Updates on Sustainable Environment Education Programme

Dr. Toh Tai Chong, lecturer from College of Alice and Peter Tan, NUS, and his team of student facilitators, conducted a 7-week module on marine biodiversity and ways of marine conservation with our group of Sec 3 students in January to March.

In this module, students learned:
1.    to read and analyse journal articles, scientific articles and news articles.
2.    to make meaning on marine conservation from the scientific articles they read.
3.    to create good infographics.
4.    to appreciate the variety of marine creatures seen in their learning journey.

Dr. Toh and his team brought marine specimens collected by the university to enrich students’ learning experience further.


Reflections from Ong Yi Pin (Class 307):

“In the SEA aquarium, we learnt that marine animals which were kept in captivity were fed by humans. This will make them lose their ability to hunt for prey should they be released back to the ocean. Marine animals which are kept in the aquariums have lesser space to swim about as compared to those swimming in the ocean. They might initially feel very restricted in the enclosed space. We also developed our critical thinking through identifying real news and fake news. I feel this is an important skill that everyone should learn too!”

In conjunction with Earth Hour, ECo-Serve Week was held on 25 to 29 March 2019. This year, new initiative such as 7-days Zero Waste Challenge and Building of Eco Furniture were introduced.

Students were encouraged to collect their daily waste in a glass jar for seven days to learn the value of minimizing waste. Students from Service Learning Club designed the Zero Waste Challenge badge which was given to students who took up the challenge successfully. This initiative was held in alignment with the vision of Ministry of the  Environment and Water Resources, ie. towards a Zero Waste Singapore. 

In the same week, staff and students were encouraged to take public transport to school and interviews were conducted with staff and students who take public transport to school.


Service Learning Club students collected used beverage bottles to make eco furniture with the help of our school staff, Mr Redzuan. They made an eco sofa out of used beverage cartons to promote zero waste effort.

Earth Hour was organised on 30 March 2019. 
Students from Class 306 and Service Learning Club put up booths to engage the residents to learn about the effects of climate change.

Girl Guides put up ukulele performances for residents who attended the event.

The Innovation and Environment Education Committee collaborated with the Values-in-Action Committee to involve all Sec One students in planting tomato plants and harvesting tomatoes to distribute to the community. Through this joint project, students will develop ownership for the school environment, care for the environment and share their harvest with the community.

To support Zero Waste Challenge, our Sec One students collected used paper cartons and upcycled them into Eco Lanterns. These lanterns were collected and displayed in the Mid-Autumn Festival on 30 Aug 2019.

International Seakeepers conducted Marine Conservation lesson for Service Learning Club on 30 July 2019 in a floating classroom on a yacht. Students learned the importance of marine conservation and ways to protect the seawaters. 

Nan Hua High School envisions every student to be an active advocate of Green Living. 
The school sought the help from Dr Toh Tai Chong, lecturer 
from College of Alice and Peter Tan, National University of Singapore, to conduct a 5-session programme for Sec 1 and 2 Service Learning Club members in July to September to teach them effective reading and literacy skills through reading scientific articles related to marine and environment conservation topics.

Through reading and analysing articles on protection of coral reefs, impact of human activities on habitats of marine animals and effect of land reclamation on marine ecosystem, students learned to make informed decisions regarding economic and environmental issues.










Dr Toh explaining the dead coral he picked up to students on Pulau Semakau.











Presentation by students on their learning led by NUS CAPT students

Reflections from Students

“Dr Toh’s lessons have given me new insights on different environmental problems in Singapore such as devastating effects of land reclamation…” Tan Jun Hunn, Class 206.

“Dr Toh’s lessons have shown me that not all countries are as fortunate as us, having the government to have funds to create a cleaner and green environment.” Lee Wen Jie, Class 101.

“Based on news articles, we discussed using the format of 5Ws and 1H, to present the “Slowing of the Gulf Stream Currents”. From this, I discovered that the slowing of Gulf Stream Currents can lower the global water temperatures and species that are unable to adapt to change in the environment will die out and this will greatly impact the food chains.” Roy Teo Jing Ming, Class 207.

