Commonwealth Secondary School nurturing next generation of environmental stewards

SINGAPORE - For Miss Swapna Haresh Teckwani's students, learning takes place not only in the classroom but also among the green shoots of the school's endangered species nursery.

After discussing biodiversity and sustainability with the Secondary 4 class during a lesson on plants last Thursday (Feb 25), she led them to the first-floor nursery.

First, they inspected the bok choy they had grown, which will be harvested later and passed to canteen vendors to be used in the dishes they sell. Next, they proceeded to the greenhouse, a collaboration between Commonwealth Secondary School and the National Parks Board, where endangered plants are grown.

Miss Swapna, the subject head of science and research, pointed out the various species to her students.

The school took about three years from 2014 to 2016 to create eco habitats on its campus such as a rainforest and a wetland, in a pioneering effort to educate students on sustainable living.

It is one of the schools piloting sustainability features and concepts, which will begin next month till 2023.

Principal Ng Boon Kiat said: "Being a piloting school for the Eco Stewardship Programme, we are very fortunate that we have the support from the Ministry of Education (MOE). Our teachers are working with MOE to co-create some of the curriculum and the campus for our students. We hope that with the improved curriculum and practices, we are able to transfer some of them to other schools."

Teachers at Commonwealth Secondary are currently incorporating sustainability concepts into the geography, sciences and language curriculum.

Secondary 4 student Nur Aleesha Adam, 15, said she enjoyed the sustainability themed talks during their science, technology, engineering and mathematics elective lessons.

"It creates a sense of biophilia (an affinity with the natural world) amongst the students in my class," she added. "The talks about clean energy and nature conservation spark an interest in us. For me, I watch documentaries at home now about how the world works and share it with my parents."

Her Secondary 4 schoolmate Kesavan Sriram, 15, said: "During geography lessons, we will go to the rainforest and explore our school's biodiversity. We will also engaged in fun activities, such as doing pH testing on the water to see if it's suitable for species to live in. It makes us feel satisfied in that we are a real part of the school's effort in becoming more sustainable."

This sustainability drive, especially eliminating the use of single-use plastics, has also helped the students to develop good habits.

Fikri Hakim Shahrin, 14, who is in Secondary 3, said: "I have become more aware of the impacts of climate change and global warming from geography lessons, and would want to do my part to prevent that from happening by recycling newspapers and plastic bottles, and bringing my own bag to the supermarket."

The school is also working towards reducing the carbon footprint of its infrastructure. Currently, two-thirds of the electricity it uses is generated using solar panels installed on the rooftops.

Mr Ng said the school is also looking into the possibility of changing to more energy efficient lights, such as LEDs, and redesigning some classrooms to improve ventilation and cut down on the use of air conditioning. It will be in discussions with the MOE soon.