Thus Far.

The Learning Journey thus far:
-Survey of 91 Secondary School Students
-Group Meetings (with Teacher Mentor Mrs. Giam)
-Visits to the National Library to source for information
-Furnishing of environmental knowledge with reference to Library material
-Pact with ECO-Singapore, a non-governmental organization dealing with Youths and the Env.
-Meetings with ECO-Singapore Chief Development Officer and NYEF Forum Head
-National Youth Environmental Forum - Participation in Forum Team
-Meeting with Mr. Joseph Tan of the High School Admin Staff
-Mathematics Principles in Photography + Fort Canning, A Photographic Journey Sabbatical
-Visit to WILD! Singapore Photo Exhibit
-Participation in EnvirOlympics 2008
-Meeting with Mr. Chung Wen Chee
-Wenhao as ambassador for environmental conference (:
and more to come (:

Our group has come a long way, and there's a even harsher journey, en route to Project ECO.

Dah Wei

Don't Fret

We're still here, working our heads off on this exciting project. (:

More details to be confirmed after a meeting with top management in a short time.

Stay tuned.

ECO-Dinner

Tonight's the night we celebrate our success during NYEF! :D

Aaron treated us to a steamboat dinner at a restaurant located below the ECO-Office. (:

It wasn't spectacular, but the socializing (esp within. ECO-Echo) was rawkage.

Here are some pics, almost all were editted using a photo-editting software.

Haha, good photos, good editting, funny effect.



Funny smile.




the Original.


After I had some fun with ink-sketch. :D


Effect: Tile (Tile Size: Maxed.)
Swee Kiat's McFlurry + Phone + Wallet
Macro Focus! :D


The new McFlurry Ad.
With the future Mr. Singapore posing for it.

Camera angle quite nice huh (:
I used photo-editting software to decolourize the background.


A photo I took after everyone had left.
Editted using motion blur.

Dinner with ECO-Singapore was enjoyable haha.

Dah Wei

Sync.

Our project Group met Mr. Joseph Tan today in the Admin Block.

The main focus of the discussion revolved around the feasibility of the event, the proprietory information and the alignment of our project with Hwa Chong.

We realized that Hwa Chong was geared towards its prospects as a future school and a modernized institution. I strongly believe that schools who have bold ambitions for the future should incorporate the Green aspect within the compounds.

That is the reason why we are forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the school. (:
Imagine a spiraling helix. Hwa Chong and our project group will work hand-in-hand to make this event a success! :D

YEAH.

Personal agenda:
- Design for paper tags (Inform XC) Done.

- NEA / ECO statistics (Send an email to Mr. Ryal)

- Meet ECO-Singapore tomorrow to discuss our Programmes proposal, Logistics and Budget

- Complete the minutes for the class meeting on Wednesday Done.

- Research on the schools involved in our conference (visit websites, find out about current initiatives)
--> and therefore finalize the 2 other schools presenting in the conference
--> and therefore finalize a short summary of the schools presenting to be included in the booklet
K.I.V. until Proposals (Concept, Photo-exhibit, Programmes, Logistics, Budget) are finalized

- *Important* Organize an informal briefing with the student presenters to brief them about the student presentations and the format (To be accompanied by Baifeng)
K.I.V until Proposals are finalized

- Remind Wen Hao to get a light green file for the group's documents **** URGENT **** :X

- Conduct a recee of M.P.H. to see how we can fully utilize the facilities (preferably accompanied by teammates) A.S.A.P

- Organize a meeting with Mr. Hon and Mr. Jason Wong

- Refine the details in the Content proposal --> Contents of booklet

- Produce a substantial blogroll for the ECO-blog with links to various environmental websites

- Contact Daryl Chua, Abner Quek and Yong Xiang to produce the photos (+ my effort as well)
--> Create a small msn group where we can discuss ideas

- Meet up with Mr. Lee Teck Kong / Visit the Tampines Junior College Photo exhibit to get ideas


- Take a photo of a foot in the sand; Small Steps logo Done.

- Push the group forth! :D

That's all.
1 month till Project ECO.

