Planting rice, outreach efforts: How teens are going green at school

SINGAPORE – When Ignatius Tang was in Secondary 1, he joined his school’s sustainability efforts because he wanted to be with his friends. In the process, he developed a genuine passion for the cause.

From Secondary 2, he championed several programmes in St Andrew’s Secondary School, including collecting discarded red or green packets after Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa to be recycled.

“We realised there were a lot of discarded red and green packets after the festive periods. So, we turned the collection into a school-wide competition. Now, students look forward to it and ask when the collection will be,” says Ignatius, 16, who is in Secondary 4.

Since the initiative started in 2023, the number of red and green packets collected has doubled to about 400 a level in 2025.

He also launched a campaign to save electricity and improve classroom cleanliness with a group of friends when he was in Secondary 2. It was known as Project SEAL, which stands for Save Energy, Anti-Litter.

With students moving between classrooms because of full subject-based banding, he noticed that there was litter, untidy tables and chairs, as well as lights and fans left switched on.

He did a survey with the cleaners, and found that the messy tables and chairs made cleaning more challenging.

Together with his friends, he created a poster and made copies for every classroom to remind students to neatly arrange the tables and chairs at the end of the day, and to switch off the lights and fans. He also made regular announcements during morning assembly to remind students about it, hoping they would develop this habit.

“The students have adapted to it in the last two years, so it’s now a habit. When new students come in, the seniors will remind them to clean up,” he says.

Ignatius says he is proud of the campaign as he has seen the effect it has had.

“I saw the difference in the state of the classrooms and the impact it had on the aunties and uncles who clean our classrooms; their workload was lightened,” he says.

Seeing the results of his efforts gives him hope.

“Not many people are interested in sustainability. Sometimes, people make negative comments. For example, if an area is going to be deforested, they say it’s inevitable, so why try to save it? But I think it’s important to have a little bit of hope to make a difference. A small difference is still a difference,” he says.

Rice-planting teaches importance of reducing food waste

Yuying Secondary School has a food sustainability programme for all Secondary 1 students, focusing on the staple item of rice. The school has a rice plot, vertical farm and hydroponics systems, where students observe plant growth first-hand.

One of the students who tried rice planting is Secondary 4 student Mon Myat Thu, 16.

She has been involved in the annual 5½-month process, from preparing the soil and transplanting the rice seedlings to monitoring their growth and managing pests, to ensuring the plants receive sufficient water and sunlight, all the way to harvesting.

“There were challenges, such as insects affecting the plants,” says Mon Myat, who has done three rounds of planting since Secondary 1.

She was excited and proud to see the rice plants mature after weeks of care. “It made me realise how much effort and resources go into producing a staple food that many of us take for granted,” she says.

Through the experience, she gained a deeper appreciation for food sustainability, food security and the importance of reducing food waste. “Taking responsibility for plants taught me perseverance and accountability,” she says.

The rice-planting programme inspired her to step forward for other sustainability initiatives. Mon Myat is now the chairperson of Eco-Eagles, which is part of the school’s sustainability education programme.

Mr Chong Jack Sheng, principal of Yuying Secondary School, says teenagers care when sustainability feels relevant, empowering and hopeful. “By nurturing crops themselves, students gain a deeper appreciation of food systems, resource use and the effort behind food production,” he adds.

How schools encourage teens to care for the environment

Greendale Secondary School students create social media content on sustainability, where they explore trends and issues ranging from plastic waste to innovative bamboo bicycles.

This helps them analyse real-world solutions and develop their own informed perspectives rather than simply accepting what they are told, says Ms Abby Goh, the school’s subject head of geography who is also in charge of sustainability.

“When environmental action becomes trendy rather than preachy, students naturally gravitate towards it,” she says.

Beyond the school, students have become sustainability advocates in the Punggol community where the school is located, promoting environmental awareness to residents and showcasing their projects at venues like neighbourhood centre Oasis Terrace.

Secondary 3 student Aanya Agarwal says she encouraged residents to do recycling and upcycling.

“It wasn’t just about completing a task for school. It actually helped people in our community think differently about their actions. Seeing others become more environmentally aware made the effort feel meaningful,” adds the 15-year-old.

Ms Goh says she believes that students should go beyond learning about environmental issues to actively addressing them so that they see themselves as change-makers rather than passive recipients of information.

