Month: December 2016

On the 5^th and 6^th of December, the Nature Guiding team organized the Jurong Eco-Garden Biodiversity Audit Training Programme. The 2-day event aimed to equip participants with the necessary skills to identify different species of birds, damselflies, dragonflies and butterflies.
Held at the JTC CleanTech Park, the first day started in the morning at 8:30am. Despite this early start, all were gathered eagerly in the seminar room to learn more about the vast biodiversity in Singapore, especially those found in the Jurong Eco-Garden. For the first few hours, the participants learned about birds, butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies and how slight differences in colour, shape and pattern distinguishes the species of that particular bird or insect. To make things more exciting and fun, quizzes and games were played to facilitate learning!
With the relevant knowledge, everyone was eager to see the wildlife mentioned during the class. The participants headed out to the Eco-Garden for a dry run in preparation of the excitement waiting on the next day, whereby they will be conducting a wildlife survey to help keep track of the different species living in the Eco-Garden.
The next day began early as well, as birds, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies are more active in the morning. The participants were divided into groups and given a time limit of 20 minutes per transect. Each group was tasked to walk 3 transects to observe, identify and count the wildlife that they spotted as they walk.
Under the sweltering heat, this task was not easy at all. However, that did not deter the participants from doing the job assigned to them with enthusiasm. Each transect held surprises and participants did not know what to expect, making the walk even more exciting. Sticking to just 20 minutes per transect was difficult, because many ended up spending more time looking at the beautiful birds and insects. Luckily, the Nature Guiding team foresaw the delay, and gave the participants ample time of 3 hours to explore the garden.
After all groups completed the transects, they met at the shelter to take a group photo with a member of JTC. All participants then headed back to the seminar room for a short reflection session. The fulfilled participants shared their experiences on the programme. One common insight from all was that it was a good experience and allowed one to slow down to take in the nature around them. The participants then played a reflection game, which aimed to create awareness that their one little action can have a big impact on the environment – cutting down one tree in the rainforest will lead to unforeseen consequences for the biodiversity in the forest.
The programme was a great success, managing to not only equip participants with knowledge but more importantly, ignite the spark in them to be grateful for the nature and play their part in conservation of the environment.

As students pack up to head home for a well-deserved holiday after the long school term and grueling examinations, Earthlink troopers come out to play! This semester, as part of our annual recycling drive, participants went across campus rapping their knuckles raw on the doors of more than ten halls to collect recyclables. Many enthusiastic hall residents had their recyclables ready for our collection, and many more looked relieved to get rid of their stacks of lecture notes and other studying materials.

Paper, among other things, is something that we cannot avoid using in school. As students living in halls, studying and other important activities take precedence, we place emphasis on convenience and that explains the high amount of disposables, such as plastic bottles and aluminum cans found in some of our trash bins.

However, convenience and doing our part for the environment are not mutually exclusive! There are some tricks we can use to have both! For instance, using papers that have only been printed on one side as rough paper can reduce usage of paper and also the money needed to buy extra paper. Moreover, recycling bins for paper, plastic and aluminum cans can be found in various locations around the school and halls. Dumping recyclables in those bins can now be as easy as trashing them in rubbish bins.

On the other hand, throwing away recyclables to the wrong bin or even throwing non-recyclables into recycling bins may make the whole bin unusable. For example, several bins that have been placed around halls for students to throw away their paper notes were found to be contaminated by coffee cups, sweet wrappers and other things that should have been thrown to the general waste bin! Contaminated recycling bins make the job of janitors to sort recyclables tougher than it already is. It only takes a cup of coffee or a container of milk spilt on the rest of the recyclables to deem everything in the recycling bin wasted due to contamination. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to treat our recycling bins with respect, so as not to thwart the efforts to save the environment.

The annual recycling drive is held at the end of every semester, typically over the course of a month. At the end of the period, Earthlink troopers would then comb campus for recyclables from hall residents, and also to ensure that items in the recycling bins are viable. We offer our sincerest thanks to all who have actively participated in the recycling drive, and who have made our mornings that much brighter with your kindness and care for the earth! See you again at the end of Semester 2! 🙂