Conference Venue

Hey,

I'll be touching a bit on the venue of the conference for our project itself today.

When we were sourcing for an appropriate venue for use for our conference, we were basically hit with two main ideas. One, to host it in a relatively accessible and public location. Examples include Riverwalk and other small hosting places. This was later regarded as unfeasible due to the budget we were working with.

So on to our second idea. Second, we decided to hold it in Hwa Chong. Why Hwa Chong? Firstly, we had access to much more facilities in Hwa Chong, it being our school and all. Next, there was also much more flexibility in selecting facilities for our use. (:

When you're hosting such a big event (by school standards), it is often hard to find some good place to host. I must thus acknowledge Hwa Chong's great location and facilities that will certainly aid in the holistic development of students.

I'll reveal more about the venue and timings when we come closer. For now, a sneak peek (:

Just, in Singapore.

Green Schooling

Green schooling is an essential part of all schools which are intending to advance into the future with an edge over the others. I have learnt that green schooling fulfills the youths’ needs of a proper learning environment. Not only does green schooling promote environmentalism in schools, it allows youths like us to take an active role in saving the environment.

Next, I am excited by the prospects of our future conference. Filled to the brim and bursting with exuberance, I can’t wait for the conference to take place. Then all our efforts, meetings and perseverance will pay off. The road till this day has been one full of joy.

I will treasure these memories forever. <3

The Green Avatar

I love this project. Sincerely. It has been an eye opener for me, since I transformed from an ignorant student to one who has been actively involved in green events and initiatives. I have committed myself to the project and have done service in several environmental projects organised by non-governmental organisations and service clubs. I embrace the hearty feeling of doing my part for the environment. Singapore needs more green enthusiasts and I strongly urge all to start making small changes to their lifestyle. Every small step adds us.

Put on the green avatar today!

ECO-Photos

Following up to Baifeng's post, we are going to organise an ECO-photo exhibit during lunch.

Details will be revealed very soon.

However, I have been actively drawing storyboards and contacting photographers to work with me. It isn't exactly very simple to complete this mini-project, since it requires much time, skill and effort.

I will be attending the "Fort Canning Park; A Photographic Journey" sabbatical from 12.05.08 to 16.05.08.

The skills and concepts related to photography will be great assets when I finally embark on my project.

In summary, I'll be able to learn about:

• Apertures
• F-Stop numbers
• Shutter Speed
• Depth of Fields
• Composition (Placement)
• Lighting
• Golden Principles
• Rule of Thirds
• Mathematical Principles in Photography (e.g. Trigonometry)
• Tripods
• And MORE!

I sincerely hope that this ECO-Photos Mini-Project turns out to be a success, since the photos are valuable resources that we can manipulate in our powerpoint presentations, pamphlets, posters etc...

The details for the ECO-Photos exhibit shall be kept confidential for now (:

Programmes Proposal

Heyhey,

Seeing as I'm in charge of the programmes, logistics and budget planning for the conference in July, I'd like to touch upon some of the main highlights for the conference (that will still be subjected to change).

Firstly, the morning will be mainly spent on a forum and panel discussion with the various guest speakers that we're planning to invite which should be a great opportunity for students to voice their opinions about various ways and methods to go green! (:

Definitely, we're going to have an engaging discussion, not only between the speakers but also with the students. I do really hope that the students will be active in their questions and I wish that we can get quality guest speakers to grace this inaugural event!

Oh yeah, and we can't forget the various school presentations by aspiring leaders in going green. Cheers. :)

On to the afternoon. The afternoon (after a sumptuous lunch) will start off with some cool stuff that puts students in a specific scenario, especially for them to express their various thoughts on how to overcome the challenges and still maintain that green direction in their minds! Certainly, a treat for the masses. :P

Hahas, that's all thus far. We've got a few more surprises up our sleeves, but let's reserve those for the actual conference itself. xD

For anyone who's actually reading this, we're always on the lookout for more ways to spice up discussions and to make the forum go ALIVE. Feel free to post any comments here.

