Month: November 2014

Ms. Choo Le Min, former Earthlink Nature Guiding Director came down to NTU to share her experience with around 30 participants of her remarkable learning journey in Churchill, Canada.

Ms. Choo presented her experiences using vivid images taken by a private photographer on the trip. These photographers were representative of the beautiful and diverse wildlife of Churchill. They served as a backdrop to her research –  Climate Change at the Arctic s Edge. This ongoing research examines tree lines  the geographical line beyond which trees do not grow  and how is it affected by climate change, which is led by scientists LeeAnn Fishback, Steven Mamet and Peter Kershaw. They are also concerned with the permafrost thawing due to the global temperature rises. As permafrost thaws and exposes the organic compounds trapped within, the decomposing organic compounds release greenhouse gases that further amplify the effects of global warming, leading to a positive feedback loop. Current plant and animal residents may not be able to adapt to the sudden change in landscape and surrounding temperature.

They went down to the tundra to conduct field work and data mining. Particularly, they were collecting data of the number of sapling of spruce trees in a 1m by 1m plot as well as the height of the individual sapling. From here scientists will be able to monitor the effects of global warming. This will help the scientists in contributing to the trove of information and making the future less uncertain.

Other task of the research team is to observe the flora and fauna in their natural habitats. Churchill was nicknamed the  Polar Bear Capital of the World due to populations of polar bear. Nevertheless, due to their migration habits, Ms. Choo and her team were unable to detect any polar bear. They did capture some breath-taking pictures about other type of animals such as seals, birds, and even video of beluga whales surfacing to breathe.

Ms. Choo ended her sharing session by giving her appreciations and blessings to HSBC and NYAA as well as Earthlink for her accomplishment. The Q & A session went well with participants producing questions about her feeling in receiving the award and her future aspiration.

Overall, the sharing session was a motivational one and it inspires us to move forward and pursue our passions no matter the obstacles.

On the 27th and 28th October, Earthlink NTU held Greening NTU, a biannual campaign that promotes environmental conservation through small actions that everyone can perform. This semester s theme is Ditch Da Disposables, which encourages students to reduce the usage of disposable items, such as Styrofoam containers, disposable tableware and plastic bags. This campaign is also held in tandem with other tertiary institutes  namely SUTD, SP and NUS  to ensure that university students nationwide will be able to take part in this meaningful campaign.

For NTU, a booth was set up at the Concourse, South Spine, for Ditch Da Disposables. It displayed interesting facts about disposable containers in the form of colourful infographics. Students were also able to read about how plastic bags poison wildlife, disrupt habitats, release harmful chemicals into groundwater and threaten biodiveristy. These are the reasons that prompted the birth of this campaign  which in turn is vital in educating the youths of today about the dangers of disposable items.

The most interesting item at the booth was a small mountain of Styrofoam containers. It showed the amount of Styrofoam containers a single person would go through if that person orders take-away food once every two weeks; 26 of them to be exact. This may not sound much, but seeing the pile of containers in person will definitely change your mind.

The campaign also featured a multitude of fun activities hosted at the booth. Participants could sign a pledge, take pictures of themselves with the infographics or comic strips, participate in a short quiz, or even draw their own colourful designs onto a reusable container! Participants could also post pictures of their containers online to enter the Draw Your Own Container (DYOC) contest. All participants were given a goodie bag  which doubles as a reusable shopping bag, and a variety of useful items, such as a notebook made entirely out of recycled paper cartons. Winners of the DYOC contest and the lucky draw were able to walk away with more lucrative prizes such as the coveted Starbucks cards and tumblers.

When asked, participants and student ambassadors alike found the activities to be fun and educational. Most importantly, everyone felt that they learnt something new by participating in this event. We are glad that this campaign was a success, and would like to use this opportunity to thank all our sponsors for their generosity (especially Flipit.com/sg), which was vital in ensuring the success of this campaign.

Date: 25th October 2014, Saturday
Time: 1:45pm – 7:00pm
Venue: Mandai Mudflat, Kranji
In a conservation effort to protect the horseshoe crabs in Singapore, Earthlink organized Horseshoe Crab Rescue & Research Program, an ongoing program initiated by Nature Society Singapore in 2007. It is much needed as horseshoe crab population has declined over the years as a consequence of coastal habitat destruction as well as overharvesting by humans. The objectives of this event was to educate the participants on ancient mariners, to create awareness on their importance to the environment, and last but not least exposing the participants to various hands-on environmental conservation work.
The event was held during a Saturday afternoon on 25th October. In total, there were 20 participants comprising of Earthlink committees and members. After the arrival of participants, transportation was then provided to Mandai Mudflats, which is located near Sungei Buloh Wetland Nature Reserve. The mudflat is part of the area preserved in Singapore to host various biodiversity such as horseshoe crab, mollusks and migratory birds.
The bus reached the Mudflats at around 4pm. There were plenty of activities waiting for the participants to take part in. For instance, the participants were to search for the horseshoe crab in the mudflat, measure them, identify their sexes, sizes, ages and note down the data for the population documentation purpose in Singapore to help determine population size and density. During the activities, participants were also exposed to the differences between the female and male horseshoe crabs through their claws and sizes. Female horseshoe crabs tend to be bigger than the males in terms of size, while the claws of the females point out in different directions from the carapace relative to the males. In addition, the participants came across a lot of mating horseshoe crabs in the mudflat. Typically, a male will cling to the back of a female during the mating process. Despite high numbers of mating crabs being observed that day, horseshoe crabs in fact reproduce slowly, and this is part of the reason why they are very vulnerable to harmful activities done to the environment.
Overall, it was a lot fun walking in the mudflat and looking for the horseshoe crab using bare hands. We also succeeded in helping out in saving the species. The efforts may seem little, but they probably were what these ancient creatures needed. We hope all the best for the horseshoe crabs.