Going Green at East Coast Parkway and Changi Beach (8 Aug 2011)

  Set 1/45  

To celebrate National Day this year, students from the Preparatory Course and Secondary One level participated in a beach cleaning activity on 8 August. Unlike previous years where National Day celebrations were held in the school, this year the students were involved in a community programme, doing our part to care for the environment. It was a meaningful way to show our love for the country.

Classes were assigned to two different locations, namely East Coast Parkway and Changi Beach. Everyone was excited. It was as if we were going on an excursion. For our class 1 Integrity, we arrived at Changi Beach by 8.30 a.m. We were then given trash bags and disposal gloves. Mr Tan Hock Tuan, the teacher in-charge briefed us on the do’s and don’ts, reminding us to pick up plastic bottles, papers and styrofoam boxes. Immediately, we set off in pairs to complete the task. Our target was to fill up at least three quarters of each trash bag.

Though the sun was blazing, everyone was working happily, chatting and having fun. When we first started, we noticed that there was not much litter along the beach. I guess Singaporeans do care for the environment and probably, the Clean and Green campaign has taken effect and all beach goers were doing their part. Nonetheless, all the students were working hard, picking up litter and filling the trash bags with sticks, plastic containers, cigarette butts, drink cans and bottles.  At first, there were some of us who felt disgusted picking up the trash that was wet and dirty but we still pushed on.

At the end of two hours, we were all tired and thirsty as we had given it our best effort. We felt happy as we looked back at the stretch of beach, it was certainly litter-free.  Our classmate, Theeruth commented, “The beach seemed a lot cleaner.” There was a sense of achievement. I certainly thought that it was a fun learning experience, doing my part for the community and bonding with my classmates.

This beach cleaning activity has taught the students many important values. We realize the importance of team work, collaboration and perseverance. We certainly did not leave Changi Beach empty-handed. We left feeling triumphant and confident that so long as everyone does their part to keep Singapore clean, we will have a good and beautiful environment, living up to Singapore’s name as a Garden City.

Written By Jamel Chan and
Ang Min-Wei (Secondary 1 Integrity)