On 2 May morning, 42 K1 children, 35 K2 children and 12 teachers from TOUCH Child Care (Hougang & Clementi) made their way to East Coast Park for the ‘Keep Clean, Singapore!’ initiative.
This initiative is jointly organised by the National Environment Agency and the Public Hygiene Council, with the aim of amplifying the value of personal responsibility in keeping our shared spaces clean. As it is also the Bicentennial year of Singapore, we hope that our children will better appreciate and show care for our parks and beaches through this activity.
Armed with a tong in one hand and a bag in the other, the children were divided into small groups of 6. Led by their teachers, the children combed different parts of Area E of the Park.
Undeterred by the sun, the children did a tireless job of picking up many different types of litter on their path - from cigarette butts, to plastic bottle caps and deflated balloons left behind on the grass patches.
As the activity comes to an end at noon, the teachers and children consolidated the litter collected and weighed them - the end result was a whooping 30kg!
While it was an impressive amount of litter collected by the children, the number also serves as a sobering reminder to us that there is so much more that we can do as an individual and citizen to keep our environment litter free.
Nonetheless, the children and teachers were all smiles after the activity; feeling accomplished and happy to do our small part in caring for our environment.
Reflections from our teachers…
“There was strong teamwork among the children today, especially in pairs, something rare at classroom setting. It was a fruitful time spent together as a class.” - Ms. Stephanie, K1 Teacher (TCC Hougang)
“No words can express the feeling of pride I have of the children. Little though they may, but these little ones are exemplary in action to make a difference in doing their part to take care of our environment, our Singapore, now and in future. Kudos to the TOUCH kids!” - Ms. Low, Manager of TCC Hougang & Clementi
“The children were bewildered themselves when they saw so many litter around the Park, especially the barbeque pits, where they would exclaim and ask, ‘Why are there so many litter?’ ‘Why do the people not throw them into the rubbish bin? The rubbish bin is just nearby!’
All these are valuable incidents and teaching points where I, as a teacher, could reinforce and inculcate the eco habit of keeping clean for the children. It was a satisfying and meaningful process for them.” - Ms. Vanessa, K2 Teacher (TCC Clementi)
