May update

UPDATE

21ST May 2010

Hi Everyone
April/May has been a busy month for the Green Volunteers with talks, walks, and trips.

I did a recce trip to Bintan and enjoyed a great mangrove tour by boat and spotted a number of Cat snakes and pythons nesting on the overhead branches.

The highlight of this 2 night trip was a good trek up Gunung Bintan. We are planning another trip (19th June to 21st June). If you want to learn more about our beautiful local trees I suggest that you attend Ali Ibrahim’s talk on Saturday, 12th June at 2 pm at Fort Canning visitors centre or come for our free nature walk at 4.00 pm.
Hope to see you at one of our many activities.

Cheers
Grant
Mobile 96840 950

1. WALKS AND TALKS
Our next “Trees of the fort” walk is Saturday 12th June, Fort Canning Park at 4 pm.

At 2 pm Mr Ali Ibrahim (a well known tree expert) will give a talk/show called “Singapore Flora” also at Fort Canning Park visitors centre. If you want to attend the walk or talk (or both) please email me. Space is limited so it’s on a first come first served.

Those thinking of attending our next nature guiding training, this is a good opportunity to hear a tree expert talk and go for a walk.


2. OUR NEXT BINTAN ADVENTURE.....
19th to 21st June (Monday). 3D/2N Eco/Edu trip to Bintan (Indonesia). Stay at an air-con lodge, twin sharing. Price $310 per person, this includes ferry to/from, accommodation, mineral water, all activities, food (Breakfast, lunch at Food centre and dinner at restaurant) and insurance.
Activities: a) School visit

a. Mangrove boat tour
b. Trekking Gunung Bintan
c. Traditional village craft, pandan weaving, knife making and
d. Some free time on last day

We need minimum of 8 people to do this trip – please book early


3. KAMPUNG KUNING PRIMARY SCHOOL, BINTAN (KKPS)

The Green Volunteers have “adopted” KKPS and need the following supplies:

• Children’s t-shirts, shorts
• School supplies, simple English books
• Board games, soft toys
• Socks, shoes, slippers etc and
• Vitamin tablets, eyedrops, soap and shampoo

I am hoping that some schools will choose KKPS as their “sister” school so that regular visits can be arranged. We have many teachers amongst our volunteers so hope someone will take up this suggestion. I can help with the arrangements and planning of these visits.


4. TRASH 4 CASH

We have started this project to help a trash picker community in Jakarta. Special trash is collected, washed, dried and made into practical items like passport holders, pencil cases, computer bags etc.

We sell these in Singapore to help raise funds to help send their children to school and run a soup kitchen for these children. You can help by helping us to sell these products (or buy a few for yourself!) to improve their welfare.

I am going to Jakarta this Saturday to visit them to see how we take this social self-help enterprise to a higher level of cooperation... More news in next update.


5. S.P.R.O.U.T.S. @ PASIR RIS GARDEN

If you have a green thumb or want to learn more about plants and “hands-on” gardening you can volunteer every Saturday morning to help at the Pasir Ris herb/garden at carpark “C” Pasir Ris Park (5 minutes walk from Pasir Ris MRT).
If you’re interested please contact our senior volunteer Donald “green thumbs” Andris mobile 96494043


6. CHIANGMAI DECEMBER TRIP

I am planning a super trip this December to Chiangmai (cool season). We’ll visit elephants, hilltribes, go trekking, rafting and anything else we fancy! We will go to hilltribes that no tourists has ever visited and if we go during the New Year’s season we can go to an authentic LAHU village to celebrate with them.

I intend to take a maximum of 10 people, prices are being worked out so if you’re interested let me know.


7. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED....

15th July to 22nd Singapore Garden Festival, Suntec City, please let me know date and time you can volunteer.


8. THE 24TH CARETAKERS OF THE ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

This conference will be held from 4th to 10th July 2010 at Lawang, East Java. This conference about Biodiversity and culture is suitable for both teachers and students.

For more information about this conference check their websites www.cei2010.org or www.caretakers4all.org or email info@cei2010.org.
You will be met at Surabaya Airport and transported to Lawang (about 1 ½ hours away)


9. BLOWING YOUR OWN GREEN HORN

In conjunction with EARTH DAY, I gave a talk/show on 16th April at Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens entitled “Volunteering for mother Earth”.

Attendance was very good and it was a full house.


Cheers
Grant
Mobile 96840950
www.thegreenvolunteers.blogspot.com
“The dogs bark while the true soldiers march on”

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

I recently wrote a comment to the Straits Time Forum about NEA’s plan to hire outside consultants to advise them on how to increase recycling.
My comments were of course not printed as it coincided with the opening of Shell’s new 4 billion dollar petro chemical plant at Pulau Bukom. Our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong officially opened this complex. He made a burp about saving the environment but safe guarding Singapore’s economy.
Anyway here’s the article I wrote ... enjoy!


dear sirs
i referto the above article wtitten by grace chua that appeared in the straits times may 4th page B2,.

the NEA should address the first of the 3 R,s[reduce reuse and recycle],if we reduce then the reuse and recycle part is automatically cut down.
plastic bags are a good example..we have a population of 5 million people and if we just use one less plastic bag a month thats a reduction 240000000[two hundred and forty million plastic bags saved] and that,s a lot of landfill saved not to mentioned toxic gases.

what we need to do is start charging for plastic bags at supermarkets and major retail outlets..if foreign owned stores like IKEA can start charging for plastic bags i don,t see why other other supermarkets can do the same..after all Ikea like all other retailers also have a bottom line to worry about...could it be that they care more about the environment than others?

some time ago a half hearted attempt was made to get shoppers bring their own bags[bring your own bag day] this was an exercise in futility because as soon as the campaign stopped the free plastic bags started flowing freely again.

this campaign should have been an introduction to a total ban on plastic bags and not a feeble and half hearted attempt to cut down the use of plastic bags.
i always wondered why an enlightened country like cannot charge for plastic bags[the money can go to our garden city fund to plant more trees and plants at our parks and open spaces] while many countries do .

even countries like taiwan ,bangladesh,rwanda and even somalia have banned these destructive bags...could it be that singapore being a major oil refining center could be pandering to the wishes of these oil giants?

Come on NEA don,t waste tax payers money on expensive consultants..bite the bullet and just say no to plastic bags..you know thats the right thing to do

grant w. pereira
the green volunteers
96840950


On the other subject of Shell petroleum, I recently came across a poster I made for the new Chairman of Singapore Environment Council before I resigned as Head of the Green Volunteers Network.

Hotsoup postcard

The Green Volunteers/Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have just produced another catchy anti-sharksfin postcard called "HOT SOUP"... Thank you Jaki Teo for designing such a thought provoking post card!