“The lessons exposed us to various organisms such as horsehoe crabs and how they are affected due to humans’ desire and convenience. The lessons deepen our knowledge on these species through research, games and group discussions. We also explored different issues in Singapore such as the use of plastic and marine trash.” Adina Soh Yu Xuan, Class 205

“Through the gallery walk, we showcased our posters to each group. I felt it was beneficial as we could learn about different topics through different views of our peers. We should continue such eye-opening and insightful workshop.” Natalie Fong, Class 206

Every year, Nan Hua High School co-organises Earth Hour with West Coast Community Centre to promote energy conservation to the residents at Clementi West Street 2. This year, the event was held at the newly renovated West Coast Community Centre, with Mr S Iswaran, Minister of Trade and Industry (Industry), gracing the event. 

Nan Hua High School supported this year’s Earth Hour with more than 170 students and teachers. Class 310 took up the challenge to set up at least 10 booths to promote environment education to the community. They taught children the importance of wildlife conservation through mix and match games and water conservation through online quiz and posters.


Service Learning Club students also set up many booths to promote environment education to the community. They engaged the children in bowling and asked them an environment question for every bowling session completed. Students also made eco crafts out of used egg cartons to teach the community on importance of waste reduction and repurposing. Other CCAs also participated actively in this event. Girl Guides’ create the 60+ formation on the floor using excess cheer leading pom-poms given by People’s Association to minimize waste. The 60+ formation lit up beautifully when the lights in the vicinity were switched off for one hour to symbolise the importance of energy conservation globally.


Dance Society and Choir put up concert performances to heighten the climax of the event as they engaged the audience completely when they danced and sang before the audience. Dance Society delivered the message of keeping the environment clean through their dance item and Choir sang beautifully to the tune to remind audience to protect and care for the Earth.

This year, 71 schools secondary and primary schools participated in the annual National Environment Quiz held on 30 June 208. The event was graced by Dr Toh Tai Chong, College of Alice and Peter Tan, National University of Singapore.

Every year, the school leaders plant a tree to signify the importance of providing a green and sustainable living environment to the students and promote a reduced-carbon footprint lifestyle. This year, the school leaders planted an Asam Gelugor tree at the back of classroom blocks on 16 May 2018. The fruit of the Asam Gelugor is commonly used in dishes like Asam Pedas.

Sec 2 Nanhuarians experienced their eco outdoor lesson through conducting water analysis of collected water samples from the eco pond and ornamental pond in the school. They compared the readings they obtained from their dataloggers and proposed possible reasons for the differences they obtained in their readings.

The school, with support from National Environment Agency (NEA), has a food waste digester to convert food waste into compost. However, as the food waste bins given by NEA are too big to be placed in conference rooms and AVA rooms, the school’s Innovation Environment Education Committee created bins made out of used broom sticks and clips to separate and sort food waste from general waste. These bins can be easily collapsed and kept in store room when not in use.

The school started its first Eco Lifestyle Store this year. The store collects used and unwanted items from school and gives out to students and teachers for repurpose. Old items like used DVDs, clothes, books, soft toys and bags are welcomed by all. In this way, waste reduction is advocated and repurposing is promoted.

A group of Sec 3 students signed up for the school’s What a Wonderful World enrichment module on environment education to learn about the importance of biodiversity conservation. They went to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to appreciate the understanding of biodiversity conservation. They also learned from invited speakers from International Seakeepers and Nature Society of Singapore the importance of marine biodiversity conservation and fragile ecosystems.

Every year, environment education enrichment lessons are conducted for Sec 2 nanhuarians. This year, Sec 2 nanhuarians spent 5 weeks in Term 1 to work on a small-scale eco project to address an environment problem and also created eco lamps out of recycled material like used cardboards, bread bags and used plastic bags. Some simple eco projects include creating posters to remind classes to reduce electricity and water consumption as well as demonstrating to school on the different uses of plastic bottles to minimise waste production.

Sec 1 and 2 students went on a learning journey on 16 May 2018 to Tuas Incineration Plant to be aware of how waste management is carried out in the western part of Singapore. Students learned the importance of reducing wastes and would share their new knowledge with their peers in the second semester.

Nan Hua High students had the privilege
 to have an outdoor yacht lesson on marine biodiversity with the International Seakeepers on 31 October 2017. They learned the importance of coral reef protection in Singapore waters as well as using microscopes to observe planktons and zooplanktons in the water.




The students learned to put on diving suits which the divers wear when they dive into the sea to study coral reefs and to remove the waste they find from the seabed.

The following website is the partners whom Nan Hua High School collaborated with:

1.    The International Seakeepers

2.    Tropical Marine Science Institute, NationalUniversity of Singapore