National YOUTH Environment Forum (:

What does going green mean to us? That very question is the heartbeat behind our success during the National Youth Environment Forum (NYEF). The NYEF is a culmination of a month of planning, an effort to heighten green awareness and a common heartbeat amongst the 200 odd people seated there just yesterday.

First impressions? Not too good. The place was shabby for such an important event and the number of people present did not seem favourable for a good discussion. After the month of hard work we put in, was this the end? I thought that to myself, keeping it to myself and praying silently that would not be the case.

You know, life is always so unpredictable. Very simply put, NYEF was a success.

NYEF brought together people not only from Singapore but from all over the world and opened my eyes to new perspectives. There was this guy from Sweden and he spoke extremely fluent English. As he recounted Sweden’s efforts in going green which included the battery recycling programme, I wonder, how many of us actually bother ourselves with such a “mundane” topic? Perhaps none in Singapore, but it is a law in Sweden. What does this speak of us?

Not only that but working with a team of strangers was a first for me. They were special because we all started with a common goal – heightening awareness, providing a platform for discussion amongst the people. Hence, we seemingly worked and coordinated very well, possibly beyond my expectations. Certainly a first. It also goes to show how strong the pull of saving the environment is.

Definitely, I’ve also learnt not to judge things on the surface. Though it sounds kind of cliché, it is a true story of failure before success for me. How many of us actually look at ourselves in the mirror and feel that it reflects the worst of us, no matter what time of the day? Things are not as they seem.

NYEF – Naturally Your Extraordinary Forum. (:

Extraordinarily successful. Extraordinarily reflective. Extraordinarily green. xD

National Youth Environment Forum

Hahas <3 NYEF!

Yesterday was the National Youth Environment Forum when alot of people came from all over Singapore to discuss some issues regarding the environment conservation efforts in Singapore. These included discussions on Biodiversity and on Reducing our Carbon Footprint. It was quite a success, I must say. (:

I think that though the Biodiversity room was dominated by specialists, we had a great discussion about the various development projects in Singapore that seek to threaten the stability of the environment we currently live in. I can't believe that we have mousedeer, nor the fact that we have leopard cats in Singapore.

Definitely, this is all thanks to Naked Hermit Crabs Organisation and Nature Trekkers so we'll be able to know about the rich biodiversity in Singapore. Super knowledgeable people!

That being said, the final presentation of all the ideas were pretty good though we did not really stick to the time allocated but it's all in the name of ENVIRONMENT!

When we think of Mandai,
Let us not think only of the Mandai Zoo,
Nor the Night Safari that encapsulates in the darkness,
But the lush Mandai Forest

Cheers! (:

National Youth Environmental Forum (NYEF)

09.05.08 - Beyond Awareness.

How true.

The National Youth Environmental Forum 2008 concluded yesterday with a great bang. Participants were exposed to various guest speakers, given the opportunity to share their ideas in caucus discussions and also, allowed to demonstrate their passion for the environment in front of a youth audience.

Our Service-Learning Project Group, ECO-Echo, grabbed the opportunity and became volunteers for ECO Singapore, the non-governmental organization that we were working with. We managed to gobble part of the Green Pie and were rewarded with valuable Forum Organization skills. We intend to utilize the experience we have gained from the Forum and amplify it further in the [绿话], Small Steps to a Big Change Forum that our group will be spearheading in July.

Yesterday's event was indeed an eye-opener for us. From the various slip-ups in the event, I have gained much. I realize how proactiveness and flexibility were key concepts in the success of the event. It was not the extent of preparation that guarantees the success of the event, but the ability of the organizing team to synergize TEAMWORK and ADAPTABILITY to cope with unforeseen circumstances.

Quoting a personal anecdote from yesterday's forum;

The Guest of Honour, Dr. Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environmental Resources, had arrived. The Organizing Team had conveniently forgotten the gift for the G.O.H.

Under pressure, I conveniently forgot to bring along my handphone and rushed blindly to Raffles City (Which was about 1.5km away, counting the steps and escalators as well) to buy a bouquet for the G.O.H.

