Seeking to equip participants with the knowledge to lead more environmentally sustainable lifestyles, Earthlink NTU hosted the two-week Green for Good festival from 22 March to 1 April 2021. Throughout the fourteen days, activities were hosted both on the NTU campus and online for participants to find out more about sustainability and climate change, as well as what it meant to support these causes.
The event kicked off with an opening ceremony and panel discussion on 22 March. Entitled “Aftermath of COVID-19: Effects on the Environment”, the panel line-up included Joline Tang, founder of low waste lifestyle business The Sustainability Project; Benjamin Tay, executive director of People’s Movement to Stop Haze; and Dorcas Tang, a climate activist who runs Instagram account @earthtodorcas. Topics discussed included food waste, climate change and sustainability, with the discussion livestreamed on Earthlink NTU’s YouTube channel.
The opening ceremony also simultaneously introduced other initiatives under Green for Good 2021 – Meatless Mondays and the Bring Your Own Container (BYOC) campaign. Meatless Mondays was introduced to encourage participants to pick vegetarian options from selected canteens in NTU, while the BYOC campaign was launched to motivate people to bring their own containers when purchasing from these canteens.
In addition, a treasure hunt was held during the first week of the event. Organised by Earthlink NTU’s Campus Outreach branch, participants searched for three “treasures” in the North and South Spine, and answered questions relating to the environment – fastest fingers with all the right answers won various prizes, which were given out during the closing ceremony.
Another on-campus event, the Fashion Treasure Workshop was organised by Earthlink NTU’s Community Engagement portfolio and Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a movement to reduce the use of plastic bags. Held on 25 March, participants were encouraged to bring their fabric waste and scraps, which were then used to craft either a cup-holder or tissue holder, in hopes of spreading awareness about fast fashion.
Besides these events, Earthlink NTU also collaborated with other school clubs (Cat Management Network, Dive Team, Animal Lovers Society and Asian School of Environment Club (ASE Club)) and external organisations (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), National Parks Board and Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity) to organise the Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Day, which was held on 29 and 30 March. Students and staff learned about the conservation efforts through booths and displays at the North Spine’s Sky Deck. As part of the event, ASE Club also hosted an Agar Art workshop, where students created artwork through culturing safe and non-pathogenic micro-organisms into certain patterns on an agar medium.
Finally, Earthlink NTU partnered with West Coast Community Club to host the annual Earth Hour 2021 on 27 March. Livestreamed on Friends of West Coast’s Facebook page, viewers from the public and NTU community participated in an interactive story game to broaden their knowledge on sustainability. Videos where residents of West Coast showcased their upcycled art and bring-your-own kits were also streamed during the event, with a quiz following each video to engage the viewers. A panel discussion with representatives from urban farm Citiponics, plant-based meat maker Growthwell Group and cell-based meat and seafood company Shiok Meats also took place during the event, discussing various sustainability issues with guest-of-honour Minister S. Iswaran, who is also a Member of Parliament for West Coast Constituency. Performances from NTU dance clubs MJ Hip Hop and NTU Indian Dance, as well as a West Coast resident’s dance on climate change, rounded up the night.
All events culminated in a closing ceremony and prize presentation on 1 April, although certain aspects such as the BYOC campaign extended a further few weeks. Overall, the two-week event was well-received and managed to achieve its objectives of spreading environmental awareness to various groups. In particular, the Earth Hour 2021 livestream had a total of 1500 views and 220 live attendees, and the interactive elements were praised.
Great event to raise awareness about environmental issues and take action. It’s not just an event that’s all talk! Yeong Yoong Sze, Director of Community Engagement
About EarthLink NTU
EarthLink is the largest student-led environmental club in NTU that promotes environmental protection and sustainability among students and residents.
The club has 10 dedicated portfolios that are constantly updating its objectives in order to address the ever-changing global climate. A few noteworthy large-scale activities and initiatives are its annual Overseas Community Engagement Programme (OCEP), EcoPromise, Earth Hour, Greenfest, and the most recently Get Woke.
It also organises events that fill up niche areas such as nature-guided walks, where a dedicated portfolio leads participants to various locations around Singapore and exposes them to the diverse flora and fauna existing within the nation.
