Green Day@NIE

The Green Day@NIE was organised on Tuesday 16th March 2010 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UiD Level 1.

Minister for Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen,planted a tree at NIE just outside the Student Hub on to celebrate NIE’s 60th anniversary!

As part of GreenDay@NIE and in line with 2010 being the United Nation’s International Year of Biodiversity ( see http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.com/ ), the NIE Green Club presented an array of fun and educational activities which include the following highlights:

- A Reverse Vending Machine for recycling placed at the Student Hub from 15th March to 22nd March. Feed cans, plastic or glass bottles to the machine and receive a sticker for every item recycled.

- Green activities by a group of students from the School of the Arts (SOTA) and Mayflower Secondary School. Mingle and chat with these students to learn more about their green projects.

Our YEGs Gladys and Brenda were there to show case Shoo Mozzie.

Here are their reflection.

I went down to the National Institute of Education with my friend Brenda last Saturday, to promote an organic, eco-friendly insect repellent, as well as updating on what my seniors have done to help reduce carbon footprints in the atmosphere.

In total, we have sold 14 bottles of Shoo! Mozzie on Saturday. I was shocked when some people made the trip down to NIE just to give positive comments about the insect repellent's effectiveness and even encouraged others to purchase the Shoo! Mozzie.

I have learnt a lot from the trip. Schools like School of the Arts, were present too, several interesting posters documenting their Pangolin conservation in progress and sculptures in the making.

Besides the School of the Arts, the Green Club also demonstrated a magnificent way of recycling plastic bottles into flower pots. Furthermore, promoting the development of Kampong quotient and mentioning of Surabaya service-learning trip which took place a few years ago.

Minister Ng Eng Hen graced the occasion that day. Not only did he take his time off to look at the various presentations we prepared, he also planted a tree outside the NIE's Students' Hub.

If I am not wrong, they are going to measure how much the tree have grown in terms of height and volume, in a decade's time. Personally, I have learnt alot from this event, specifically on how to help save the environment.

Prof Vilma, from the NIE and Mr. Jabbar, were a great help that day. Mr. Jabbar taught me how to use this simple device (made out of a protractor, plumb line and a straw put together) to obtain a rough measure of the volume, and height of a tree.

In the Students' Hub itself, I spotted a peculiar machine right beside my booth. Then I realised it is a machine that recycle plastic bottles! And for every plastic bottle recycled, you will be rewarded with stickers. Once you accumulated a certain amount of stickers, you can redeem prizes like an eco-friendly bag.

It was definitely a rare experience, down at NIE, and I have no doubt enjoyed myself there. Knowing how each and every little thing you do might affect the environment, and ways to help conserving the nature is very crucial, especially now, when parts of the world are facing serious global warming cases.

I really do hope everyone will do their part in saving Earth. Such small acts like turning off the air-con when it is not in use and reducing the usage of disposable chopsticks can help save the environment. We should start to realise the effects done to the environment, and start turning back, before it is all too late.

And this is the reply from Prof Vilam

Hi Zuraidah, Jabbar & Green Club, students from Mayflower and SOTA,

What a great showcase of eco-living and green activities! I was very impressed with the layout of exhibits and displays, games and information sharing at today’s Green Day at the Student Hub of NIE. I am very proud of you, Green Club! I am sure the Minister and my colleagues were impressed as well. Thanks for showcasing the meaningful activities the Green Club is doing—recycling plastic bottles into pots, measuring height and girth of trees and promoting the development of Kampung Quotient (Minister passed well, I understand). It was also great that you shared about your Surabaya Service-Learning trip which happened a few years ago.

Thanks very much to Mayflower Secondary School—girls, you did a wonderful job of promoting organic herbal insect repellent and selling Shoo! Mozzie… yaay! Many thanks for joining us today. I hope you enjoyed meeting the Minister and our colleagues. Many thanks, Frances!

SOTA students, Kheng Kin and Shihui—lovely posters documenting your pangolin conservation project in progress, and your sculptures in the making. Thanks for taking photos—we’d love to have them. I hope the students enjoyed meeting Minister and his entourage as well as interacting with our colleagues.

Herwanto and all clubs—many thanks for your unwavering support—for being there. Please thank the clubs for us.