When I got back after my 3k.m. run in 20 minutes, I realized that the G.O.H. had already received her gift - a basket of flowers from the Research Univeristy for Leadership (RUL).

I had made a wasted journey - all attributed to my lack of situational awareness.

From this, I learnt that being able to cope under the hustle and bustle of the event was critical and it takes more than enthusiasm to be able to do things right. If I were presented with the exact same situation, I would have 1) Confirmed the need for the gift 2) Brought along a communication device

From this major event, I'm absolutely certain that our group has reaped valuable experience. Our group also agrees that the National Youth Environmental Forum 2008 has provided us with sufficient insights on Forum planing and we are ready to set the stage for our forum.

Let's rock. (:

NYEF 2008

Since we are collaborating with ECO-Singapore, we were roped in to help out at National Youth Environmental Forum 2008, organised by ECO-Singapore.

It was not the first time rendering help to an event - having been in council for the past 3 years it was not something new to me. So the responsibilities that i assumed didn't put too much pressure on me.

On the whole the event went rather well, despite some hiccups here and there. One very important learning lesson is that no matter how flawless your planning is, adaptability is the ultimate factor that can make or break an event. I felt ECO-Singapore personnel handled the situation (like no one present in a certain plenary session) pretty well.

"Beyond Awareness" was the theme of the forum. I guess we all know that we need to do our part to save the earth - anyone can say it, but not everyone does it.

There are really many things that we can do, nothing is too little, nothing is too much. We have to start making changes to our perspectives and lifestyles, to accomodate a green lifestyle. It involves sacrifices, but for a good cause.

Having seen ECO-Singapore's forum ending on such an impactful note, we were even more motivated to hold our own conference, to make the same impact, and to do our part for saving the earth.

NYEF!

National Youth Environment Forum:
10may’08 >> beyond awareness

The NYEF was a great learning experience for me, and really gave me new insights into the organization and running of semi-major conferences as well as current environmental issues.

Helping out in the preparation of the NYEF gave me first-hand and realistic experience with regards to the various program and logistical tasks involved in the running of such events. Even before the dry run of the event, effort was required to gather volunteers, helpers and staff together for discussions and meetings way ahead of the actual things itself. This showed me the need to plan, prepare and coordinate everybody well ahead of the event, and we will definitely try to do the same in the organizing of our very own forum.

On the day before the actual NYEF, Swee Kiat, Dah Wei and I went down to the Riverwalk opposite Central @ Clarke Quay after school to help out in some final preparations for the event; we helped shift furniture, were briefed on the running of the forum, our roles, had a few dry runs for the GoH’s arrival, and various other tasks. Despite these being seemingly simple tasks, I realized that they were actually significant and necessary, and every detail no matter how small had to be taken care of in order to ensure quality and success. Even though the event was quite large scale, I realized that the volunteers and people at ECO were not as “serious” and formal as I expected them to be during the preparation, they would always find time for laughter, informal talk and just casual mixing around. This again taught me that there is really no need to stress yourself out all the way before an event, and it is important for the organizing team to simply relax and enjoy doing what they do in order to make it successful; although, of course, we cannot compromise getting work done in the end.

The day of the National Youth Environment Forum was to be a memorable, exciting and very enriching experience for me. We all got up early and went down to help in last minute preparations such as getting fresh flowers for the GoH, batteries and the registration booth. Despite having many dry runs and preparing a lot for the forum the previous day, there were inevitably some areas that were overlooked, and one of the most crucial was the registration; there was supposed to be 1 hour allocated to the preparation of the registration booth which included what turned out to be the head-ache causing task of sorting out and placing nametags into lanyards. As there were 4 different topics for discussion that people could opt to attend, we had to paste stickers on each nametag individually to colour-code it, this proved to be time-consuming and prone to errors. In addition, the time allocated was actually cut short due to participants turning up earlier than expected, forming a small crowd outside the area waiting for the nametags to be ready; in the end, one thing led to another, and registration became a slow and tedious process as crowds kept coming. This serves as an important lesson for us and we should not repeat the same mistake of doing the registration last minute.

