Board of Directors of Gardens by the Bay,
Distinguished guests,
Friends from around the world,
1. A very good afternoon to all of you from Singapore. A year ago, the Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced the Eco Stewardship Programme as part of Singapore's Green Plan 2030.
2. We set out four key thrusts to inculcate informed and responsible sustainability habits in our students for life: Curriculum, Campus, Culture, and Community – the "4Cs".
- I want to share some thoughts today on the last "C", community partnerships.
3. Making environmental sustainability a way of life begins with nurturing greater awareness in our community - especially amongst our youth.
4. We are heartened by how organisations like Gardens by the Bay and National Geographic have stepped up to support this national effort.
- Such partnerships play a critical role in creating opportunities for our students to connect to nature in different ways.
- This creates a community ecosystem, with a shared aspiration to help our young better appreciate Singapore's environmental challenges, and ultimately how they can be constructive citizens who mitigate these challenges.
5. The Gardens celebrates its first decade this year, and has been steadfast in its vision of being a "People's Garden". In embodiment of this spirit, the Green Guardians programme that is being launched today, will reach out to pre-schools, primary and secondary schools in Singapore.
- This programme aims to make environmental stewards of our students through activities that teach them about environmental conservation strategies, wildlife, and climate change, empowering them to play a part in protecting our environment.
6. To overcome constraints stemming from COVID-19, the Gardens has created a "Digital Twin" of its grounds.
- This is an interactive platform which allows anyone, anywhere in the world, to tour the Gardens virtually and learn about its sustainability features, such as how the Gardens recycles energy and rainwater to run its Conservatories.
7. Canberra Primary School has been working closely with the Gardens over several months to test this pilot project.
- Via their Global Sustainability Development Programme (GSDP), Canberra Primary collaborated with schools in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Africa on sustainability-related projects.
- Students were miles apart – yet able to interact with, learn from and explore this pride of Singapore together – unconstrained by physical borders.
- I hope that this "Digital Twin" will become a useful learning resource for teachers and students, and a bridge between education institutions in Singapore and the rest of the world.
8. On this note, I am pleased to open National Geographic's Weird but True! exhibition today.
9. This is the first of four exhibitions in the Gardens' Cloud Forest conservatory.
- It explores the science of our planet and wildlife, presenting fun and captivating factoids.
- For example, did you know that humans can recognise about 10,000 different smells?
10. This exhibition will offer a special learning experience beyond the classroom. I hope that it imbues a sense of curiosity in our young to learn more about our wonderful world, and encourage them to take steps to protect it for our future generations.
11. There is a well-known quote by Chinese philosopher Guan Zhong "If your plan is for one year, grow grains; if your plan is for ten years, grow trees; if your plan is for a lifetime, grow people."
12. By shaping young minds early, we plant seeds of environmental consciousness and responsibility which will bloom into constructive environmental action one day. This in turn will entrench sustainability as a mainstream norm and culture in Singapore.
13. Let us continue to work together to achieve our shared vision of nurturing environmental stewards for a sustainable Singapore – a vision that at its core is to ensure that Singapore continues to thrive and find our place in this world.
14. To all our Singapore students, you will know that the place where I am speaking to you today was not part of Singapore many years ago when we became independent. We reclaimed land, and made a beautiful reservoir at the same time for both our freshwater needs and tidal controls. We are not done building Singapore yet and I hope your generation will continue to build upon the environmental sustainability efforts of previous generations. Our tiny red dot can be a bright green spark with many good and innovative ideas on how to make our world a better place. Thank you.