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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! 🙂

This year, Earthlink held her very first terrarium workshop on the 18th of October attracting members with green fingers. We were given an opportunity to take our minds off momentarily from the stresses of upcoming quizzes and finals and immerse ourselves wholeheartedly with the delicate task of planting and personalizing our own terrarium. And what makes it better? Building the terrariums using disposable bottles and containers! As Earthlinkers, we are always looking for ways to recycle disposables and even reuse them to our advantage.

What is a terrarium? A terrarium is just like a mini aquarium with plants instead of aquatic life. Imagine owning a small patch of garden that is portable, colorful and fuss-free. That is the main attraction of a terrarium! In addition, the calming effect plants have can effectively reduce stress, which is exactly what all of us students need right now in these hectic weeks.

Before we rush into our hands-on activity, we played a game of Bingo, designed and modified to broaden our environmental knowledge. Every table took turns to answer fun facts about the environment and with each correct answer, they can draw a cross on their Bingo game card. The group that manages to complete a Bingo first will be given two extra pot of plant to add onto their terrarium. Needless to say, all of us were eager to answer the questions, and in return, we gained quite a few new insights on some environmental facts from the lighthearted game.

Having held up our anticipation for some time, the hands-on terrarium building activity finally begun. Firstly, we cut our recyclable containers into our ideal terrarium tank and laid the pebbles as the foundation layer. The wide array of pebbles’ colors greatly attracted our Earthlinkers as they went in search for the perfect color combination. About 2-3-inch-thick rich soil was placed above the pebbles before the plants were set into the soil. Extra precautions were taken when we remove the plants from its original pot so that we do not damage the roots of the fragile little plants.

Succulent plants with a mix of colors and types were chosen for us to place in our terrarium. The intricate patterns of the veins of the leaves, as well as the different shades of green, red and pink, gave our reused empty plastic bottles and containers a new lease of life and brighten up our faces as we admired our own masterpiece. Now we truly had our own unique little green space, using used recyclables.

As the workshop drew to an end, all of us proudly took a group photo with our fresh and beautiful terrarium. Getting our hands soiled was well worth it. We all returned home with our very own miniature garden. Low maintenance, useful, beautiful and decorative, what more can you ask for?

The Earthlink Bonding Dinner, held on 12th October, marks the beginning of a series of upcoming events by Earthlink in this academic year! This event was organized by the Welfare portfolio to ensure that all Earthlink subcommittee members know each other. It was a night for everyone to relax, have fun and foster new bonds!

Upon registration, all the participants were given lucky draw numbers and were divided into seven groups. Starting off with ice breakers, everyone introduced themselves to each other in their group by playing “Catch and Call”. A ball will be thrown around the group, and the catcher has to call the name of the thrower. This interactive game allowed everyone to get to know each other better.

Our mass game was “Guess the Lyrics”. Short verses of popular songs were played and participants were required to snatch the chance to ring the bell and guess the song’s name and the following lyrics. Much to our surprise, there are actually some talented singers hidden among us!

Next up, we had the first performance of the night: a serenade by the EXCOs in the tune of “Flashlight”! It was a thoughtful and meaningful choice: the EXCOs hope that everyone in the club can be each other’s flashlight, guiding those who are in need, while we achieve our common goal together.

With the mood warmed up, the participants were getting hungry and eager for dinner. Not forgetting to #DitchDaDisposables, everyone brought their own containers! While most of us were happily indulging in the food and conversations, some of us also took the chance to take photos at the photo booth.

After the scrumptious dinner, each portfolio director and the subcommittees formally introduced themselves to everyone. Some portfolios even took the chance to promote their upcoming events and while encouraging everyone to sign up.

Finally, we had the highlight of the night: a dance performance by all the current Earthlink directors! The very entertaining dance definitely brought the atmosphere to the peak, and it was very heartwarming to see the effort the main committee had placed in. The dance performance was followed by a second mass game called “Kahoot”. This game tested the participants on Earthlink trivia and our history. Can you remember when was Earthlink established? 😉

After all the games and performance, we finally had… our LUCKY DRAW! Lucky participants walked away with reusable containers and cutlery, earphones, and FairPrice vouchers.

