Funding the future: NUS students bring green ideas to life with sustainability grants
In this series, NUS News explores how NUS is accelerating sustainability research and education in response to climate change challenges, and harnessing the knowledge and creativity of our people to pave the way to a greener future for all.
From a card game about Singapore’s biodiversity to a farm-to-table project encouraging people to grow and cook their own vegetables, NUS students are putting sustainability into action.
These efforts are made possible by the NUS SAVE Sustainability Fund (SusFund) and the Maybank Green Fund (MGF).
Led by the NUS Students’ Association for Visions of the Earth (NUS SAVE) and supported by University Campus Infrastructure, SusFund supports ground-up environmental initiatives within NUS, offering different grant tiers of up to S$3,000.
Established with the support of Maybank Singapore, MGF provides funding for student-initiated sustainability projects and programmes that benefit the local community in Singapore, covering up to 100 per cent of a project’s total deficit cost, capped at S$5,000 per application.
Bringing Singapore’s biodiversity to life
Bonded by a shared passion for nature photography, Year 4 Computer Science major Zyon Wee and his co-founder Cheong Wai Lun wondered: how could they get more Singaporeans, especially those with little interest in nature, to appreciate the biodiversity around them?
Their answer was ByeO Barelands (pronounced “bio balance”), an educational card game that introduces players to food chains, ecosystems and the behaviours of different plant and animal species in Singapore.
Drawing on their observations and photographs from nature excursions, the pair spent nearly three years developing the game. Zyon illustrated the cards himself, while educators and wildlife experts ensured the ecological information was accurate.
In 2025, SusFund's Sprout Grant helped the team print its first 1,000 sets. A second grant in 2026 supported materials for biodiversity workshops and nature walks, where participants used the cards to identify and learn about local wildlife.
Over the past year, the initiative has directly engaged more than 9,000 participants through over 80 outreach programmes and even garnered national recognition, with Zyon named a finalist in the People of Good (Youth) category at the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards 2026.
“ByeO Barelands is more of an outreach programme than an organisation. Through our card game and nature walks, we hope to introduce people who are less familiar with nature to Singapore’s biodiversity, and connect them with communities that share their interests — be it plants, animals, birds or even reptiles,” said Zyon, who is reinvesting all proceeds from the card game into the initiative.
Growing an appreciation for sustainable food
At NUS Temasek Hall, sustainability takes a hands-on approach, with students growing kangkong before turning their harvest into creative dishes.
Organised by the Hall's sustainability committee, TGreen, the hydroponics gardening initiative saw 36 committee members working in six groups to grow kangkong using hydroponic setups, learning to nurture seedlings and manage challenges such as pests and overgrowth. Funding from MGF covered 90 per cent of the project's eligible costs, including equipment, seeds and nutrients, easing the financial burden of organising the activity.
The project culminated in a Kangkong Cookoff, where students transformed their harvest into dishes ranging from kangkong carbonara to Korean-style pancakes and pork belly wraps.
Beyond introducing residents to Singapore's food security challenges, the project showed how sustainable food production need not be complicated.
“It's really about educating yourself that you can play a part in promoting food security also in Singapore,” former TGreen head Tan En, a Year 3 Business student specialising in Real Estate and Marketing, shared.
Making green technology accessible
Founded in 2024, the NUS Climate Analytics and Technology (CAT) club is introducing green technologies to students from different disciplines by organising workshops, industry visits and dialogues.
“You can't implement a solution with technology if you don't have sufficient data and knowledge about the situation at hand,” explained NUS CAT President Beverley Yeo, a Year 4 Infrastructure and Project Management undergraduate specialising in Sustainable Green Buildings.
In a visit to Sembcorp's Battery Energy Storage System on Jurong Island, 38 students gained insights into energy storage technologies, industry developments and potential career pathways. Transport costs for the visit were supported by a $500 Seed Grant from SusFund.
The club also tapped into the MGF to organise a visit to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Singapore City Gallery, allowing students to learn about urban planning and connect with others interested in sustainability.
In August 2026, NUS CAT established a Special Projects Cell for students to explore potential technological solutions to environmental challenges, including a biofiltration system for odour control and a data-driven approach to reducing energy consumption in data centres.
While still in their early stages, these projects reflect NUS CAT's ambition to move beyond awareness-building towards developing practical solutions.
Special Projects Director Christy Imanuela, a Year 4 Chemical Engineering student, said: “I hope that even after I graduate, more students will take up these projects to use their skills for sustainability-related purposes.”
