.
Le Min when asked on what makes this experience so inspiring and important for her said, It is a fulfilling experience to see the participants being fully immersed in the surroundings, and getting excited by the fishes, mudskippers, and yes, even crocodiles that we’ve seen in today’s walk. Because it means that they’ve found something to relate to the natural environment that we hardly encounter anymore. And that’s why nature walks are so important, because as the saying goes, we will only conserve what we love. And I know that most, if not all of our participants would have found something worth loving in this tangle of mangrove roots.
Piling into the bus at NTU I could only think of returning to my room and falling onto my bed, however after this little nature trail, the only thought while climbing back onto the bus was that it was a Saturday well spent!
The Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve has an absolutely minimal entrance fee and one can ask for guided tours in advance.The flora and fauna I assure you,is like no where else in Singapore and it definitely should be on the must-see places list for any person,nature lover or otherwise!So be sure to stop by and catch a glimpse of the creatures that otherwise go unnoticed,amidst the calling of the migratory birds and the twisting of the mangrove roots!
Earth Hour 2013
s a worldwide event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and held towards the end of March annually, encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. The event, conceived by WWF and Leo Burnett, first took place in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney’s lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. Earthlink NTU has taken part in Earth Hour for the past years. Hence we intend to carry on the tradition and celebrate this world-wide tradition, bringing it to with-in Nanyang Technological University.
The highlight of this year s program will be the Dance2Power event, wherein volunteers will be asked to dance on a mat that converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. Earthlink NTU will be setting up booths to carry out various activities regarding the importance of conserving energy in today s world. All volunteers present, will be given goodie bags from WWF.
Earth Hour Singapore is bringing to Singapore the first-of-its-kind kinetic pads, where renewable energy is harvested from footsteps. The dance floor at the float is covered with the said kinetic energy pads, and as the dance participants go on the floor, their foot movements trigger the piezoelectric material that the kinetic pads are made of, and produce electrical energy that will be stored. This stored energy will be used to play a movie about Earth Hour at the end of the day during lights off at 8:30 p.m.
Earthlink NTU will also be involved in collecting a total of 500 pledges from campus and contacting Schools on campus as well as the halls of residences to switch off their non-essential lights during the Earth Hour Period from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Our campus uses a lot of energy by switching on lights even when there is no one round in the area. We would also like to approach these halls and schools to switch their non-essential lights and save a large sum of energy.
Event Organizer
This event is organized by the Event Executive External portfolio. For more information, you may contact Shuhul Kaul here.
Water-U Campaign 2013
Date: 16th – 17th February 2013
Time: 4:00pm to 8:00pm
Venue: NTU Hall of Residences
In the 1960s, it was recognised by Singapore s government that providing sustainable supply of water to Singapore s residents was an important issue and a growing concern. This was because of the absence of natural aquifers and the shortage of land in Singapore. The government s increasing efforts to improve Singapore s water consumption efficiency and providing adequate and affordable water supply to Singaporeans and other residents have been successful to a large extent. But an undeniable fact is that without the public support and awareness, Singapore may never reach its aim to be sustainable and efficient in its water usage.
On the 22nd of March 2012, while co-organizing World Water Day 2012 with the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Earthlink NTU adopted the Jurong Lake Area and swore to take up this topic of water conservation and raise awareness regarding this important issue. This has proven to be a big leap for Earthlink as well as NTU in the context of actively participating in solving the water related environmental issues in Singapore in today s time. With the objective of conducting water awareness programmes on an annual basis for people in the Jurong Lake region, Earthlink NTU has decided to host an event called Water-U campaign 2013 .
Water-U Campaign 2013 is one of Earthlink s attempts to involve Nanyang Technological University s student body, mainly young adults living on campus and gain their support regarding the matter. Students will be given a pledge sheet which would involve them to answer some questions which would test and build their knowledge regarding water conservation and end with a pledge which requires them to do their part in reducing the amount of water they consume. The purpose of this is to establish NTU as a university that supports sustainable and efficient use of water with the student body doing their part to make it happen.
Event Organizer
This event is organized by the Event Executive External portfolio. For more information, you may contact Shuhul Kaul here.
Environmental Mission Race
Click here to expand the poster
Date: 16th March 2013
Time: 10:00am to 5:30pm
Venue: NTU, Chinese Garden & Japanese Garden
“The Lost Message”
NTU Earthlink always provides opportunity for the members and the NTU population to have a platform to learn ways to protect the Earth and educate people on the importance of conserving our Mother Nature. Through this mission, we will discover what we have forgotten and what we should contribute to nature. The mission race is not only physically demanding, but mentally and strategically demanding as well. These experiences in the race will allow us to have insights and knowledge about why we should care about our Earth before it is too late.
