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Earthlinkers kicked off their recess week with a trip to Bukit Batok Nature Park this Saturday, September 28. Organized by the Logistics and Welfare committee in conjunction with Nature Guiding, the outing was an avenue for the latest batch of Earthlink recruits to bond with each other as well as existing Earthlinkers in a natural environment.

The outing officially started with a set of fun and engaging icebreaker games which saw members across portfolios interacting and bonding. Along the way , things from names to shoe sizes of different members were learnt.

These games were followed by a tour of the nature park with a personal nature guide to aid each group. The guides proved extremely valuable in their knowledge, acquainting Earthlinkers with information about obscure plant species occupied by the park and more importantly, alerting them of the peculiar dangers one might find themselves in such a park like being hit by a falling durian or becoming prey to a stray monkey. Lin Xi, a subcommittee member of Nature Guiding seemed pleased with how things were going at the outing, saying,  I can t believe people have been in such good spirits throughout this outing. Everyone seems to be interested in hearing what I have to say about the flora & fauna we can find in this park.

Some of the plants species Earthlinkers were introduced included Elephant Ferns and Curtain Fig Strangler Trees. They learned about features that made them distinct and their origin. Amidst these plants, in stark contrast to their ubiquitous green were resplendent birds, white and pink and yellow, shocking in their vibrancy.

During the tour, each committee continued to enjoy more activities. One of the highlights included an attempt by different members of each committee to draw one another.

The trip was aptly concluded with a sumptuous meal and a bus trip back home that was boisterous as newly acquainted Earthlinkers continued to play games amongst themselves and chat animatedly. The subcommittee outing met its objective in forming bonds between its members and nurturing their interest in nature. I personally found the park to be charming, a place apt for both quiet rumination and exuberance with friends  in short, the perfect place for me to get acquainted with my fellow Earthlinkers.

Held across the 4th and 5th of September, the Subcommittee Recruitment Drive was off to a great start right from the word GO! Coming up with innovative and creative ideas every year, Earthlink has always tried to spruce up the usually-dull process of interviews. This year was no exception; Ranging from taking interesting photographs of students holding placards to intriguing interview questions by our Main committee members, students were kept busy right through the activity.

In addition, a continuous influx of applicants through both the evenings kept the atmosphere energetic and vibrant. The Subcommittee recruitment drive went far and beyond its primary objective of absorbing fresh and new environmental enthusiasts into the EarthLink family. So much so that, it gave Main Committee members a platform to raise questions about procedures and formats, and give their inputs from time to time. It was also a great bonding session as they interacted over the course of the interviews and helped each other in the final decision making process.

By the end of Day 2, and after having interviewed a record number of participants, Earthlink NTU, crossed its past membership mark with ease. More importantly, the committee was thrilled to see so many environment buffs come to the forefront, wanting to take initiative and carry Earthlink NTU one step further towards its goal!

To all our newly recruited Subcommittee members, we extend a hearty welcome into the Earthlink family! We look forward to working with you in the coming year and wish you the very best in all your events!

Finally, to all our hardworking and tireless Main Committee members, a big Thank You for all your help, let s bring about the change that is needed!

Armed with gloves, boots and data analysis sheets, Earthlink NTU s Main committee and Subcommittee members spent their Saturday morning at Sungei Pandan Mangroves with a mission  to remove and collect data on the debris from the mangroves along Jalan Buroh near Pandan Road.

Organized on the 21st of September 2013, the annual event is held in over 70 nations around the world, and is conducted in coordination with the US-based non-profit organization, The Ocean Conservancy. In Singapore, the ICCS, is primarily backed by Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at NUS, and is one of the most prominent environmental conservation campaigns held across the country.

Over the past few years, the number of venues for the cleanup has increased; ranging from East Coast Park and Changi Beach to Lim Chu Kang and Chek Jawa..The event which was scheduled to be held from 7am to 11am, promptly began, with the participants gathering in front of the Chinese Heritage Centre, in NTU.

Once at Sungei Mangrove, the cleanup picked up momentum as Earthlinkers, grouped in trios, began their search for debris and trash that may have been polluting the landscape. An hour and a half later, participants emerged with some of the quirkiest findings  a tyre and even an abandoned shoe!

