Greenfest Synergy 2015

On the 23rd of March, Earthlink NTU held its flagship event, Greenfest. The theme this year is  Synergy – emphasizing the importance of individuals taking action and these actions developing synergy, leading to a significant overall impact. Greenfest Synergy 2015 was originally scheduled to run on the 23rd and 24th of March, from 9:30am to 5:30pm on both days. However, out of respect for Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who had passed away that very morning, Greenfest Synergy 2015 was only held on the 23rd of March, from 9:30am to 3pm.

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources attended the opening ceremony of Greenfest. He began his speech by telling the audience a few stories about Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and his selfless devotion to the nation. Dr. Balakrishnan then talked about how Mr. Lee Kuan Yew always stressed the importance of sustainability to Singapore, as well as the importance of young people, as these two things will ensure that Singapore will continue to thrive for decades to come. He concluded that Mr. Lee Kuan Yew would have wanted him to attend the event, and encouraged everyone present to continue their efforts in making Singapore a greener place.

After the speech, Dr. Balakrishnan was invited to launch the Powerz mobile app, which was jointly developed by Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), GDF Suez and Earthlink NTU. The app aims to develop NTU to a more energy efficient place while making it enjoyable for staffs and students alike to play. With the launch of the Powerz app, the opening ceremony ended.

This year, a large variety of organizations were invited to set up booths at Greenfest. These include environmental organizations like Nature Society Singapore, The Dorsal Effect, and The Pangolin Story, as well as companies like Toshiba and Tetra Pak. Earthlink NTU s various portfolios also hosted booths of their own, which detail the activities and events they have organized. Each booth hosted mini-games of their own, which were interactive and informative. When participants complete a mini-game, they received a stamp. Participants could exchange 7 stamps for a goodie bag and a small plant at the registration counter.

The event proved to be very informative, with many environmental organizations educating the participants on various things, from butterfly species in the forests of Singapore to the presence of pangolins in NTU. It is also very encouraging to see companies like Toshiba promote environmentally friendly practices such as refilling the used toner cartridges from their printers, as well as recycling the cartridges when they get too worn out. In future, Greenfest encourages more participants and organizers alike to participate, to promote sustainability and environmental awareness to the NTU community.