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Last Saturday, 13th December 2014 was a bright sunny day for a group of nature explorers from Earthlink to take a stroll down to parks in the southern ridges of Singapore starting from Kent Ridge Park to Mount Faber Park. The 6-kilometre walk was accompanied by sharing of knowledge on the encountered flora and fauna in the areas by fellow Nature Guiding Committee.

The exploration of the first park, Kent Ridge Park was begun from the pond located at the park entrance which hosts various species of dragonflies. Various plants like Simpoh Air which used to serve as an indicator for nearby water source, Singapore Rhododendron which is a local butterfly-attracting flowering plant and fish-tail palm tree which is easily recognised by the shape of the leaves were pinpointed along the walk in Kent Ridge Park. After walking through the Canopy Walk where the participants could enjoy a breath-taking view of Pasir Panjang Nursery, Colonial Bungalows at Alexandra Park, Bukit Timah Hill and Normanton Park, they stopped by a historical site known as Reflections of Bukit Chandu for a visit. The museum highlights the history of Opium Hill and a battle over Pasir Panjang area between Malay regiment and Japanese army in World War II to the visitors.

The walk continued to Hort Park and participants were introduced to themed gardens in the park while having a short break. The park allows people to appreciate nature and gardening-related activities. Participants then carried on their journey through Alexandra Arch, an 80-m long bridge which opens like a leaf over Alexandra Road to the elevated Forest Walk of Telok Blangah Hill. The design of elevated walkway was in fact inspired by the triangular-shaped leaves of the fast growing  Mile-a-Minute plant (Mikania micrantha).

Henderson waves was another iconic landmark being passed by participants during the walk at Telok Blangah Hill. It is the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore and was constructed by a series of seven undulating  ribs double up as alcoves. The high platform serves as a good observation spot for various migratory birds of prey.

Moving onto Mount Faber Park, participants were mesmerized by the beautiful view of southern part of Singapore and Southern Islands from the top of Faber Walk. Nature guides pointed out some commonly seen trees in the area such as Rubber trees which served as the largest exported commodity of the country in the past and the Royal Palm tree which is originated from Caribbean Island and brought into the park as a whole tree from its country of origin. The long walk was finally ended upon walking down the small-gap staircases of the Marang Trail with a short debrief from Nature Guiding Committee. Participants found the walk as an eye-opening exploration of the local nature and historical sites where they could enjoy great sceneries along the way as well as gaining tons of knowledge on the local biodiversity and Singapore history.

Date: 8th December 2014 (Monday) and 9th December 2014 (Tuesday)
Time: 8:45am to 2:15pm (Monday), 8:20am to 12:10pm (Tuesday)
Venue: Jurong Eco Garden
JEG Biodiversity Audit Training Program is one of Jurong Eco-Garden Community Programs. It purports to provide training for student leaders in the identification of local biodiversity as well as to be a platform for participants to give back to the community. The recorded data from this biodiversity audit program will be highly useful for documentation and future references on the species found in JEG in particular.
The activity was held for two days in which the biodiversity training and mock-biodiversity survey were carried out on the first day followed by the actual biodiversity observation on the second day. The presentation highlighted important topics such as the local biodiversity of Singapore, bird identification, butterfly identification, dragonfly identification and survey techniques. Hand-out materials containing list of target species in JEG were also given to the participants for their resource reference during the audit activity.
The actual biodiversity audit was done early in the morning as most target species like birds, butterflies and dragonflies would be more active during this period of time. The participants were split into smaller groups of five and assigned to cover three various transects in different sequences. Different routes for each group were devised to prevent congestion and double counting in each transect. Each group would consist of writer, resource manager, time keeper and observer/photographer for efficient and effective data collection.
Participants found the program fruitful and engaging as they gained useful knowledge on the biodiversity identification and were able to practice it upon the audit program. They also enjoyed exploring beautiful nature features in the garden like birds, butterflies and dragonflies. In future, these participants are expected to be able to train other students in biodiversity audit program.

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.

On Saturday 11th October, Earthlink NTU held their Subcommittee Outing at Pasir Ris Park, located in the east side of Singapore. The objective of the outing was to foster inter-division relations between Earthlink s subcommittee members.

The underlying theme to the outing was, fittingly for an Earthlink event, the environment. Earthlink members became acquainted with each other while taking advantage of the chance learn about various flora and fauna by going through Pasir Ris Park s Mangrove Boardwalk and visiting the park s Kitchen Garden (which contained various herbs and spices).

Other activities included group games such as charades and  Pass the Ball , as well as the challenge of making it through Pasir Ris Park s Maze Garden individually amongst other games. During the team games, participants worked together while having fun.

When asked how he felt about the outing, freshman Vicson Lee from the Publications subcommittee responded positively:  The outing was quite educational. I feel that I learned a lot today.

Another participant, Ong Wen Jun, from the Events Executive (Internal), also had good things to say:  I had fun. The way the games were designed and the preparation of the games stations were good. Generally, I felt that the organisers were very well prepared. Also, the duration of the outing was very appropriate.

Overall, the outing succeeded in achieving its aims. By putting participants through games where they could have fun while working as a team, as well as allowing them to learn new things together, it facilitated the formation of stronger bonds between members. This will not only help different Earthlink divisions to work together better in the future, but also make Earthlink a more cohesive club where its members have a stronger sense of common identity.

NTU Earthlink s most extravagant event, Greenfest, was organized on the 24th, 25th and 26th of March at Canopy K. With booths set-up by external organization such as Toshiba, The Dorsal Effect and Nokia to name a few, as well as Earthlink s portfolios such as Education, Recycling and Ecoventure, the three-day event was highly successful in promoting Earthlink s environmental activities and initiatives. Greenfest 2014 was graced by the Mayor of SouthWest CDC, Dr. Amy Khor, and the theme for this year s edition was Envisage 2014. The event included performances by the winners of the NEA Ecomusic challenge as well as served as the launch pad for the Ditch the Disposables Campaign. From attractive prizes and giveaways to goodie bags for all participants throughout the three days, the event concluded with a Lucky draw on the 26th of March. Once again, Greenfest ended on a high note, with ever-enthusiastic committee members endeavouring to organize yet another successful event.

On 15th March Earthlink NTU in collaboration with PUB organised an information and games booth at Jurong Lake to acknowledge The World Water Day. An array of three games had been rooted across the area, after the completion of which people were awarded goodie bags and potted cacti. The day was made quite eventful by the huge crowds that flocked towards each booth, celebrating the spirit of World Water Day. A large number of participants went one step further and were keen to learn more about Earthlink NTU itself, their achievements and activities. Overall, the Earthlinkers had done a splendid job at spreading the message of water conservation, in the most elegant and insightful way possible. Kudos to the Event Executive External Committee for designing this massive outing.