3-year project to clean up Ubin will be launched
|
Education effort aimed at young people |
By Dominic Nathan
A THREE-YEAR project to return Pulau Ubin to its clean-and-green state will be launched next month.
Environmentalists and youth groups will take over where nature lovers left off.
The Nature Society of Singapore (NSS) abandoned its waste recycling project there because visitors had been dumping rubbish indiscriminately and vandalising signboards.
The new effort, to be launched during Clean and Green Week (CGW), will be conducted jointly by the National Youth Achievement Award Council (NYAAC) and the National Council on the Environment (NCE), with support from the Environment Ministry.
Mr James Soh, executive director of the NYAAC, said the Protect and Care for Pulau Ubin project will be a long-term public education effort involving regular clean-ups, a relaunch of the waste recycling scheme, .and seminars and competitions to get young people interested and involved.
Mr Soh said: "Pulau Ubin is the last real natural frontier for Singapore. The state it is in now is disgraceful.
"Wooden signboards are being used as firewood and metal spokes from bins have been turned into barbecue stands."
To kick off the project, a mass clean-up of the island will be held during CGW. New signs and bins will also replace the vandalized ones.
In addition, posters, pamphlets and leaflets with catchy slogans will be produced and given out.
Mr Soh said Singapore Pools has indicated that it will donate $25,000 to get the project started.
While the education effort will be targeted at the general public and visitors to the island, most of the projects will be aimed at school children.
Mr Soh explained that he hopes to get schools’ environmental clubs to "adopt" the island and conduct regular clean-ups.
An NCE spokesman said that talks and seminars will also be conducted to get students involved in appreciating and caring for the island’s natural attractions.
While environmentalists and youth groups clean the island, nature lovers will keep it green.
Although disappointed by the results of its recycling efforts, the NSS has not given up on Pulau Ubin.
Its president, Associate Professor Wee Yeow Chin, said the society is undertaking a massive survey of the island to collect data on its wildlife and vegetation.
He said the society is also hoping to develop a visitor centre on the island similar to the one operated by the National Parks Board at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
The news of the project was welcomed by regular campers such as Mr William Chua, 29, a teacher.
He said: "It is sad that we need such a campaign in the first place, but it is great that these groups are getting together to help protect the island."
"I hope that their efforts are sustained and do not fade out after Clean and Green Week."
Source : The Straits Times, October 8, 1993
Recycling Point Dot Com
(C) 2000 All Rights Reserved