Yap Yun Ben, Honorary Treasurer of the 21st Management Committee of EarthLink, who participated in the cleanup was caught saying,  Although the turnout rate for this year’s event was lower than that of last year, the participants were more active compared to last year’s participants and they were highly enthusiastic and put in lots of effort during the cleanup.

Inspired by the primary objective of making the shorelines, waterways and beaches of the world s lakes, rivers and oceans debris-free, Earthlink NTU s members were exposed to a unique opportunity to highlight the effectiveness of 3Rs to reduce unwanted plastic from flowing into aquatic environments.

When asked to share his experience after the event, Ben introspected,  As for my experience, this is the first year I participated as well as hosted the ICCS, so I had no idea about how a cleanup in the Mangroves actually feels, but it turned out to be a very memorable one, as I don’t think I will ever do such thing during my daily routine.

After the event, the amount of debris collected was weighed for statistical purposes and future analysis of the data & participants were provided with light refreshments, courtesy of Jurong Bird Park. With the accumulation of marine trash and litter along coastlines around the world, this form of environmental pollution has become an issue of global concern that requires action at every level.

Functioning on a mere 4 hours of sleep, I d spent my entire Saturday morning cleaning up Mangroves! Ironically however, the fact that we were able to make a difference, irrespective of how small it was, pumped me with enough positivity and encouragement to participate in all the varied events organized by Earthlink that are yet to come!

On the 27th of June 2013, Earthlink Ecoventure 2013 has embarked on an unforgettable journey to Nepal for its annual overseas community involvement programme aimed to help the people there in any way possible. On that fine morning as early as 6:30am, participants as well as the committee members started to gather at Changi Airport to catch the flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. That morning, everyone seems well rested, well prepared and excited for the trip.

At around 2pm local time, we have finally touched down at Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal. Here in Kathmandu, we spent a night and also for us to have last minute shopping to get necessary items for our programmes at the school later.

We woke up early the next day and all packed to continue our journey. Firstly, we took a tour to Boudhanath Stupa, which is the world s largest stupa. Here, we learned a lot of knowledge about the history of this place as well as some understanding about Buddhism.

Then, we continued our journey to Nagarkot, which took around an hour and half from Kathmandu. Along the journey, we rehearsed our songs and enjoyed the wonderful scenery of the countryside in Nepal. Upon reaching our destination, we checked into a hotel called Hotel Space Mountain and spent the night there.

The following day, the drizzling rain and foggy weather continued to persist resulted from the heavy downpour during the midnight. However, this does not deter us from continuing our expedition. Hence, we braved ourselves and set out in thick fog and drizzling rain for around an hour to our final destination that is a lower secondary school named Shree Janakalyan Lower Secondary School.

Upon our arrival at the school, we were greeted by students and staffs despite the rain is still drizzling. Without wasting much time, we proceeded with the opening ceremony and then lunch. Fortunately, the weather improved right after lunch and we were divided into 3 groups that are construction group, education group and tent set-up group. After 2 hours doing our assigned tasks, we had our teatime and also to check into our tents. After that, we had our sumptuous dinner and then we had a personal development and learning session.

In the following 8 days, our schedule is quite routine with us waking up early in the morning for our morning exercise at the school compound. Then, we had our breakfast before attending our Nepali class, which is conducted by Mr Dhruba to learn the Nepali language, history of Nepal as well as the culture there for about 2 hours daily.

Then, we will proceed with our education programme to teach the students with the first 3 days teaching English, Science and Mathematics and the following 3 days conducting Sanitary and Hygiene, Green Generation and Environment Awareness workshops for 2 hours daily.

Throughout this programme, we employed different and yet interesting methods to teach the students such as through games and experiments to make our programme more effective. Apart from that, we had proper debriefing sessions each time after the teaching session so that we can constantly improve ourselves. Soon after that, we had our lunch and break. At around 2:30pm everyday, we will begin our construction work for the school s water storage tank. During this time, we worked harmoniously and efficiently in all stages of the construction for 2 hours.

