Earth Day a time to get back to nature

More than 5,000 Singaporeans attend Yishun event aimed at spreading green message
Fiona Low Straits Times 23 Apr 11;

IT WAS a good Friday for the environment yesterday when more than 5,000 people turned up at Bottle Tree Park in Yishun to celebrate Earth Day.

Organised by non-profit group Ground-Up Initiative (GUI), the event was aimed at educating the public on ways to be pro-nature.

GUI's event manager Lim Theng Chiew said: 'Over the years, much has been said about issues on climate change but people are stuck with their old habits and find it hard to change and be more environmentally-conscious.

'With this event, we hope to be able to raise awareness and educate children especially so they will inculcate good habits such as recycling and not over-consuming from a young age.'

Participants at the event could sign up for workshops such as compost-making, where they learnt how to reduce organic waste at home, and puppet-making using scrap materials.

Activities such as yoga sessions by the lake were designed to get visitors to connect with nature.

Businessman Aaron Tan, 37, who was there with his wife and two children aged seven and nine, found the programme 'interesting'.

'We're coming here mainly for the children so they can understand how to care for the environment. The Earth is their future and it will burn out if they don't learn to conserve it,' he said.

Other eco-friendly projects are also bearing fruit.

The 'Bring Your Own Bag' initiative launched by supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice saved six million plastic bags last year .

The initiative, launched two years ago, encourages consumers to minimise plastic bag wastage by giving a 10-cent rebate with a minimum spending of $10 to those who bring their own carriers.

From now till May 8, the FairPrice Foundation will donate $1 for every can or PET bottle that customers take in to recycle at the Ang Mo Kio Hub FairPrice Xtra hypermarket, City Square Mall supermarket and Marine Parade FairPrice Finest store.

FairPrice outlets will also sell reusable shopping bags, with the proceeds going to charity.

Through these schemes, up to $30,000 will be donated to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and the Singapore Disability Sports Council.

A scheme launched by the Building and Construction Authority will now allow existing residential buildings to be certified 'green'.

In a pilot project, seven Housing Board precincts and a private development underwent assessments on criteria such as average energy consumption per household and green features in the estate, such as energy-saving lighting.

Advisor to Yuhua Grassroots Organisations, Ms Grace Fu, said: 'These efforts by various stakeholders will be a small step towards making Singapore more environmentally sustainable.

'It will also help to keep the cost of lighting our estate low and mitigate the impact of fluctuation in the cost of utility.'

The BCA plans to explore extending the Green Mark scheme to other existing residential estates.