Executive Board
From left to right: Shikhar, Jeremy, Jiamin, Xiaoyun, Gemma, Zac
| Name | Position | |
| Neo Xiaoyun | President | xiaoyun.neo@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
| Heng Jia Min | Vice-President + Education Cluster IC | hengjiamin@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
| Gemma Green | Vice-President + Experiential Cluster IC | gemmagreen@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
| Shikhar Agarwal | Secretary + Treasurer | shikhar.agarwal@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
| Jeremy Yew | Publicity + Research Cluster IC | jeremy.yew@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
| Zac Yeow | Welfare | zac.yeow@u.yale-nus.edu.sg |
Our Clusters
An important facet of environmental activism is to get people connected to the natural environment through real-world experiences, in light of the “extinction of experience” amongst the new generation today. Our Urban Farming team seeks to instill a committed group of farming enthusiasts that explore the origins of their food and learn about essential farming techniques hands-on in an urban setting. Our Experiential Learning team organises field trips and learning journeys to places such as Ground Up Initiative and Bukit Brown so that our students can develop a deeper connection with nature. Check out these projects below:
Project 1. Experiential trips
Trips to the great outdoors will allow participants to reconnect with Singapore’s biodiversity, gain perspectives about the importance of conserving nature in urban Singapore and meet with like-minded individuals a. An upcoming project is an inter-university exploration Chek Jawa, facilitated by experienced NParks guides. The tour will take place at low-tide, for the best opportunity to see wildlife and the six distinct ecosystems. Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/UnisatUbin
Project 2. Urban Farming
The urban farming project was started by a small group of student farming enthusiasts who wished to grow food on campus in an effort to learn more about the food they consume. What started as a few herb planter boxes has now blossomed into an urban farm located outside the Cendana Dining Hall. Within the first semester of establishing the urban farming project, the team organized urban farming workshops, tours to farms around Singapore and a dialogue session involving urban farmers, urban planners and other industry experts.
The urban farming team has since grown into a tight-knit group of student urban farmers who meet weekly to discuss food-related issues and tend to the urban farm. We visit neighboring urban farms to learn good farming practices from seasoned farmers, embark on food challenges to learn about the effects of certain foods on their bodies (such as the No Sugar challenge), and raise awareness of food to the school community by organizing events such as the inaugural I’dECOOK, a cooking competition that got competitors to cook for a ‘responsible diet’.
The education cluster looks to promote key environmental values and messages to others. Increasing the awareness of environmental issues among youth across all levels of education is pivotal in creating a culture of sustainability. The environmental education team focuses on creating educational opportunities for students in Singapore to be informed about current global challenges, and to participate in active discussion and collaboration with key players in society to bring about greater social change.
Project 1. Singapore Environmental Action & Leadership (SEAL) Programme
The Singapore Environmental Action & Leadership Programme is a workshop which aims to equip 20-30 sustainability enthusiasts in pre-tertiary institutions with the knowledge and analytical skills to create innovative environmental solutions. The programme runs in the last week of every semester in our college. Find out more here: http://www.idecosealprogramme.com/programme
Status: AAR for SEAL 2.0 which ended in December; recruiting organisers and facilitators for SEAL 3.0
Project leader: Xiaoyun & Jiamin, Huiran as mentor
Project 2. Chili Padi Academy (CPA)
Chili Padi Academy is an environmental leadership & education accelerator programme for senior high school students from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. The programme exposes youth leaders to innovative ideas for sustainability, the methodology of design-thinking, and the learning tool of problem-based learning. The programme also aims through exercises for reflection, fieldtrips and journalling, to encourage participants to explore the possibilities with technology. We hope to utilize the best resources and networks we can tap on to nurture them to greater heights they have never before achieved. A more detailed description on the program can be found on www.chilipadiacademy.weebly.com
Project 3. Photography + Environment Panel Discussion
The Photography Club, Environmental Studies and Arts & Humanities are bringing in James Delano, founder of EverydayClimateChange for a week of workshops, masterclasses and talks. You can find out more about his work here: http://www.jameswhitlowdelano.com/. The panel is about using photojournalism and other mediums/disciplines (e.g. hard data, art-ivism, journalism) to encourage public/mass engagement with a concept as intangible as environmental sustainability and climate change.
Status: Preliminary steps spelt out; planning yet to commence regarding the theme of the panel / invitation of panelists
Project leader: Xiaoyun and Jia Min
The research cluster seeks to explore best practices in other academic institutions and theories in environmental studies to bring about effective, targeted activism campaigns on campus. Drawing on our multi-disciplinary liberal arts education, we want to ensure that our environmental projects are grounded on strong theoretical understanding. Our projects are as follows:
Project 1. Sustainable Blueprint
The Sustainability Blueprint is a research-backed proposal detailing recommendations to make our college campus and community more sustainable, to be presented to senior administration by the end of this semester. We believe that Yale-NUS is uniquely positioned to be a leader in institutional sustainability, and that putting environmental issues at the forefront of its responsibilities aligns with its mission of enabling young people to lead responsible lives in the 21st century. Our approach is to study existing efforts implemented by other universities and adapt them to the Yale-NUS context. From infrastructural changes to administrative policies to curriculum programs, we aim to provide a comprehensive but feasible ‘blueprint’ for the future of the college. Through this project, we hope to show that apart from starting bottom-up initiatives, students can take a more proactive role in the shaping of college culture, through policy research and advising.
Project Leader: Jeremy
Status: Ongoing. Accepting new writers to review and edit existing content. Looking for designer to format final document.
Project 2: Recycling documentary
Sorting It Out is a documentary that explores the recycling culture and waste management facilities on Yale-NUS College campus. Waste management is a prevalent environmental issue. Excessive landfills cause land and water pollution, and is harmful to the environment. In Singapore, most of the general waste is incinerated. Thus, this documentary seeks to explore the usage of campus recycling facilities. While placing focus on recycling, it questions whether individual actions of recycling is enough in the environmental movement. On the other hand, while recycling is important, the documentary also asks thought provoking questions on how consumerist and capitalist culture might be the real problem, rather than the lack of recycling culture in a community.
Project Leader: Xin Run and Wing Yan
Status: Ongoing
Project 3: Strategies for Sustainability
Strategies for Sustainability is the sustainability consulting arm of I’dECO, the Yale-NUS College Sustainability Movement. This semester we are developing a materiality index of what stakeholders in the school think about Yale-NUS’s position on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This materiality index will allow us to consult the school’s senior administration on ESG practices in the school, review ESG practices to prioritise, celebrate and improve as a school and eventually produce a report that will shape ESG practices in Yale-NUS.
Status: Ongoing. Potentially accepting new members in the second half of the semester.
Project Leader: Christina and Wan Ping
Advisors
Tan Weiliang, President AY14/15 and AY15/16
Jeffrey Tong, Vice-President AY14/15 and AY15/16
Kimberly Hoong, Vice-President AY15/16
Elizabeth Heng, Secretary and Co-director (Urban Farming), AY15/16
Kwok Yingchen, Treasurer AY14/15 and AY15/16
Keith Tong, Publicity Director AY15/16
Lai Ying Tong, Director (Publicity and Public Education), AY15/16
Alumni
Swarnima Sircar, Director (Sustainable Events), AY15/16
Margaret Fenerty Schumman (Dining Hall)
Benjamin Leong (Dining Hall)
Maria Ivanenkon (Experiential Learning)
Rachel Quek (Publicity and Public Education)
Zhang Yaolin (Publicity and Public Education)
Dennis Chiang (Exco – Treasurer)
Ross Rauber (Experiential Learning)