Rainforest GC reforesting Singapore

In May 2013 members of Rainforest GC planted out three more rainforest trees raised from seed in our dedicated tree nursery on the Dover Campus. With space running out on Campus we have decided to offer trees to the wider community. An interested parent kindly gave us space to plant in her lovely garden along nearby Coronation Road.

pictured left to right: Arjan Heck, Nina Bengtsson, Mary-Kate How Fee, Sabrina Chui, 

Terminalia cattapia (Sea Almond) 

                                          

 Andira inermis (Brownheart)

Planting in May 2013- - not pictured

Delonix regia (Flame of the Forest )

There will be more plantings soon as the Nursery makes space for more critically endangered species in an exciting new partnership with Singapore Botanic Gardens. Please contact Nathan Hunt on nhu@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg if you would like to be involved or know someone who might want a rainforest tree in their garden!

No Drive day number 2 - a huge thank you

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2nd No Drive Day on the 29th May 2013. Be it volunteering to ensure infant school's safety or simply taking public transport and walking into school. 

We are glad to announce that a total of 385 cars drove into school (usually between 700-800 on a normal day) and our  40kg of parent-sponsored bananas ran out at 7:50am (that's about 240-260 people walking into school).

So thank you for everyone's support in making the 2nd No Drive Day a huge success. It is uplifting to be part of a community that is so enthusiastic and cooperative in our environmental initiative.

and yet more greening of the campus...

We have a little nut tree!

by Frankie Meehan

photo:Frankie Meehan

On 22 May we celebrated our fourth International Green Wave Day. Students from the “40 Trees for 40 Years” environmental service planted a nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans) in the small island in front of the Communications and Marketing Office.

The nutmeg is remarkable for producing not just one, but two, popular spices: nutmeg and mace. The egg-shaped seed has a lacy, reddish covering known as mace in its dried form. Both spices are sweetish and aromatic. If you are a fan of the local dessert, ais kacang, you may be interested to know that the Penang version of the dish is topped with shavings of nutmeg rind. Even Scottish haggis contains both nutmeg and mace.

Until the mid-19^th century nutmeg trees grew only in the Banda islands of Indonesia. They have since spread throughout the region; indeed, Orchard Road got its name from the nutmeg, pepper and fruit plantations that dominated the area about 80 years ago. Next time you pass the Ion Orchard shopping mall, look out for a lovely bronze sculpture, Nutmeg and Mace, by Kumari Nahappan.

Environmentally - friendly gardening!

Members of UWSEA's Gardening group be-friended a female Draco lizard while working in the gardens this week. Proof if needed that life at UWCSEA really can be environmentally-friendly! And no it's not a plastic one!

The gardeners are doing a great job greening the campus...great to see the area being transformed by lots of green-fingered hard work.

                                     photo: Susan Edwards

LEAF 'NO DRIVE' DAY 2013

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the LEAF No Drive day 2013. It was fantastic to see the school drive empty of vehicles at 8am, as students enjoyed walking in with friends. As well as walking a range of inspired modes of transport were seeing passing the gate, which was fantastic to see. We ask that you consider alternative ways to travel to school on a more regular basis, so we can continue to make our school environment a more pleasant place to be. 

A survey was carried out within MS and HS students about their usual mode of transport and this information will be processed for a later date. If you did not get a chance to complete this, the online survey is still open for completion and can be accessed at the link below:

https://docs.google.com/a/gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg/forms/d/1sJW84htdd0WZRroZdGxGfNV9CNVQBqB7W7GNVVaQOXM/viewform

Also during the day, a very successful and popular used clothing drive took place and bake sale and fair, with proceeds going to the different environmental GCs within the school. Also popular on that day was the great guided walk by '40 trees GC' - Thanks for offering that on the day and will there be another walk soon?

Many thanks again to the whole school community for supporting this great day, and we look forward to further No Drive days later in the year. 

8am in the morning - no cars on the drive -  a great sight. 

LEAF DAY 2013 WALK IN UPDATE

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is planning their trip to school on Friday...... Try not to come in a car, and if you really have to, think about who to come with - can you Carpool for the morning?

For those who are joining our walk in (Free chocolates....=) we have changed our meeting points - See the map below for specific details. See you between 7.20am and 7.50am on Friday in your best Green outfits.