Happy Green Day! Switch off those aircons when you can : ) And never ever use disposables… use the eco-stick : )

The Making of Shoo! Mozzie

The making of Shoo! Mozzie.


During the school holidays, a group of YEGs came back to make a new batch of Shoo Mozzie.



These are the ingredients for the Shoo! Mozzzie. Aloe Vera Gel, essential oils of lemon grass and citronella.


Lemongrass and citronella are natural insect repellents and have been a traditional remedy against mosquito attacks for many years since before the appearance of DDT and other modern insecticides.


YEGs bottling the Shoo! Mozzie.




Putting on the stickers.
Shoo! Mozzie comes in a handy 30 ml glass amber bottle as glass is more environmentally friendly than plastic



The coloured glass keeps out UV rays which damage the contents. Store shoo! Mozzie in a cool, dark place to prolong shelf life.

The funds we raised from the sale of Shoo Mozzie will be donated to Cicada Tree Eco Place for them to conduct educational programmes for the public.

We thank Mr Jacob Lai from skinplus.com.sg
who has kindly sponsored an additional one bottles of Shoo! Mozzie.

A Vision of Hope

On a bright sunny Saturday, four YEGs and two teachers attended the Jane Goodall Symposium entitled A Vision for Hope.



























The YEG took this opportunity to share with the participants on the possibility of using natural herbs found in the kitchen as insect repellent.


They also explain the need to take action to save the Leopard Cat. Here a YEG is putting on the mask which has been designed to promote the understanding of Leopard Cat.





The YEGs who took part in this symposium were (from left) Tracy, Wai Teng , Marcus and Kai Shan.

Dr Jane Goodall visited our exhibition booth. Kai Shan too this opportunity to explain to her about the Shoo Mozzie that were developed by Cicada Tree Eco Place. Ka Shan also presented her with a bottle of Shoo Mozzie.



Marcus also spoke to her about Cicada Tree effort to promote eco living.

The YEG is looking forward to more opportunity to promote eco-living.

They are also inspired by Dr Jane Goodall to start a Root and Shoot in Mayflower Secondary School.
























Reflection Questions for YEGs.
1.Why do you think it is important to promote the eco-living?

2. Do you think your effort is worth it?

3. Is there a better way to promote eco-living?

Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore) Youth Symposium - A Vision For Hope

The Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore) Youth Symposium - A Vision For Hope will be held on 6th June 2009
This Symosium will provide an opportunity for 250 14–20 year-olds to meet other Roots & Shoots groups and work together to create a vision that will truly make a difference.

Events include a Green Generation Concert at the Singapore Botanical garden on the 5th of June and a Youth Symposium on the 6th of June.

Read more for details.









For more information please go to this website:

http://jgisyouthsymposium.ning.com/

For more information please go to this website

http://www.greengeneration09.com/home.html

Training for the NYBC

To be effective environmentalist needs training. When the YEGs set up road shows to raise funds for our partner NGOs like Cicada Tree Eco Place and ACRES, being trained in running a business will be useful. With this in mind, the YEGs took part in the National Youth Business Challenge

One team of YEGs from Mayflower Secondary School entered the final of the (NYBC).




According to the it's website (http://www.nybc-sg.com/index.html) the National Youth Business Challenge (NYBC) is an annual outreach programme organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic, School of Business & Accountancy.

It seeks to offer meaningful and enriching learning experience for secondary school students through hands on learning. Experiential learning emphasizes on practical application of theory in a realistic setting with the macro and micro forces coming into play. This educational model will encourage learning self-sufficiency as well as allow for genuine learning through reflection on experience.

This year in collaboration with Freaser & Neave, the theme is set to be environmental friendly. As such, student teams will be taught essential practical business skills and knowledge to set up earth friendly businesses.

In line with the Ministry of Education’s thrust to foster awareness of the importance of earth friendly businesses, the School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Compass Point Shopping Centre are jointly organizing a competition to harness the energies of the youth to generate earth friendly business concepts and ideas.

To provide realistic hands-on learning, student teams in the finals will have the opportunity to market their earth business for 2 days, over the weekend in the Compass Point Shopping Centre in Sengkang.


