Hydroponics, upcycling projects among initiatives recognised at School Green Awards
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Yew Tee Primary School pupils (from left) Ashmita Ahgilen, Lim Zhi Ning, Vivika Nie, Gu Chenxi and Khoo Ke Qi with their Vanda Miss Joaquim Award and Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Koh Ming Lun
Follow topic:
- Schools were recognised at the annual School Green Awards; Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo highlighted their role in inspiring environmental protection.
- Yew Tee Primary made recycling fun through a competition, collecting 104kg of plastics and creating 277 upcycled tote bags, winning a School Green Award.
- Yusof Ishak Secondary, a Best 3R Award recipient, distributed vegetables, educated the community, and integrated solar panels into their curriculum.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Every Thursday this past year at Yew Tee Primary School, class representatives took recyclables from their classes to recycling bins, where student leaders weighed the recyclables.
The classes that collected the most recyclables at the end of the term were given a certificate in recognition of their efforts.
As a result of the friendly competition, 104kg of plastics was collected through the programme from March to June. The plastics were given to non-profit organisation Ground-Up Initiative.
“We make recycling more fun by turning it into a competition,” said Ms Joyce Ng, the teacher in charge of the environmental club co-curricular activity at the school.
The project was one of several environmental initiatives at Yew Tee Primary School, which was among the winners at the 2025 School Green Awards.
The school also had an upcycling project that produced more than 270 upcycled tote bags made out of PVC banners or old T-shirts. Environmental club members led the project, teaching students and staff how to make their own upcycled tote bags.
On Nov 17, Yew Tee Primary School received the Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award in the primary school category at a ceremony held at HomeTeamNS Khatib.
Organised by the Singapore Environment Council and supported by Keppel Care Foundation, the annual School Green Awards celebrate the efforts of pre-schools and primary, secondary, international and special education institutions in environmental advocacy.
The awards were launched in 2000 with 28 submissions from schools. More than 300 schools participated in the awards in 2025.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said the award recipients reimagined how we use resources, how we interact with nature, and how we inspire others to protect our planet.
“These initiatives go beyond environmental education – they teach empathy, teamwork and active citizenship,” he said.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo joining Radin Mas Primary School pupils in upcycling plastic bottles into onion planters during the 2025 School Green Awards on Nov 17.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Yew Tee Primary School is among schools that work closely with the community.
In 2025, it donated 60 packets of leafy greens such as lettuce that were grown under the school’s hydroponics programme to the school’s canteen vendors and cleaners and the Limbang Active Ageing Centre.
“I felt happy because the people who received the vegetables were happy,” said Primary 5 pupil Lim Zhi Ning, 11, who participated in the hydroponics programme. “We feel proud that what we grow can be given to others.”
Over in the east, students from Yusof Ishak Secondary School distributed vegetables harvested from its hydroponics and vegepods, such as kai lan, to the roughly 200 residents in the Punggol West community.
They also partnered with Punggol West Community Centre to engage and educate the community on sustainability and recycling practices.
Yusof Ishak Secondary School was among eight schools that received the Best 3R Award at the ceremony – the top accolade given to schools that best promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of resources.
The school’s principal, Mr Chen Ziyang, said students have the opportunity to apply what they learn in school as they engage with residents: “They will think through how their knowledge can be translated into action.”
The school also had solar panels installed in 2023 and 2024 – not only to reduce the school’s carbon footprint, but also for the technology to be incorporated into the school’s curriculum so that students can first understand and observe renewable energy in action.
“Culturally, the school has made many sustainable practices as part of our daily life, through urban farming and recycling routines. We also have students who take the lead,” said Mr Chen.
Yusof Ishak Secondary School students Poon Xi Song, 15, and Wee Hong Yu, 14, created a biodiversity catalogue, detailing the species of plants and animals found on campus. They even approached Mr Chen to ask whether the school could bring more native plants on campus.
Yusof Ishak Secondary School students Wee Hong Yu (left) and Poon Xi Song created a biodiversity catalogue, detailing the species of plants and animals found on campus.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF YUSOF ISHAK SECONDARY SCHOOL
Mr Neo thanked the schools “for nurturing students who translate learning into environmental leadership”.
“Your dedication cultivates a generation committed to building a greener, more sustainable Singapore,” he said.