Mrs A

The points to meet are:
Ayer Rajah Telecoms Bus Stop (just across the road from Singtel tower on school side of road)
Outside ACS Bus stop
30 Dover Avenue/Dover Gardens (the roundabout/ drop off point)

LEAF Day 2013

Friday March 8th  -  LEAF Day 2013 - open to all!

Green Mufti day for all  - No drive and Green Fair celebrations after school.

NO DRIVE DAY  - all students (particularly those who normally arrive in cars) are invited to take up the challenge of coming to school on this one morning by alternative means of transport - Could you walk for a change? Or is there a local bus that comes close? What about the MRT? With One North now being close, as well as Buena Vista and Dover, taking the MRT has never been easier.  If a car is the only option open to you, could you carpool for the day, so bring some other friends who also have to drive in?
(Note: School buses will run as normal.)

Green walkers will be meeting near the ends of Dover road and Dover Rise on the morning from 7.20am until 7.50am and we would like to invite you all to join the mass walk in. HS students will be on hand to chaperone younger students. 

All students will receive an online link to a quick survey during next week about your usual mode of transport to school. Please can you fill this in - we are trying to build up a more accurate picture of how everyone arrives on campus and exact numbers, so we would really appreciate it if everyone could complete it.

USED CLOTHING DRIVE - Throughout the day there will be a used clothing drive taking place under the tent plaza. Come and boost your wardrobe with funky, well loved items. Bring along any old clothes, that are still in good condition, to add to the choices. Prices will range from $2-$10.

GREEN FAIR AND CELEBRATION  - TENT PLAZA - After school from 3.30pm - 7pm (just before the HS dance show) there will be a big celebration of going Green. Two very special and interesting guests will be visiting us to tell us more about their drive for a more sustainable future:

Green Riders (SEA)  will be present and will explain about their amazing Bamboo bikes and their environmental expeditions around Asia.   http://greenriders.asia
(Photo from website : AhSun’s from his incredibleBamboo Bike journey along the Silk Road. )

Carol Goodwin - Who will talk about her sustainable businesses that sells environmentally friendly and recycled products. Check out  http://www.wedoseelife.com/ and http://thejimi.com

All environmental focused GCs on campus will be present - come support your classmates. Come as well and buy yummy snacks, get some funky Henna tattoos, and chill out listening to a range of your favourite student bands playing for you for free. And if you haven't expanded your wardrobe by that point, the clothing drive will still be taking place. 

So come along and take part - Lets celebrate some Green action!

Go LEAF Go!

Congratulations to LEAF for all the successful initiatives so far - what a great 2012!

Let's hope this inspires more students to turn Dover Campus into a showcase for sustainability in 2013. Okay, so there's a long way to go...but this shows that we're going in the right direction!

UN Night - Plastic Free!

This UN night, the campus community came together, not only culturally, but environmentally. Through everyone's amazing efforts, we managed to successfully have a Plastic Free evening.

The LEAF team heavily  encouraged people to bring their own bowls and cutlery, whilst also supplying biodegradable cutlery, bowls and paper plates that could be borrowed at a 2$ deposit on the night. There was a pleasantly surprising number of people at the event who brought their own and those who didn't had no other choice but to use the corn-ware cutlery. When people returned their cutlery they received their 2$ back, as we wanted to ensure they were recycled accordingly. However, 550$ were made off the deposits that people did not return and this will go to the planting of 110 trees!

The Earth benefitted and we benefitted. I sure I am getting sick of having plastic in my diet and this was the first significant step to the future eradication in our school community. Thank you all again and stay updated!

Week Five - where we stand

So far this term, LEAF has made $85 selling popcorn at the UWCSEA Staff's Got Talent show, which will go to planting 17 trees. The popcorn was homemade and the bags for it were made from recycled magazines and newspaper.

An update on UN Night - we are going for no-plastics rather than no-waste, and focus our efforts on this. 

We will either rent cutlery from the school canteen (Sodexo), or use biodegradable cutlery - such as cornstarch or wood. For plates and bowls we will supply either banana leafs or paper. Both the cutlery and plates/bowls will be available at each stall. 

But most importantly we are strongly advertising guests to bring their own cutlery and food containers because this is the most sustainable option.

By Vaidehi Agrawalla Grade 11 LEAF member