Subsequently, we will be having our teatime and our rest until 6:30pm, where we will be having our dinner. After dinner, we will be having our personal development and learning session until bedtime.

However, during the 3rd day in the school, we took a short trip to the top of the hill during our usual teatime as the weather cleared up so that we can have a view of the magnificent Himalayan range. The view of the Himalayan range was so spectacular that we could not take our eyes off it.

On the other hand, we had a visit to the local village there known as Tamang Village on the 7th day to have a taste of the life of the villagers there. In that tour, we visited the school s principal s house to take a look at inside the village houses.

That night, we had our final feast in the school and celebrated our endurance for staying in the school with a cake baked by our beloved chef. Then, we all proceeded to the campfire to celebrate our last night in the school with lots of music and dance together with the staffs. It was definitely a great and memorable for each of us.

On the last day at the school, we had our closing ceremony by presenting a few performances such as cultural dance, cultural showcase and choir singing. After that, the students performed their cultural dance and it was a great experience for us to be able to see their local dance.

At last at around 1pm, we departed from the school and headed back to the resort in Nagarkot. Upon reaching at the resort, we all can finally take our well-deserved rest and good shower before meeting for dinner at night. Right after dinner, we had our final sharing session at the resort s conference room and each of us shared about our feelings and experience throughout the trip in that closed room. It was certainly a great moment where we get to understand one another better and was also a good time to express our feelings.

The following day, we headed out for our trekking and we trekked for around 2 hours. Throughout the trekking, we had the opportunity to see beautiful and stunning sceneries. On top of that, we also passed through a local village too. At the end our trekking, we got on board into our vans and travelled back to Kathmandu.

At Kathmandu, we had our last minute shopping and at night, we had our dinner at an authentic Nepalese restaurant. There, we had our splendid and tantalizing authentic Nepalese food while enjoying cultural performances on the stage.

Later that night, we had our certificates receiving ceremony back at the hotel as a form of acknowledgement and appreciation for our effort and endurance in making our community service project a success despite we had to go through much hardship.

On our last day at Nepal, we all woke up early to catch a flight back to Singapore. En route to Singapore, many memories and thoughts flashed in my mind and I m glad that I ve made the right choice to enrol into this project. Our trip officially ended upon our arrival at Singapore s Changi Airport. Although the trip has ended, the experience that we gained from this trip will definitely leave a deep impact in each of us and the strong bond that we have moulded among ourselves will definitely be unforgettable.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) cemented its position as a pioneer in the field of environment and water technologies with the launch of Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI) in 2008. With some 400 researchers actively engaged in pioneering projects, NEWRI represents more than two decades of university efforts in academia, research and innovation in the environmental and water space. NEWRI “!s vision is to emerge as the key environmental science and engineering research and education provider in Singapore and the region.

With an ever-increasing worldwide demand for clean water, water has been dubbed as the oil of the 21st century and NEWRI is NTU “!s and Singapore “!s response to the quest for sustainable supplies of water. NEWRI leads efforts for development of the clean water sector in Singapore, recognized worldwide as a leading adopter of new water technologies, especially membrane applications.

To date, the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute has forged successful partnerships with key environmental players such as Sembcorp Industries and Toray Industries Inc, a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan. It also worked with the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Hai Phong Co. Ltd in research, education and feasibility studies at the 1,600-hectare industrial park located in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Professor Ng Wun Jern serves as the Executive Director of NEWRI, in addition to the role of Director of NEWRI Community (NEWRIComm). His research interests are largely in the area of water and wastewater management, thereby, aligning his own personal vision with that of NEWRI. The focus of his efforts has been on investigations into water quality, treatment science, and development of treatment technologies. These investigations span the water quality spectrum – ranging from ultra-pure water to high strength and potentially inhibitory industrial wastewaters.

NEWRIComm, the philanthropic arm of NEWRI, works to improve the living conditions of Asia “!s developing communities with education and implementation of clean water and sanitation projects through its Lien Environmental Fellowship (LEF) programme. NEWRIComm provides foundations, businesses and individuals a platform for impactful social investments supported by NEWRI “!s technologies.