Participants are to gather inside LT1A by 0930. It is suggested that you wear comfortable attire for sports and covered shoes. You are requsted to bring a pen or pencil, medicine (if any), water, sunblock, umbrella and your EZlink Card. Lunch is provided. This race includes free goodies, T-shirt and a visit to Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum(Original Ticket Fee: SGD5) in the Chinese Gardens. There are a lot of great prizes to be won!
Registration
You may register here!
Event Organizer
This event is organized by the Education and Welfare portfolio. For more information, you may contact Ng Yi Xuan here.
World Water Day 2013
ringing people closer to our waters, PUB hopes to build an appreciation for water, which will prove instrumental in encouraging the people of Singapore to conserve and value this precious resource. This year, PUB aims at reducing the per capita consumption of water from 153 litres to 140 litres. In order to achieve this, they have started the Shower Less Campaign 2013 .
The Guest of Honour for this event is the Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources & Foreign Affairs, MP for Yuhua SMC and Adviser to Yuhua GROs.
Last year, while co-organizing WWD 2012, PUB had requested Earthlink to take up the water awareness campaign to a much greater level by adopting the Jurong Lake Area, to which Earthlink had readily accepted. The objective of this was to conduct water awareness programmes on an annual basis for people in the Jurong Lake region.
Programme
| Date | Activity |
| 0710 | Registration for Mass Yoga at Jurong Lake |
| 0720 | Start of Mass Yoga Exercise for the community |
| 0745 | Arrival of SWCDC Fun Walkers, gathering near performance deck area/start off point for mass walk |
| 0815 | Arrival of Guest of Honour |
| 0820 | Time to save Shower Dance, Fuhua Primary School |
| 0825 | Welcome/Keynote Speeches |
| 0835 | Presentation of Our Waters Adopter Certificate & Certificate of Appreciation to Supporting Partners |
| 0845 | Presentation Ceremony for Winner(s) of Water Conservation Animation Competition |
| 0850 | Official Launch of Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC) Waters Learning Trail @Jurong Lake |
| 0855 | Flag-off for mass walk |
| 0905 | Preview of 3P (People-Public-Private) WWD Runs of ABC Waters Learning Trail @ Jurong Lake |
| 0915 | Viewing of Water Sustainability exhibition at Central Pavilion |
| 0925 | Viewing of Partners environmental exhibits at carnival booth |
| 0935 | GOH mingles with crowd and guests |
| 0945 | GOH takes her leave |
| 0945 | Start of ABC Waters Learning Trail @ Jurong Lake (for secondary students) Start of Students-Led ABC Waters Learning Trail @ Jurong Lake (for residents and community) |
| 0950 | Performances and mingling of participants at carnival stalls |
| 1000 | Redemption of goodie bags |
| 1200 | Event ends |
Event Organizer
This event is organized by the Event Executive External portfolio. For more information, you may contact Shuhul Kaul here.
Environmental Awareness Campaign 2013
Date: 25th – 27th March 2013
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Venue: Canopy K
The year 2013 is a very special year for Earthlink NTU and EAC. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the only Environmental club in NTU Earthlink and its main environmental campaign initiative Environmental Awareness Campaign. In light of this very special occasion, we have chosen the theme of this year s event to be Footprint . We deliberately left the theme Footprint to be vague for good reasons, for not only does it hint on the purpose of the event, which is to impact and inspire people to leave greener footprints, but also to signify the celebration of the green footprint Earthlink has left in NTU for the last 20 years.
Every year Earthlink NTU organizes the biggest environmental project, the Environmental Awareness Campaign (EAC) to promote environmentalism among the NTU population. We have come up with exciting and ambitious projects to really attract students attention and instil the urgency of a change of perception and lifestyle. The whole campaign experience would be cohesive, bringing environmental issues forward and demanding actions.
Objectives
– To instil a greater sense of environmentalism in the NTU population, with the hope that people will start reducing their carbon footprint by adopting an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.
– To inspire and encourage the NTU population to learn and develop green and sustainable technology by showcasing the green research being carried out and products being developed in NTU.
Campaigns and Booths
Campaigns
– Bring Your Own Bag
– Bring Your Own Container
– ERI@N NTU
– Build it Green
– Recycling @ NTU
– Singapore Wild Marine Mammal Survey
– Medi Hub Asia
Booths
– Adopt-A-Plant
– Green Promaze
– The Globe
– Games and Interactive Activities
Event Organizer
This event is organized by the Event Executive Internal portfolio. For more information, you may contact Neo Chin Ding here.