A Green Day with Yishun Secondary School

Written by Wong Wai Cheng

Go Green SG 2024 has seen a variety of activities organised by more than 360 partners from different sectors – corporates, government, community groups and more. Schools are getting into the action too, organising events to champion sustainability within the community, and encouraging residents to do their part for the environment.

Prior to Go Green SG, Yishun Secondary School (YSS) hosted YSS Green Day @ Zone H. YSS green class representatives (also known as Green Champions), YSS Girl Guides and students from Sec 2 Innovate, Sec 2 Respect and Sec 2 Seek worked together with the Nee Soon South Zone H Residents’ Committee and National Environment Agency (NEA) to engage Nee Soon South residents and YSS students on environmental sustainability.

During the event, residents picked out freshly-harvested vegetables from a community garden, and learnt more about home composting at booths run by YSS students. YSS students also prepared infographics to raise awareness about different types of waste: e-waste, plastic waste, and food waste. Furthermore, residents also had the opportunity to participate in the game booths created by recycled materials.

Wen Yi and Xin En, Green Champions of Class 3 Strive, shared their reflections on YSS Green Day to more than 1,200 schoolmates at a schoolwide assembly sharing on 27 June 2024. They shared about the collaborative efforts among the stakeholders in the community, as well as their reflections of the community-driven environmental initiative. Their presentation concluded with a short video showcasing the day’s activities and expressing appreciation to the students and staff who organised and attended the event.

Xin En felt it was important for sustainability-related initiatives to achieve long-term goals, sharing that she was keen to raise awareness on recycling right and having a clean environment.

Meanwhile, Wen Yi felt that sustainability advocacy should not be limited to the Green Champions of each class. Having everyone - students and the community - adopt green living practices will achieve greater outcomes for the environment. Both Green Champions suggested tapping on social media to increase their outreach to other schools, as well as the wider community.

“It is important that students learn and contribute to environmental sustainability as they are the future of Singapore”, said teacher-in-charge Mr Kong Rui Jia. Beyond learning about wider issues such as the limited lifespan of Semakau Landfill during Geography lessons, Mr Kong strongly believed that students should get hands-on with activities that give back to the community.

More Than Just A Day
YSS is also expanding its efforts to adopt green living practices on a school-wide scale, placing a Reverse Vending Machine in their school canteen till the end of the year. The machine serves as a tool in their inter-class competition to encourage students to recycle plastic bottles and metal cans. Students are encouraged to rinse the recyclables at nearby sinks, and place them into the machine to collect points.

YSS Green Day @ Zone H and its whole-school assembly sharing are important platforms for students to continue advocating for environmental sustainability issues, bringing us one step closer to making the environment clean, green, and sustainable for future generations.