South East Green Ville Portal To Connect Environmental Champions
Innovation by the South East Community Development Council (SE CDC) and South East Regional Office (SERO) of NEA aims to deepen engagement and enhance community efforts on environmental issues
Environmental champions now have a new place to converge – South East Green Ville, an online portal created by the South East CDC and SERO. The portal was launched by Guest of Honour Ms Jessica Tan, Grassroots Adviser and MP for East Coast GRC; Special Guest Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Mayor of South East District CEO (NEA) and GM (SE CDC) at the South East Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) Carnival at Eastpoint Mall on 13 Nov 2011.
The South East Green Ville acts as a social network that deepens the engagement between environmentally-conscious individuals and stakeholders from different community sectors. Apart from including an interactive game element where users can plant trees, the portal provides a virtual platform for them to support and collaborate on green initiatives, share ideas on the discussion forum, and expand their circles to include other like-minded people. Ultimately, it hopes to enhance and sustain ground-up community initiatives and efforts.
The portal is just one element of the South East GreenPlan, which is a 5-year environmental action plan unveiled last year. The plan aims to mobilise a community movement in going green, promoting environmental awareness and fostering ground-up action in the South East District.
Aligned with the GreenPlan, various schools in the South East District have been rendering strong support for the year-long CGS campaign. Prior to the carnival, lecturers and students worked on ways to creatively promote eco messages to the heartlands. For instance, a dedicated group of lecturers and students from ITE College East developed a slew of interactive applications (‘apps’) for the Carnival: a simple-to-play iPad game on anti-littering; an educational mGreen Handbook app with information on various environmental issues; as well as an app to help tech-savvy users navigate the exhibits at the South East CGS Carnival.
Mr Eden Liew, Principal of ITE College East, shared “Keeping our environment clean and green involves the efforts of the campus, community and beyond. As a co-partner for the South East CGS Carnival, various engaging activities comprising an IT & Multimedia zone with smart-phone applications, recycling craft workshops, Litter-free Ambassadors on community patrol and performing arts were ‘Powered by ITE College East’. With our combined efforts, we can spread the message of caring for and sustaining a clean and green environment”.
The two-day South East CGS Carnival carried a “Back to School” theme, with zones featuring Art, Maths, Science, and IT & Multimedia. Visitors were treated to a hands-on demonstration on personal hygiene, viewing of microorganisms and mosquitoes through microscopes, tips on dengue prevention, fun-filled energy savings hunts, Waste-to-Craft art pieces made by students from schools all over Singapore as well as mobile exhibit pushcarts set up by secondary school students.
