NUS participates in Earth Hour 2010

31 Mar 2010

AFTER SIGNING OF STUDENTS’ SUSTAINABILITY CHARTER: Posing for a group photo were 9 NUSSU constituent club presidents together with distinguished guests – (front row, from extreme left) Director of Special Projects from Faculty of Science Prof Leo Tan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and Mayor of South West District Dr Amy Khor, (front row, from extreme right) NUS Deputy President (Administration) Mr Joseph Mullinix, and NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye

START OF EARTH HOUR: The tree-shaped mosaic formed using 2668 origami lilies was lit up in the SRC field after the lights were switched off

NUS joined numerous other individuals and organisations worldwide in observing Earth Hour by switching off all non-essential lights in its participating halls of residence, offices and other premises around the campus on 27 March 2010. This is the second consecutive year that NUS participated in the global movement aimed at creating mass awareness of the need to conserve energy and take action against climate change. This time, NUS’ initiatives in conjunction with Earth Hour went beyond merely creating awareness of environmental issues.

Our staff and students collectively produced a whopping 2668 origami lilies made from recycled paper to form a large iconic tree-shaped mosaic at the centre of NUS’ Sports and Recreation Centre (SRC) field. Recognised as the largest display of origami lilies in Singapore by the Singapore Book of Records, this mosaic signified the vision of “Campus in a Tropical Rainforest”, an initiative of NUS Students’ Union Students Against Violation of the Earth (NUSSU SAVE) to bring together staff, students and corporate organisations to develop a long-term roadmap for the greening of the NUS Kent Ridge campus. The initiative was unveiled along with the NUS Students’ Sustainability Charter, which expressed the hope and commitment of the NUS Students’ Union and its constituent clubs towards environmental conservation.

NUS Earth Hour 2010 was officially launched at 8.30 pm by Guest of Honour, Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and Mayor of South West District, Dr Amy Khor. NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye hosted the event and representatives from various NUS departments were also present to show their support, including Director of Special Projects from Faculty of Science Prof Leo Tan, who was a special guest. During the one hour lights off, the Students’ Sustainability Charter was signed by 15 NUSSU constituent club presidents, inking their commitment to the cause of a more sustainable campus. After the signing ceremony, the guests were treated to a series of musical performances by the Raffles Hall band and NUS CAC Voices at University Hall.

NUS Earth Hour 2010 was organised by NUSSU SAVE with support from the Office of Environmental Sustainability, Office of Estate and Development, Office of Safety, Health and Environment, Office of Campus Security, and six halls of residence in NUS.

With the successful partnership with Southwest CDC, Campus in a Tropical Rainforest was launched by Dr Amy Khor at 8.30pm, with the concurrent countdown to Earth Hour 2010 Switch Off. NUS Student Charter for Sustainability were signed by the various constituent club Presidents thereafter and performances by Raffles Hall and Greyarea followed.

We thank everyone who came for the invite, and all volunteers who have worked real hard to make this event a success!

Below are selected photos from photographers Zhen Guang and Phuy Kun.

Also, if you are on campus around that period, join us in our attempt to build the largest mosaic on SRC field using our origami lilies. Or you can join us for an evening performance over at University Hall Nexus Level #5.

We welcome ALL to join us. Click here to register for the event!

We will be having our LAST DAY of Yahoo! Bulbs Exchange. Bring your old bulbs in exchange for a more energy efficient one. Do drop by University Hall Nexus to ask for the exchange from our friendly volunteers.

Earth Hour. Every Hour.
Join the world in the global fight against climate change.
See You There!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dFMzZUFsQ0NKT3VuaFdCanI5WGhSZkE6MA

1. In support of the WWF Earth Hour global initiative, participating faculties, offices and departments in NUS will switch off all lights, except emergency and street lights on 27 March 2009, Saturday, 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Power supplies are not affected. In the event of an emergency, please call Campus Security Hotline at 6874 1616. For maintenance issues, please contact OED at 6516 1515.

2. Participating areas to date include University Hall, Science, Engineering (Foyer area), Sports and Recreation Centre (SRC) courts, fields, University Health Centre, School of Computing, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Centre for the Arts (CFA) Studios, University Cultural Centre, Temasek Laboratories, Office of Estate and Development (OED), Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) and Yusof Ishak House (YIH).

3. All halls, residences, administrative offices, departments and faculties are encouraged to participate in Earth Hour by switching off their office and room lights on 27 March, Saturday, 8.30pm to 9.30pm. For administrative units, staff are encouraged to switch off their lights on 26 March, Friday evening, before they leave their offices. For enquiries, please contact SAVE at nussu.save@gmail.com or OES at 6516 1983.

Beyond Earth Hour

4. Beyond Earth Hour, the organisers would like to encourage all students and staff to take this opportunity to switch off all lights, air-conditioning, computers and other electrical devices whenever they are not in use.

Earth Hour Programme

5. All staff and students are welcome to join SAVE as they attempt to set a Singapore record for the largest display of origami lilies at the SRC field from 3pm to 6pm. All lilies are folded by NUS students over the past weeks as a sign of their commitment to fight climate change. All origami lilies are made using waste paper and will be recycled after the event. More information about the event is available here.

6. Following that, the switch off ceremony will be held at Nexus, University Hall from 8 to 10pm with Dr Amy Khor, Mayor, Southwest District and Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources as the Guest-of-Honour. Persons interested in attending the event should register at nussu.save@gmail.com.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

NUS Earth Hour 2010 is organised by NUSSU SAVE in partnership with the Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES), Office of Estate and Development (OED), Office of Campus Security (OCS), Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE), and Southwest CDC. This event is also supported by the NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU).

All the paper origamis will be sent for recycling after the event. NUSSU SAVE promotes Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Reuse all your waste products as much as you can, and send them for recycling in our fight against climate change.

Does Earth Hour matter? NUS SAVE says why.

You may have learnt of its existence through the grapevine.

Or, if you do take public transport, you would have seen the huge black posters with a mysterious number, 60, displayed at bus stops.

Better still, you may have been walking around the central business district around 8.30 pm on 27^th March last year when suddenly, the lights of many buildings went out.

Yes, you do know it: Earth Hour is coming again. But do you care? More importantly, should you care? Surely, switching off the lights for an hour a year cannot actually stop climate change, or make any significant impact. Even if it was a symbolic act, what do we do next?

Thankfully, NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE) has offered to address some of our concerns, as well as tell us more about what is planned for Earth Hour this year. SAVE is the main student environment organization in NUS. It aims to raise environmental awareness and activism in NUS and beyond.

One of the many environment-related projects which SAVE initiates and helms is Earth Hour. Last year’s Earth Hour was a simple, cozy affair at the SRC field. Besides the main ‘switch-off’ around the area, a movie, The Day the Earth stood still, was screened and participants helped to form the word ‘NUS’ by using candles.  What can we expect this year? Hongyi, a representative from SAVE, answers our questions.

So, how will this year’s Earth Hour be different?

This year, we’re hoping to build on last year’s experience so that it is not just a switch-off but something more exciting, something that students can be a greater part of rather than just watch a movie with us. We’re still doing the switch off – after all, it’s the main Earth Hour message – but this year what we are looking at is getting concerted student efforts for this movement.

How are you doing that?

We have gotten many student groups on board to do something together for Earth Hour. The 6 halls of residences agreed to do a switch-off at their own halls. I think that’s a very significant change as we’re actually coordinating and getting different student groups to participate with us. We are also working with the other faculty clubs to launch certain environmental guidelines which they will adopt in their activities and operations from Earth Hour itself. Hopefully, once we have the network and platform with the student groups, we can have more meaningful environmental projects together.

So, Earth Hour is not a one-off event which people take part in and just forget about it?

Yes, our point is to engage the student groups so that they have a stake in Earth Hour, in the environment movement. By bringing them together, the students will have a united voice on the environment. Earth Hour is the platform to begin this collaboration.

How about students who do not belong to any student groups? Where do they fit in?

There is another major activity of ours:  the folding of lilies. This is something simple and fun for everyone to participate in. Even if the students cannot come down, they can contribute to the movement. The lilies represent the students’ commitment against climate change and are a physical reminder that Earth Hour is coming. On the day of Earth Hour, we’ll be planting the lilies in the SRC field to form a mosaic of a tree, and to launch our campus tree planting program. We are also hoping to raise funds through the paper lilies. For every lily folded, we are trying to raise an equivalent amount for campus greening projects. In this sense, folding the origami lily is something that the students can really contribute; it’s not just for awareness.

There are many skeptics who feel that Earth Hour is useless. What do you say to them?

Well, there will always be people who say, why are you only switching off for one hour – what’s the point? But I think as long as there is something contributed, that is something good. The actual decrease in carbon emissions for that one hour is not significant. But if we can change someone’s attitude towards the environment – so that he starts to think more about energy conservation, or use less plastic bags – it will be useful. To be able to extend the impact beyond that one hour – that is what makes Earth Hour worthwhile.

Why should people be concerned about climate change?

Simply because it affects us; it affects everyone. Personally, I feel that even if there is no big threat to mankind, it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that we use our resources in a responsible manner. Climate change just gives us a greater urgency and reason to relook the way we use our resources. It is not fair to the planet and future generations to squander away our resources. We are such a small part of the world; what is it that we have that makes us think we are the center of the universe? I’m not saying that we should deny ourselves the resources; we should just use it in a manner which is sustainable.

Finally, what actions would you like to see NUS students taking for Earth Hour?

I would say that whichever way you can contribute is good. We at SAVE highlight 3 things which students can contribute. Firstly, on the day itself, switch off your lights wherever you are, whether you are in the school or the hostel. Secondly, fold the lilies to show your support if you cannot come down. Thirdly, spread the word and make sustainability a part of your daily lives. This year’s WWF Earth Hour message is “Earth Hour, every hour”. So, we would like people to take the message of energy conservation, resource conservation, anything to do with the environment, and tell people about it so that it is not something which is restricted to them alone.

The global Earth Hour movement will be held on 27^th March from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. You can help by switching off your lights wherever you are, and/or by folding an origami lily.

NUS SAVE will be holding an Earth Hour event at the SRC on that evening. Highlights include a switch-off of lights around the area, an attempt to create the largest paper lily display in Singapore, as well as the launching of environmentally friendly campus initiatives and a concert under the stars.

For more information, please visit the NUS Earth Hour website or send your questions to nussu.save@gmail.com .

The last2 lightbulb exchange sessions will be as such:

22nd March 2010
Sheares Hall Canteen
1800 hrs to 2000 hrs

25th March 2010
Eusoff Hall Canteen
1800 hrs to 2000 hrs