On 3 May 2013, the Minister of Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan officiated NEWRI “!s move to Singapore “!s first eco-business facility, CleanTech Park, located adjacent to NTU campus within the Jalan Bahar district. NEWRI “!s new home occupies levels 5 and 6 of CleanTech One building, where its lab capabilities takes up approximately 65% of its 6,000sqm space with the balance used to house its researchers and staff from its 8 co-ordinated units, allowing the NEWRI family to operate seamlessly as an ecosystem. NEWRI “!s relocation also allows proximity with industry players who operate and differentiate their businesses through environmental sustainability efforts, thereby fostering physical interactions that lay the basis for better understanding of industry needs and directions, lending greater credibility to NEWRI “!s translation efforts.

Earth Hour is an annual event organized worldwide by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) towards the end of March with the main objective of 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. In 2013, as the clock counted down towards Earth Hour at 8:30 pm on Saturday, 23rd March, members of Earthlink NTU and numerous volunteers pledged not only to go beyond the hour “! but also make earnest efforts to rally more support for the green campaign this year.

In direct collaboration with WWF, Earthlink NTU enthusiastically lent a helping hand during the campaign as well as actively participated in the Dance2Power “! event to raise awareness on energy conservation at The Float @ Marina Bay from 4:00 pm to 10:30 pm. Volunteers were asked to dance on a first of its kind kinetic pad that converts the kinetic energy of people danceing on them to electrical energy, which was one of the main highlights of this year “!s program. 76,530 Watts of power was harnessed via the act of dancing by the conclusion of the event.

In addition to active participation in events organized over the duration of Earth Hour Singapore, Earthlink NTU set up booths for the Eco-Carnival at the venue in an attempt to garner more attention to the importance of conserving energy and how small contributions from a large number of individuals could make a significant difference. The notion of collecting of pledges using glow in the dark pens which would then be displayed during Earth Hour as well as interactive games proved to be captivating and were extremely well received.

Another crucial component of the Earth Hour 2013 campaign, was to make a contribution towards saving power by collecting pledges from students to turn their air-conditioner temperature up by 1 degree. Earthlink NTU successfully manages to collect over 200 pledges signed by fellow NTU students vowing to make a sincere effort to increase the air conditioner temperature by 1 degree.

The primary objective of Earth Hour is to propagate awareness about the importance of preserving energy for a sustainable future. Earthlink NTU was successful in holding attractive booths as well as in urging fellow students to make a vow to lower their energy consumption, proving to be instrumental in bringing about a change in the lifestyle of the NTU population as well Singapore residents as a whole.

r conservation principles as an initiative driven by the UN Water Group. In December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly had declared that the year 2013 would be considered the Year of Water Co-operation. In view of the declaration, World Water Day 2013 was celebrated dedicated to the same theme, raising awareness, both on the potential increased co-operation as well as on the challenges faced by water management in light of increasing demands for water access, allocation and services.

In Singapore, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the National Water Agency has been organizing World Water Day celebrations annually. This year “!s celebrations comprised of numerous enjoyable and exciting activities held at the anchor site, Marina Barrage on Saturday, 16th March 2013 in concurrence with 15 other locations such as Kallang River at Ang Mo Kio Bishan Park, Lorong Halus, Punggol Waterway, Yishun Pond, Kranji Marshlands, Alexandra Canal, Jurong Lake, Sengkang Floating Wetland, Lower Seletar Reservoir, Bedok Reservoir, MacRitchie Reservoir, Kolam Ayer Waterfront and Pandan Reservoir.

This year, PUB launched the Shower Less Campaign 2013 “! in attempt to reduce the per capita water consumption from 153 litres to 140 litres. Earthlink NTU, in collaboration with PUB, T-net Club and Singapore Science Centre, organized a variety of exciting and informative activities at Jurong Lake. The highlight of the event was the Mass Walk by more than 1250 students around the Jurong Lake area, in an effort to allow school children to reflect on the significance of water bodies in their vicinity as well as raise awareness on water conservation practices, in addition to the launch of ABC (Active, Beautiful and Clean) Water learning trails and mass yoga and story-telling sessions for children.

The Guest of Honour for the event was 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. Dr. Amy Khor, the mayor of Southwest CDC also graced the event.

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 S
nature 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!