I personally was dispatched as an usher, and for the first few times I approached people, I realized I gave them unclear instructions that led them to the wrong venue due to the layout of the area being rather confusing; after that, I became more precise and included hand gestures to make sure they knew where the opening address venue was.

Another important learning point was that during the actual forum itself, the GoH arrived early, while one of the guest speakers came late, and there were some other hiccups in the timing; this caused some confusion and brought forward the programme, making all of us panic initially. However, the accommodation of the other speakers as well as having a longer tea break allowed the program to flow smoothly in the end despite the original timeslots allocated not being followed closely. This highlights the importance of adaptability and flexibility in planning, as it is inevitable that timing is not kept closely; also, we should not over-plan down to each minute, but sometimes just go with the flow and let the event run smoothly by itself, making decisions on the go.

Aside from the running of the event, I also learnt more about the environment and what various groups are doing to promote its conservation. In the discussion groups we participated in, we got to meet several environment enthusiasts who spoke passionately and realistically about what they do and the current situation in Singapore. Problems highlighted include urban development of primary forests, illegal fishing, usage of harmful devices such as driftnets that kill wildlife indiscriminately, over-consumption of meat leading to large carbon footprint etc. These were all highly relevant and down-to-earth problems in my opinion, and definitely broadened my perspective and perception of environmental problems. It was not all just hypothetical visualizations on the problems faced by the environment, but in line with the theme of the forum “beyond awareness”, participants discussed what small contributions they could make, what they could do for the environment, and what needs to be done now.

On the whole I felt that the NYEF was a large success owed mainly to the experienced organizing team from ECO Singapore, captivating guest speakers, enthusiastic participants, good food, and the brilliant micromanagement and deployment of people. There were many learning points from it, and I hope these can be rubbed-off onto our very own conference, so that it will be equally if not more successful relatively.

Now that Green is IN and everyone is aware of the greatest crisis humanity is facing, it really is time to take awareness to the next level and transform it into action. No contribution is too small, no step is too short in covering this thousand mile journey, all we need to do is: start. Now.

NYEF

back from NYEF, it was quite successful i must say, and im sure we all had fun and gained experience from it. There was a strong turnout and certainly some engaging speakers; the food was also good (: thanks to all participants and organisers for making the event a success and for allowing us to take part in the running of the forum.

[ps this is just a filler; will be editted soon]

National Youth Environmental Forum (cont'd)

I attended the National Youth Environmental Forum 2008 and it really ended of with a great bang. Participants were exposed to various guest speakers, given the opportunity to share their ideas in caucus discussions and also, allowed to demonstrate their passion for the environment in front of a youth audience.

Yesterday's event was indeed an eye-opener for us. From the various slip-ups in the event, I have gained much. I realize how proactiveness and flexibility were key concepts in the success of the event. It was not the extent of preparation that guarantees the success of the event, but the ability of the organizing team to synergize teamwork and adaptability to cope with unforeseen circumstances.

From this major event, I'm absolutely certain that our group has reaped valuable experience. Our group also agrees that the National Youth Environmental Forum 2008 has provided us with new insights on Forum planing and we are ready to set the stage for our own conference.

I have learnt that environmentalism does not only entail personal involvement, but the society as a whole. Changing mindsets and instilling consciousness are essential in shaping the people’s attitude towards environmentalism.

It starts from raising awareness, then beyond awareness. People must get involved in doing their part for the environment. Be it something simple like collecting cans for recycling, or switching of the lights for a reduction in energy consumption, they are small steps towards a greater and greener future.

After the enlightening speeches from the guest speakers, I have changed my perspective of environmentalism. It is no longer a publicity campaign from activists, the responsibility, as I understood, now lies on US. It is up to us to salvage Earth’s situation.

Being a Green ambassador, I know my will is strong, my passion for the environment bubbling with rigour, but it is naught without the strength of the community. After NYEF, I am filled to the brim with ideas, and I sincerely urge all folks to do their part today!

Green starts with you.

Let's rock. (: