Guest speaker talks on sustainability

October 21 2024, 

"Talk by Ms. Carolyn Savage on Sustainable Development Goals "

GIIS EC had the privilege of hosting Ms. Carolyn Savage, one of the most renowned advocates for sustainability. A Green-Star accredited professional, sustainability advisor, architect, and SDG consultant, Ms. Savage has made groundbreaking contributions to the world of architecture and sustainability.

With a career spanning several decades, Ms. Savage is a trailblazer in integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into industry practices. Her expertise has helped numerous companies better align their strategies with sustainability principles, guiding them out of the complex maze of green architecture. As an architect, her involvement with sustainable design dates back to the 1990s, when she completed her Masters, focusing specifically on the discipline. One of her early projects—a sustainable art and culture center—incorporated solar energy and water collection systems to benefit surrounding communities, setting a precedent for her innovative work.

Ms. Savage's impressive portfolio includes contributions to high-profile reports, including The People's Report on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals for New Zealand, and the creation of Green Star Achievement Plans. Her mentorship and advice have shaped the policies and practices of leading companies, ensuring their alignment with SDG goals.

During her visit, Ms. Savage engaged with our students, sharing her passion for creating a sustainable future. She spoke about her groundbreaking initiatives, the challenges of breaking glass ceilings in the sustainability space, and the importance of perseverance and innovation. Her insights into how the built environment can become a force for good resonated deeply with our students, inspiring them to take responsibility for shaping a greener world.

Ms. Carolyn Savage’s visit was a momentous occasion for our community, leaving a lasting impact and motivating our students to think critically and act decisively toward a sustainable future.

August 13, 2024

"Plastic and Wastes: Understand the impacts of single-use plastics, and learn ways to handle and reduce waste."

We had the privilege of welcoming a guest speaker from WWF Singapore on Plastic and Wastes.  It was an eye-opening session as we realised that we are breathing and eating 5 grams of plastic on a weekly basis and that we all need to re-think how we are using plastics and disposing of them.

Here are a few take aways by our students.

July 23, 2024

Singapore: Our City in Nature

GIIS East coast buzzed with excitement as we welcomed Ms. Chelsey Yang into our campus to enlighten our students from Grade 1 to 5 on the topic: "Singapore: Our City in Nature."  Ms Chelsea Yang is a manager in the Community Engagement branch of  the National Parks Board.  She is responsible for developing programmes and resources aimed at raising public awareness of our City in Nature and the importance of coexisting harmoniously with nature.  Indeed, her talked has served the purpose of creating an awareness on the rich biodiversity, importance of conservation and how each of us can play a part in protecting the ecosystem and transforming Singapore into a City in Nature.

July 22, 2024

Exhibition Panels Loaned from NParks

A set  of exhibition panels were put up for display for the students to educate them  about biodiversity and the importance of conservation. These panels were graciously loaned to GIIS EC for week from NParks.  They outline the initiatives for intensifying and restoring natural habitats, promotes coexistence with showing consideration towards our pets, community animals, and wildlife, as well as the science and technology used to safeguard our wildlife.

February 20, 2024

Guest Speaker Talk: Fast Fashion

When it comes to clothing and the concept of sustainability, we can't help but bring in the issue of FAST FASHION.  What is it exactly?  When our students inquired about this, they have gathered that fast fashion is a phenomenon wherein the design and manufacturing  of clothes that are currently in-trend are rapidly and massively produced.  These clothes are usually low in quality, low cost , exploits workers, harms animals and the environment.  A vast majority (4 out of 5) of these clothes don't get sold and end up in landfills and 9 out 10 fast fahion brands are not paying their workers a liveable wage.

Today, we have invited Mrs. Vibha Singh, a digital marketing professional, a minimalist and an advocate for sustainable lifestyle, to speak to our Primary students about sustainable Fashion.  We were aghast to know that fast fashion is a thing in the past as we are currently in the era of ULTRA Fast Fashion.

During her talk, she explained in detail the harm fast fashion does to the environment and she made each and everyone in the assembly (including teachers) reflect on our clothing choices and has made us consider making full use of the clothes we already have and recycle those that we don't need.

February 9, 2024

Talk on Water Sustainability by Mr. Hardik Shah

On February 9th, a special assembly was arranged and Mr. Hardik Shah was invited as the guest speaker. He delivered an insightful and valuable sharing on the topic of "water sustainability."

October 24, 2023

WWF Workshop- Change the way we think about waste