Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Finance, at the Official Launch of the South West Clean and Green Singapore Carnival and Green Schools! @ South West at the Singapore Science Centre on Saturday, 10 November 2007 at 1.30 pm

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE, AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE SOUTH WEST CLEAN AND GREEN SINGAPORE CARNIVAL AND GREEN SCHOOLS! @ SOUTH WEST AT THE SINGAPORE SCIENCE CENTRE ON SATURDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2007, AT 1.30 PM

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and, Mayor, South West District

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

INTRODUCTION
1. It gives me great pleasure to be here for the opening ceremony of the 2007 South West Clean and Green Carnival.

2. Today’s event provides a meaningful platform for our students and residents to come together, and to bring home lessons on how we can all do our part for the environment. Today, we also celebrate the achievements of the grassroots in the South West district in promoting environmental awareness. We are of course happy that the South West District has just won the ‘Best Community’ award under the 2007 Clean and Green Singapore Environmental Ownership Awards. This is a national award that recognises SW District as a role model – in terms of its community involvement in achieving a high standard of public health and environmental protection efforts.

3. Within the South West District, Ayer-Rajah West Coast constituency was awarded the ‘Best Constituency’, while Hong Kah North constituency was awarded the ‘Most Active Constituency’. My heartiest congratulations to all those who went the extra mile in the two constituencies!

Environmental Concerns
4. Environmental issues have emerged at the forefront of the global agenda. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted the prospect of a rise in world temperatures over time, bringing with it the risk of droughts, floods and more violent storms. This will mean significant hardships for people virtually anywhere in the world. It is important, therefore, for people everywhere to take responsibility to protect our environment.

5. To play an active role in protecting the environment, we first need to be more aware of environmental issues around us and reflect on how we can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Such knowledge and habits are best inculcated from a young age. Hence, a sense of ownership over the environment we live in is part and parcel of what our students learn in school.

6. Our schools have been implementing various programmes to facilitate this. For example, Chong Boon Secondary School has, among other things, set up a recycling corner, incorporated an environmental education package into their Character Education lessons, and had its students attached to various supermarkets to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags during the “Bring Your Own Bag” campaign. For their effort, the school won the Gold with Special Commendation award for this year's 3Rs Award Competition[1].

7. Chong Boon’s effort is commendable. And so is that of teachers and students in many other schools, who have implemented initiatives to inculcate in our students environmental awareness and ownership. Many of the innovative projects that you see in today’s carnival are the products of months of hard work put in by these teachers and students. I am also happy to hear that some students have gone one step further by taking up the role of a Junior Environmental Ambassador, so as to inspire their peers to adopt eco-friendly habits and spread the green message.

Pro-Environment Efforts in the South West District
8. I am glad to hear that many schools in the South West District are working with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the South West Development Council (SWCDC) to strengthen environmental education. For example, the South West District has a “My School Shines Programme”, in which NEA and SWCDC worked with schools to educate their students on public health issues such as dengue prevention, having litter-free environments and toilet hygiene. I am pleased to say that a total of 25 schools have successfully completed the programme, which included features such as a “No Cleaners Week” and the Dengue Prevention School Holiday Project.

9. Next year, NEA and SWCDC will be expanding the scope of the “My School Shines Programme” to include broader environmental issues. Entitled Green Schools! @ South West, this new initiative will engage students in the environmental themes of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse Recycle) and climate change, in addition to dengue prevention, having litter-free environments, and toilet hygiene. Schools will conduct a wide range of educational activities such as “Recycling Weeks”, training for Junior Environmental Ambassadors and campaigns to conserve energy. Students will learn how simple acts in our everyday life, such as switching off lights and fans in the classroom when they are not in use, can go a long way towards protecting the environment. I believe that the Green Schools! Programme is a good platform for schools to rally students to do their part for the environment.

Conclusion
10. I encourage schools to come on board the South West environmental movement and explore how they can integrate environment initiatives within their own school programmes in a way that students find engaging. This will work best if it is a ground-up movement in our schools, owned by the teachers and students, and supported by SWCDC, NEA and MOE. As more schools and community organisations come up with their own initiatives, and take responsibility for the environment, I am sure that we will achieve our goal of becoming an environmentally-friendly society in the years to come.

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[1]The 3Rs Award Competition is organised by the NEA, Nan Hua High School, and the Singapore Environmental Council annually. Details are at http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/eed/3rsaward/3Rs%20Award%202007%20_sec%20schs.doc