Meanwhile, Yuying Secondary School integrates sustainability concepts across subjects such as nutrition and food science, languages, as well as geography.

Students do an interdisciplinary project to explore real-world issues such as food security.

“Through this approach, students learn more meaningfully and recognise how different subjects connect to address complex environmental challenges,” says Mr Chong.

Students are empowered to plan and execute sustainability initiatives. For instance, Secondary 3, 4 and 5 students design and conduct eco-workshops for their peers for Earth Week. They research on environmental issues, curate engaging activities, and think about how to communicate sustainability messages effectively and responsibly.

“When students are entrusted with responsibility, whether organising workshops, designing campaigns or proposing solutions, they shift from passive recipients of information to active contributors,” says Mr Chong.

A project that Mon Myat was involved in was to design a game to educate the public about Singapore’s songbirds, as part of a national youth design challenge. Players learnt fun facts about the birds and had to match a bird with its chirp.

“Explaining our project to visitors was initially nerve-racking, but each time someone stopped to listen, ask questions or showed interest, I felt encouraged. It made me realise that our ideas had value and that young people can shape conversations about sustainability,” says Mon Myat.

At St Andrew’s Secondary, there is a therapeutic garden which has a do-it-yourself composting device as well as an aquaponics plot that makes science lessons come alive.

A group of students, the green envoys, take care of the aquaponics area, which includes a pond for fish. The waste from the fish provides organic waste for the plants, which in turn purify the water.

Students also plant diverse species, such as edible herbs and vegetables including sweet potatoes, basil and pandan.

How parents can support

St Andrew’s Secondary has a programme for its Secondary 2 students called “River Studies with your Loved Ones”, where students take their families to Kallang River to learn about local biodiversity and sustainability.

“When parents participate alongside their children in these learning experiences, it deepens the impact and sends a powerful signal that environmental stewardship is a shared family value,” says principal Lee Han Hwa.

The school also creates other opportunities to take parents along on its sustainability journey. For instance, its biennial green carnival, “Saints Care Day”, welcomes parents, grandparents and external stakeholders from the surrounding community to participate in green initiatives.

Yuying’s Mr Chong agrees that parents play a crucial role. Sustainability habits should begin and be reinforced at home so that it is a lived value, and not just a topic discussed in school.

Some ways parents can show this include mindful consumption – such as not over-ordering food, conserving electricity, repairing damaged items or choosing sustainable options such as locally produced vegetables.

Another way is for parents to include teenagers in family decisions that affect the environment, for example, choosing energy providers, planning holidays or making household purchases, says Ms Goh from Greendale Secondary.

“Ask for their input and explain your reasoning when you can’t always choose the most sustainable option due to budget or other constraints,” she says.

Mr Chong adds that when teens are included in decision-making, they develop a stronger sense of accountability and ownership.

With teenagers exposed to environmental issues through social media and school discussions, parents can create a safe space for dialogue.

“Instead of dismissing their concerns, parents can ask questions, listen actively and explore solutions together. This strengthens critical thinking and prevents eco-anxiety from becoming overwhelming,” he says.

Another way is to create family activities involving sustainability. These can include planning plant-based meals as a family, tracking and reducing household food waste, starting a small herb garden, participating in community clean-ups, or even setting simple energy-saving goals at home.

“When sustainability becomes a shared project rather than an individual effort, it fosters collaboration and strengthens family bonds,” says Mr Chong.

Win a four-day, three-night trip to Switzerland

Youth aged 13 to 17 can join the V-Zug Sustainability Contest and win a chance to take part in a fully sponsored learning trip.

Swiss brand V-Zug, which is known for its eco-friendly and energy-saving household appliances, will give four winners a behind-the-scenes tour of its production facilities in the town of Zug in Switzerland.

During the trip, they will discover how innovation meets environmental responsibility.

To take part in the contest, teenagers have to answer two questions relating to sustainability. The first focuses on what sustainable living looks like to a teen, and the second asks teens to improve on a household appliance to save energy or reduce wastage.

Youth are encouraged to submit their entries individually to showcase their own unique perspectives on sustainability practices. Submission topics should focus on sustainability-related themes such as environmental protection.

The contest will end on April 26 at 11.59pm. For details, scan the QR code or go to vzugsustainabilitycontest.sg