Short Introduction of the H3roes Programme:
In early 2011, Canon Singapore and the National Environment Agency embarked upon the H3ROES Green Initiative, seeking to help breed environmental leaders of the 21st century.Intent on creating a programme that would create impactful young leaders, Canon and the NEA developed a holistic set of requirements for the programme to train the young leaders – including Social Media, Strategic Thinking and Environmental Outreach.
Our Day @ the Workshop
Upon
arriving at Dunman High School in the morning on May 24, the h3roes were
directed to an auditorium, where various organizations did presentations about
the environment-related activities that they have held. Ice-breaker activities
were conducted and the h3roes were broken up into smaller groups with students
from other schools. We met with our group members for the day, each full of
excitement and also, trepidation. We then received a myth-busting mission:
which is to prove or disprove a myth, such as: “Singaporeans only recycle when
it is convenient.” Everyone was shrouded in a cloud of mystery, as all the groups
have different myths and we did not know what the other teams got as their
myth. Next, we went to a classroom where further myth-busting activities were
held.
After the
myth-busting activity, we headed to the school canteen. The professionals from
WOW Kampung gave us further instructions and hints on how to carry out our
experiment to prove or disprove the given myth. A table of equipment containing
materials such as paper plates, tin cans, plastic cups, trash bins and many
more objects were placed at the edge of the canteen. We were given the liberty
to pick and choose any materials which may help us to conduct our experiment.
We were then given time to come up with practical and measurable ways to carry
out our experiment. After much brainstorming, my group members and I decided
that in order to measure convenience, we chose a location to observe whether
people actually go to the nearer dustbin to throw items that can be recycled,
or would take the initiative to wash the item before depositing them into a
recycling bin. We took pictures and recorded videos as evidence to support our
findings and observations. Within a short time frame of 30 minutes, we have
achieved substantial information to help us. It was indeed an interesting thing
to do: observing the behaviour of others and seeing what decisions they make
(to recycle or not?) from an outsiders’ perspective.
Lunchtime
arrived. Meat was not served as an acknowledgement to keep to the dedication to
saving the environment (the animals that we eat actually produce and release
methane gas into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming!) We also used
our own plates and utensils brought from home to contain our food, effectively
cutting down on disposable plates and cups that could have been used.
After
lunch, we are taught how to use a DSLR camera. We got a total of 30 minutes after
the lesson to ourselves, when we take pictures of the school campus using the DSLR
cameras. How is photography related to the h3roes project, one might wonder? We
think that it is probably through taking photographs that we learn to look at
things in a new perspective, and to appreciate the beauty of nature, thereby
reinforcing our resolution as individuals to protect it.
We returned
to classrooms and had a short discussion as a group to conclude our experiment,
before we present our findings to other groups, using different mediums such as
videos and pictures taken with our camera, pen-and-paper data, etc. After all
the presentations, we split up into groups and had discussions with our
facilitators from WOW Kampung. The sharing provoked us to think deeply and
search within ourselves: Could we really afford more damage to be done to the
environment?
The day was
then rounded up with a group photo with all contributors and participants.
Insights gained
- It is not
about the fate of the single plastic bottle: whether it is recycled or not. Let’s
face it: a single plastic bottle recycled will not make much difference to the
world. Rather, it is the act of recycling it, the fact that an individual cares
enough to recycle it, that will change the world.
- It is our
generation that is the catalyst for change. It is a fact that we are the first
and only generation which has the chance to undo the harm that is still being
done to the environment. This is a very critical period in history, that it
decides the fate of the future world that we would want to see. Do we want to
have a beautiful world? Is there enough faith left in humanity to change the
way we now treat our environment?
- Championing
environmental initiatives, raising awareness of the need to change the way we
view the environment & leaving an impact so great on people such that it
inspires them to do something: A Marathon Or A Sprint?
- · Marathon: It would not be easy to change the mindsets and habits of people. It will continue to be an ongoing battle to get people to change the way they behave and act towards the environment.
- · Sprint: Truly speaking, there isn’t enough time for a marathon. Our earth and environment has already suffered massive damages. Concentrated efforts must be put out to save what is left of our environment, before it is too late.
- · Sprint, but in a relay system?: One generation after the last one must shoulder the heavy responsibility in caring for the environment. Our battle is an ongoing process. We must never be complacent/ abandon the idea of caring for the environment ever.
-Saving the
environment is most importantly not a one man job, and it is not lonely. Get
support from others around us as much as possible in what we do, and together we
will share a common vision of leaving a better world and environment than the one
we inherit.
- In the course
of the H3roes programme, ‘experiments’ were also being conducted on us. Pieces
of paper were deliberately left on the floor to see if any of us would be
observant enough and take the initiative to throw it away. At the very end of
the programme, the contents of the trash bins that were placed in the classrooms
that we used we shown to us: they are found to contain things such as plastic
bottles that were thrown away by us where instead, they could have been
recycled.
- · Even when we have the passion to do something for/care about the environment, sometimes we are not mindful about our daily actions, which may add further damage to the environment. Simply put, we may have the heart to save the environment, but the things that we do out of convenience and habit say differently. Mindfulness is then the key. We must bear in mind that there must be mindfulness in everything that we do, before other things such as critical thinking and problem solving can be allowed to proceed.
- · These experiments are a reflection of how ingrained our habits that are not friendly to the environment are within us. One may care for the environment but habits are hard to kick. Emphasis must be on undoing our harmful habits before environmentally-friendly habits could be forged.
-The myths themselves: these are real life
issues that we face. We have already confirmed the myths. So what’s the next
step? What about it? Are we going to do anything to reverse the trends, break
habits, and alter mindsets? How?
