wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Today Online 5 Dec 05
Great green ideas
Environmentally-conscious S'poreans are inspired by German conservation tips
 Lee U-Wen in Cologne, Germany

ONE wants to set up education centres to show Singaporeans how to go green. Another is studying ways to convince supermarkets to start charging for plastic bags. Yet another is pushing for more recycling activities in the community.

To reward such passion for the environment, four young Singaporeans were recently appointed by German multinational firm Bayer as its latest batch of Young Environmental Envoys.

They won themselves a week-long study tour at Bayer's headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany, where they experienced first-hand the environmental protection measures adopted by industries and German authorities.

Joined by 43 other like-minded youths from 13 countries, the trip proved to be an eye-opener as the four Singapore envoys toured incineration and recycling plants and attended seminars on sustainable development. They also learned about water and air monitoring systems at the Rhine River, and met with senior management from the city's environmental protection agency.

Bayer is a global research leader in various fields such as healthcare and innovative materials. It first launched its envoy programme in 1995, which Singapore has been a part of since 2001.

After attending the site tours and conferences, Mr Oliver Goh, 19, said he was more convinced of the pressing need to step up environmental awareness efforts among children as early as possible.

"In Germany, I saw many people young and old bring their own bags when they go shopping. They even separate waste material like glass and plastics before recycling them, but in Singapore we don't do that much," said the final-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic student.

Mr Goh, who is also a volunteer guide with the National Parks Board, praised the green education programmes in schools, but felt parents had an equally important role to play as well.

"Families should create this awareness at home and explain to children why things such as recycling should be practiced. After all, our country's future policies will be shaped by today's younger generation," he added.

Environmental engineering student Hu Shuying was surprised by the fact that most Germans voluntarily drive to recycling centres to leave their discarded items such as old computers and mattresses. "The citizens here are really active in going green and I learned this has been their culture for many years.

"My aim now is to put together a public campaign to show Singaporeans that it does not take much to recycle, but their efforts will go a long way," said the 22-year-old, who spends her time as a volunteer guide at the Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve. She is also the chairperson of the Green Committee of her hostel at the National University of Singapore.

The other two Singaporean delegates were Raffles Junior College first-year student Yvonne Chan and engineer Li Hui Shi, 23, who volunteers with the National Youth Council's Environmental Challenge Organisation.
links
Related articles on Singapore: general environment issues and Reduce, reuse, recycle
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com