Before the dinner came to a close, we had a group photo session where the different portfolios showed off their creativity with their myriad of unique and innovative poses! To conclude the event, the Welfare portfolio thanked everyone for coming down for the event and hoped that everyone had a good time. Even though the dinner was just for a few hours, the bonds fostered that night has definitely set us off on a positive note for the academic year ahead!

On Friday, 7 October 2016, it was a meaningful night at the SBS lobby where student leaders from more than 100 clubs in NTU gathered to bid farewell to the outgoing management committees, and at same time welcoming in the new batch of leaders. The event was a collaboration between Earthlink NTU and NTU Student Affairs Office (SAO) to promote the “Ditch Da Disposables” (DDD) initiative during Student Leaders Night. DDD is an Earthlink NTU’s initiative that was started in 2014. It aims to reduce waste by reducing the usage of disposables. In a span of 2 years, the DDD initiative has successfully reduced more than 2000 sets of disposables during Earthlink events. This achievement motivated us to bring it to the next level by promoting DDD to every other clubs in NTU.

Disposable plates and cutleries were not provided for the event so as to be in line with the “DDD” initiative. Hence, Earthlink NTU started the event with sales of reusable containers and cutleries to cater for student leaders who did not bring their reusable containers. During the event, Earthlink’s student ambassadors also encouraged attendees to adopt the habit of using reusable containers. They shared with the attendees about the impact of disposables on the environment, and suggested methods to reduce these impacts such as adopting the BYOC (Bring Your Own Container) and BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) initiatives.

The president of Earthlink NTU, Ms. Wong Zhi Sian, gave a passionate opening speech to officially kick-start the event. She explained to more than 900 fellow student leaders and guests about the importance of reducing disposables and also the DDD initiative. Ms. Wong explained that there are 200 thousand tonnes of waste going to Singapore’s landfill annually, and disposables contributes most significantly. Subsequently in his keynote address to the student leaders, Associate Provost (Student Life) Prof. Kwok Kian Woon voiced his appreciation for Earthlink’s initiative which aligns well with NTU’s effort to make NTU the world’s greenest campus.

During the networking session, student ambassadors from Earthlink NTU ardently approached student leaders from different clubs to introduce the DDD initiative. To bring the DDD initiative to a whole new level, our student ambassadors also invited the student leaders to join the DDD Alliance. Many clubs signed up for the DDD Alliance and agreed that they will try adopt the DDD initiative in their own club’s events. We have successfully recruited representatives from 45 clubs to join the DDD alliance through this event. By going straight to the student leaders, we hope to reach out to more students in NTU and convince them to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

Although not all the attendees brought their own containers, we believe that a great step has been made towards a greener NTU community as it was the first time in NTU that an event of such a large scale did not provide disposables. More importantly, that night marks the first time many of the participants brought their own containers and we hope they continue to do so and implement the DDD initiative into their student clubs to create a more environmental friendly university culture.

On the 3rd of September, 34 Earthlinkers volunteered to join the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) – an annual worldwide event organized by Nature Society (Singapore) where participants play a part in cleaning up coastal areas. About 80% of the waste found in the sea are generated by human beings while the rest are contributed by the off-shore facilities. This means that trash disposed inland significantly endanger the safety of marine animals. Marine animals can get entangled, trapped, or even killed by the trash that we recklessly throw away. Thus, Earthlink participates in ICCS every year, hoping to mitigate this problem.

As the sun rose, Earthlinkers gathered at the pavilion next to Tan Chin Tuan lecture theatre to get ready for the event. A briefing was held prior to our departure by bus to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – the first wetland reserve to be gazetted in Singapore.

Although it was still early, the sunlight that shined on Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was intense and bright. There were mosquitoes so we were told to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, and to apply insect repellent. But the sunlight and mosquitoes did not diminish the nature-loving spirit of NTU Earthlinkers.

We were briefed on important matters and procedures before being divided into groups of three and everyone was given a pair of gloves, trash bags to put the collected trash, and tongs to pick up the trash. We then proceeded to clean the coastline. On the first sight, there was multitudes of garbage all along the shore. Some were entangling the roots of the mangrove trees, but most of the trash was just laying around. Styrofoam, plastic bags, straws, pieces of glass, wrappers and packaging, bottles both plastic and glass, and many other kinds of garbage were picked and recorded. It was shocking to see these trash that ended up on the coastline are actually all the everyday items that we use.

Over the course of 90 minutes, we managed to fill 33 trash bags with all kinds of garbage that washed ashore. Most of the garbage were pieces of plastic and Styrofoam. We also managed to pick up much unusual garbage such as fishing nets, syringes, light bulbs, and even a monitor. At the end of the event, all the trash that we collected were weighed. We managed to collect an astounding amount of trash: 169.5 kg to be exact.

Each of us reflected on our deeds as we went back to NTU by bus. It was a very tiring day but we were happy knowing we did the right thing and have made Mother Nature smile. Not only it is an eyesore, trash in the water and on the shore damages the marine ecosystem. It is a very pleasant feeling to know that we have cleaned the environment and helped to contribute to the marine ecosystem.

Earthlink Environmental Camp is an annual event organised by Earthlink NTU, which aims to invite freshmen and new Earthlink members to learn about environmental issues and the little things we can do in our daily lives that contributes towards the conservation of the environment. To enhance the learning experience, we bring members to explore various location in Singapore, where they can be exposed to Mother Nature. This year, Earthlink Environmental Camp was held on the 13th and 14th of August. The destinations visited were Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Night Safari, and Singapore Botanical Gardens.

Participants were gathered at Canopy K at 8.30 am. The camp was kick-started with ice-breaking sessions whereby participants were divided into 6 groups and self-introduced among themselves. Mini games were conducted between groups by their respective group’s leader to let the participants be familiarised with each other. After getting to know everyone in the group, a series of mass ice-breaking game was conducted among all the participants to bond. Everyone had fun and enjoyed the ice-breaking games. The nature trip was officially started by an opening ceremony with a speech from the Earthlink President, Steven Cheng Le Hung. Steven hoped that through the camp, the participants would be able to connect with nature and recognise some environmental issues that we would encounter during the trip, and most importantly to enjoy the camp.

The first destination of the day was Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Each group then proceeded to explore the Wetlands. At least one nature guide was assigned into every group to explain and educate the members about the animals and plants they came across. The highlight of the Wetlands is, of course, the mudskippers. Many participants were surprised to find out that mudskippers actually belong to fish family. Mudskippers can swim in the water and also move on the land. They use their strong fins to “skip” on the land. More interestingly, some of them even eat each other when there is a great difference in size. Upon reaching the visitor center, the participants were given a rest and had an enjoyable dinner before entering the next exciting part of the camp.

Our sense of adventure was heightened when we reached Night Safari. The Night Safari in Singapore is the world’s first official night safari, which means offers nocturnal sightseeing of safari animals. Night Safari was so crowded on that day! We quickly hopped onto the tram service once we reached to tour around the park. We saw wolves, bears, lions, and also, the mascot and king of elephants in Night Safari, Chawang. Of course, we were not satisfied with just riding on trams. We continued the exploration by walking on several trails which enabled us to observe the animals one step closer. We even went through the giant flying fruit bats area where the bats would just fly towards us. All the girls were scared! After a long and fun day out, finally it was time to rest. We lodged at the Boy’s Brigade / Girl’s Brigade Camp Site in Sembawang.

The next morning, the participants were all rested up and ready to explore our last destination, Singapore Botanical Gardens! The garden hosts a rainforest area, which our nature guides and us ourselves did not want to miss. Our exploration here was livened up by fun and exciting games organized by the committee for us to bond even stronger. Around 12pm, we were ferried by bus back to NTU to have lunch and continue with the last activities of the camp.

The camp was not over yet. After the lunch, we were given several riddle games. We were provided with a background story and were expected to guess an animal’s name from the story. The group that guessed the riddle correctly will have a clue to the animal’s name. The animal is a critically endangered great ape living in Africa. Furthermore, it can withstand below freezing temperature because of its fur. After several severe headaches from each group, everyone finally guessed the animal correctly: it is the mountain gorilla, the mascot for Earthlink Environmental Camp 2016.

Here comes the finale of the camp: the closing ceremony. Each group enthusiastically performed their respective group’s cheer and the atmosphere was hyped up to the peak. After the cheer, all groups were presented with an award and the camp was officially ended.

At the end of the day, we hope that the campers benefited from joining Earthlink Environmental Camp 2016. Our aim was to create a memorable and meaningful weekend for the campers, whilst exposing the campers to recognise the various present environmental issues that are just a footprint away from us. Through the camp, we hope that there are more newborn Earthlinkers that would take a stand, and begin to make a change to create a better environment for all.

On the 12^th of June, 22 intrepid undergraduates from Earthlink NTU’s Ecoventure team embarked on a 15-day expedition to the Laotian village of Ban Hua Hin.  It is one of the 8 rural villages along the Nam Khan River in Oudomxay province, Nga district, where access to electricity is not easily available. One of the aims of this expedition was to install a solar panel system along with electrical lights and fans in the village’s primary school to improve the quality of education for the village children.

The solar panel system will provide sufficient electricity to power the lights and fans in the 3 classrooms of the village school, which can hold a total of 72 students. Electric fans will make for better learning conditions for the local children as the classrooms can become unbearably hot during dry seasons, while electrical lighting will provide the school more opportunities to prepare the students for secondary school, in the form of evening classes that could be held for students who require more help academically. That aside, the school also serves as a community centre, where the villagers host numerous gatherings, cultural ceremonies and social events.

This expedition is a part of Earthlink’s sustained effort to introduce renewable energy to rural communities in Laos. Since 2014, several Ecoventure teams had been installing solar panel systems in the villages located in the same cluster along the Nam Khan River; Ecoventure 2014 installed a solar panel system in Ban Lad Khammune, and Ecoventure 2015 did the same for the Ban Phongsavanh. However, in addition to the installation of solar panel and electrical systems in Ban Hua Hin, the Ecoventure 2016 team also visited the previous villages in order to perform maintenance on their solar panel systems and to maintain close ties with the villagers.

Apart from the installation of the solar panel and electrical systems, members of the Ecoventure team also conducted classes in English, Science and Environmental Awareness for the local children. They were surprised by the enthusiasm of the children, who would quickly fill up the classrooms whenever the team conducted lessons. Despite the language barrier, the kids listened intently to the team during lessons, and completed their handouts eagerly. Of course, learning isn’t a one-way process, and the children managed to teach the team a few things of their own: members of the team were able to pick up a few words and phrases in Khmu (a local dialect) from the children as some of the kids could speak it.

Through this expedition, the team experienced many aspects of living in a village –Ban Hua Hin had no electricity before the solar panels were installed, so the nights were almost pitch black. In addition, they also had to cope with the lack of running tap water, and had to make do with limited amounts of water every day. However, team members learnt to appreciate simpler things: when asked about the most memorable experience during the event, Andrian found the experience of bathing in the Nam Khan River more interesting than the installation work of the electrical systems. On the other hand, Kang Pyo fondly recalled the kindness and innocence of the village children. When he had first arrived in the village, he couldn’t communicate with the locals at all; but whenever he smiled and waved at the children, they would smile back despite the fact that he was a total stranger.

As their time at Ban Hua Hin came to an end, the team found themselves strangely unwilling to leave. Returning to Singapore, members of the team didn’t just bring home a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but also precious memories of their time in the village, and a newfound appreciation for the urban comforts that we usually take for granted. To everyone in the Ecoventure team, the whole experience was surely, as Andrian so aptly summarized in a single word, “unforgettable”.

We would like to thank Maybank, City Developments Limited, PacificLight, and Lao Asia-Pacific Brewery for their sponsorship, as well as our other partners for their assistance – this trip would not have been successful without their help.