On 3rd Oct, 60 pupils from four CCA groups (Scouts, Brownies, Red Cross Society and Science & Environmental Club) of St Anthony Primary led by four teachers visited the recycling station in Tzu Chi Singapore branch and had an enriching lesson on environmental protection. Picture:Sister Fu Shuhua showing different recyclables to the pupils as she explained what things could be recycled.

Great Love Mothers who actively promote humanity education in schools taught the pupils how to sort out the recyclables in a fun and interesting way, much to their delight. A close rapport was established between them.

Teacher Tang Yi Yan was the one who initiated the visit to the recycling station, giving the pupils an opportunity to learn more about environmental protection. Hopefully, this would help to groom more young environmentalists.

The volunteers who contributed their effort quietly at the recycling station became the pupils’ teachers who guided them through the sorting of recyclables with care.

The teachers and pupils learnt more about recycling work through a hands-on session in sorting recyclables. They are able to do their part in protecting the environment through actual practice.

Great Love Mothers teaching the children the sign language for the song- “A Clean Earth” in the hope that they would become “gardeners of the earth” who help to take care of the earth.

The Crucial Role of Environmental Education

“Environmental protection” is a topic that is widely discussed in today’s society. However, very few people have really practised it in their daily lives. This is because many people do not recognise its importance and are not aware of the ways of conserving energy. As such, environmental education plays a crucial role.

On 3rd Oct, four teachers from St Anthony Primary School (situated in the southwest of Singapore) brought 60 pupils from four CCA groups (Scouts, Brownies, Red Cross  Society and Science & Environmental Club) to the recycling station in Tzu Chi Singapore branch where they had an enriching lesson on environmental protection.                  

Tzu Chi Great Love Mothers were the guides on that day. At the beginning of the lesson, a video containing an introduction to Tzu Chi’s missions was shown to the pupils so as to give them a picture of what Tzu Chi was about. The scenes showing Tzu Chi volunteers providing relief for victims of disasters in different parts of the world captured their attention.

After that, the main topic –  Environmental Protection – was introduced. A simple blanket made from plastic bottles highlighted the importance of collecting and sorting recyclables and the role of recycling technology – the teachers and pupils were truly amazed. The display of an assortment of recyclables that had been categorised according to the materials they were made of helped the pupils to gain basic knowledge of how recyclables were collected and classified.  

The teacher-pupil participation in the sorting of recyclables at the recycling station was the climax of that day’s lesson. After the pupils had put on their gloves, the volunteers assigned them to different sections of the station: paper, plastic, tins/cans, etc., where they had a hands-on experience in sorting the recyclables. Although it was only a short session, everybody participated actively. After that, the Great Love Mothers led the pupils to the sink to wash their hands before taking them back to the classroom.

Learning how to classify recyclables

Eleven-year-old Wang Jun Qiao, a tall Primary 5 girl who is a member of Science and Environmental Club said, “We only collect old newspapers in school. We didn’t know that paper can be classified into 2 categories: coloured and black and white. It’s very useful to have such knowledge.” She was very keen on the subject of environmental science and expressed her wish to work in this field when she grew up. She also said that she would share what she had learnt at the recycling station that day with her classmates and family and practise it in her daily life.         

Primary 4 pupil, Nur Amirah, who is a member of Red Cross Society, enjoyed the lesson very much. She said happily, “We only collect empty bottles and cans in school and don’t usually sort out the recyclables at home. I’m going to tell my mother about recycling when I return home and encourage her to sort out the things we could recycle.”  

Santhosh, a cute and chubby nine-year-old, also said that the pupils only collected cans and bottles in school. Having learnt about recycling in greater detail on that day, the boy promised to share what he had learnt with his family and classmates.  

After basking in the sweltering heat of the recycling station, the pupils returned to the classroom to enjoy the cool and refreshing drinks and fruits prepared by the Great Love Mothers. They learnt that it was actually quite easy to do recycling work in their daily life after watching an animated cartoon on environmental protection.

Lin Jun Liang, a Primary 4 pupil, said that he had learnt how to wash his hands without wasting water and that conserving energy also helps to protect the environment. He also learnt that containers must be washed clean so that they would not smell and affect those who came to collect them. 

 Getting connected through a blanket

“I’ve never thought that plastic containers can be ‘transformed’ into a scarf!” said Stephanie Tng in praise of what she had discovered. She was also the one who initiated the visit to the station.   

Previously, Teacher Tng’s friend, Goh Eng Eng, gave her a polyester scarf made of recycled fibre produced by Tzu Chi and told her about the polyester blankets made by Tzu Chi which are distributed to the needy as relief items. She was very touched by that and also recognised the importance of environmental protection. Hence, Tng actively encouraged other teachers to visit the recycling station with their pupils.          

“We also collect paper and plastic recyclables in school. Today, I saw Tzu Chi volunteers paying so much attention to the details and how serious they were when they were sorting the recyclables - I truly admire them,” commented Mrs Jamilah Yacob, who is the teacher-in-charge of the Science and Environmental Club.

Mrs Yacob also had a deep impression of that day’s lesson. She said, “Tzu Chi has done a good job organising today’s activities. I find them very educational and meaningful. They were conducted in a fun and lively way which suited primary school children well.” When she knew that those who helped to conduct the activities were mostly volunteers, she was very surprised and touched. This further deepened her impression of Tzu Chi.

The teachers said that they would let the pupils share what they had learnt with other pupils and hoped to bring more pupils to the recycling station in future.

As the saying goes, “one should never disregard the opportunity of doing a good deed no matter how minor it is; one should never do a bad deed regardless of how insignificant it is”. We should not think that picking up a bottle is an insignificant deed nor should we feel that using only one more piece of paper is not considered as wasteful. In reality, environmental protection is inextricably linked with our daily lives. As long as we have a right understanding of what we can do to protect the environment, we can easily put it into practice.