Going "lite" for a greener campus

NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE) launched the “NUS Goes Lite” campaign on 4 February as part of their continuous pursuit of a greener campus. The new campaign encourages the campus community to adopt a mindset of “needs” over “wants” and incorporate simple, environmentally friendly actions into their daily lives in a bid to reduce the collective burden on Mother Earth. It also reflects the group’s shift in focus to achieving overall ecological sustainability and replaces the former “NUS Fights Climate Change” campaign which has taken place annually since 2007.

Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Mayor of South West District, was present at the launch in support of the new endeavour. Representatives from founding partners City Developments Limited, South West Community Development Council and the National Environment Agency similarly lent their backing to the student initiative.

Guests were given a tour of the exciting line-up of activities which included a paper-making showcase to encourage paper recycling and an assortment of environmentally friendly products aligned to the environmental agenda. Participants also had the chance to partake in some fun environment-themed games that spread the message of sustainability.

To better connect with their audience, SAVE used social media to reach out to students by launching the #7daysoflite challenge. Participants are required to post photographs of themselves on Facebook and Instagram doing environmentally friendly actions centred around a particular daily theme such as #Meat-less Monday or #Tumbler Tuesday, in order to win cash vouchers. The challenge will run until 12 April 2015.

All the activities were designed to show that leading a naturally greener lifestyle is simple and easy to do by making small changes in our everyday lives. “By participating in such acts, we wish that peer influence will encourage others to take up similar acts and hopefully turn it into a habit,” explained Aisha Redzuwan, President of SAVE.

Taking the noble mission one step further, other activities as part of the campaign include a nature walk along Kent Ridge Road. This is to encourage NUS faculty and students to walk instead of taking shuttle buses so as to reduce their carbon footprint, while instilling a greater appreciation for our natural surroundings. There are also plans to introduce a one-day ban on the use of disposables in an NUS canteen. The aim is to fuel the drive for a gradual reduction in the usage of disposables throughout campus and beyond as people adapt to the idea of disposables being a non-necessity.