Topics will include: - Marketing- Retails Management- Entrepreneurship- Customer Service- Operation- Human Resource The final part of NYBC will see student teams marketing their business in the real world, Compass point on 21st and 22nd March 2009. It will be accompanied by performances, quiz and competitions.




Our CEO Marcus Quek and CFO Jeremiah Chan.


Our retail executives.


Our treasurer with one of our Borad of Director Mrs Koh.










Our CEO and CIF refining the business plan during the workshop.

The YEGs will be setting up the shop on 22nd March, Sunday at Compass Point from 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. Do come down and support us. We will be rasing funds fro Cicada Tree Eco Place and Acres as well as educating the public on how to use natural herbs found in the kitchen as insect repellent.

Nature Insect Repellent

Learning from a NGO called Journey to Forever, the YEGs@Mayflower decided to explore the possibility of using local herbs and plants as insect repellent

The reasons are

a. It is sustainable: made entirely from locally available renewable resources

b. It is empowering: processed entirely by the end-user as needed

c. It is eco-friendly: won't boil the planet or blow a hole in the sky.


PandanThe first plant we explored was the Pandan leave.



Did you know that Pandan leave is an effective repellent?

Two researchers from NTU did a research using Pandan Leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) as a natural cockroach repellent.

It was observed that taxi drivers in Singapore and Malaysia kept bunches of pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) in their taxis to ward off cockroaches.

Many families (including the Esshold) also use Pandan leaves as a natural cockroach repellent. In addition, it also makes the kitchen smell nice and clean.


For those who are interested, you may go to this website to see the researcher's report.

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/eee/urop/congress2003/Proceedings/abstract/NUS_FoS/TDP%20USP/Li%20Jingmei.pdf


Lemon Grass



Lemon grass contains citronella oil, a safe and natural insect repellent that's just as effective as the commercial chemical products, especially when it's fresh.

You can rub the long, grassy leaves on the skin, but the stalk worked even better. Take one stalk of fresh lemon grass and peel off the outer leaves, snap off the grass blades behind the swollen stem at the base.

Bend the stem between your fingers, loosening it, then rub it vigorously between your palms so that it fractures into a kind of fibrous juicy mass, and rub this mess over all exposed skin, covering thoroughly at least once. Pleasant on the skin and the effect lasts about 4-5 hours.




According to the CRC Ethnobotany Desk Reference by Tim Johnson, lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is traditionally used in various parts of the world as an antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cyanogenetic, dentrifice, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, pectoral, preventative (cold), stimulant, sudorific, and tonic, used to treat common cold, consumption, cough, depurative, dyspepsia, elephantiasis, fever, flu, gingivitis, headache, hypertension, insecticide, leprosy, malaria, mouth sores, neuritis, pneumonia, pyorrhea, rheumatism, sprains, and toothache.

The Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Index at the Purdue Guide to Medicinal and Aromatic Plants has a lot of information on lemon grass, also listing it as an insect repellent and a medicinal plant, and says it's used in food and confections, in perfumes and cosmetics, soaps and creams, as a flavouring in soft drinks, and as a mask for industrial bad smells.



The information above is obtained from this blog:

http://journeytoforever.org/edu_homer.html






Turmeric
Turmeric (yellow powder or yellow ginger) can be found in most kitchen in Singapore.

Turmeric has been used for many conditions in traditional medicine in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Turmeric has been applied to insect stings and to alleviate itching.






There are many uses of turmeric and you can go to the website below to check out the information.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/turmeric-000277.htm



Garlic




Garlic, a common staple found in kitchens in Singapore, has been considered a special food.

Garlic has a natural sulfur which repels insects, including mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. Spraying garlic concentrates as a mosquito repellent is not something new. Farmers and master gardeners have been doing it for many generations.

According to some website, mosquitoes are soft-bodied insects so the garlic juice can be very toxic to them in increased concentrations.

The juice does not harm humans or pets or plants, but to mosquitoes it can be deadly.






The odor of it chases them out of the area and they stay away - for as long as they can detect the odor. While the odor of sprayed garlic juice becomes undetectable to humans within minutes, the mosquitoes will still detect it.




Mosquitoes have a very heightened olfactory sense - as high as 10,000 times better than humans. They can detect the garlic extract for much longer periods of time and will stay away from the sprayed area of garlic juice for up to a month and more.

Nature's Remedy