Nature Society

Nanyang Nature Society is a close-knit CCA passionate about all things brown and green, and dedicated to nature and environmental causes.

Vision & Mission

To foster an appreciation for the outdoors and nature within the CCA.
To advocate for environmental causes in Nanyang, ultimately aiming towards a zero-waste school.

What to expect in Nature Society

Get in touch with nature through our Backyard Garden!

The Backyard Garden was started from scratch in 2013, and has since been consistently developed by students in the backyard focus group, resulting in the marvel that is the Backyard Garden now.

Backyard Garden

In 2020, under the Native Plant Conservation Programme, NParks gave us the opportunity to maintain 18 native plant species until they are needed back for reforestation. They now reside at the back of our garden, creating a beautiful arbor of gold and green.

In addition to offering CCA in our school, we partner with experienced organizations. During the 2021-2022 period, we had the privilege of collaborating with Food Citizen SG. With their support, we developed an edible garden that showcases a diverse range of biodiversity, including garden toads, butterflies, and bees. We also constructed two solar-powered water features with small fountains, which we aim to expand in 2022!

These experiences significantly enrich our students’ CCA involvement, exposing them to industry knowledge and practical insights. From 2023 to 2024, we continued our efforts by working with Ground Up Initiatives (GUI), the Jane Goodall Institute of Singapore, and NParks on various events focused on advocating for environmental issues. This collaboration further enhances students’ understanding of environmental challenges and solutions in a real-world context.

In interacting with nature, our CCA is able to:

Learn how to identify different plant, bird and butterfly species.
Attain gardening skills through regular maintenance of the Backyard Garden.
Grow our very own flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Experience running a café!

The 4 Degrees Cafe is a cafe run by students, for students. 4 Degrees Cafe got its name to raise awareness of global warming. When the global temperature rises by 4°C, irreversible damage would have been done to the Earth. Thus, the name reminds us to take actions against the issue.

The money earned from the sales funds the Backyard Garden, as well as other NYNS initiatives. In addition to the regular menu, the café also offers festive specials on occasions such as 520, Founder’s Day, and Teacher’s Day.

By working in the cafe, students can:

Learn about entrepreneurship by running a business.
Acquire basic service skills: handling drinks and cakes, and serving customers.
Attain Wood working skills to build and repair cafe furniture.

Cafe events in 2025 - 2026

Back to school sale: Starting the new school year with a sweet rainbow cookie treat.
Easter sale: Celebrating Easter with Oreo cheesecake, white chocolate coffee and a lucky draw.
520 (我爱你!) Celebration: Our annual event in which we collate cake orders and messages from classmates which would then be sent to their intended recipient.
National strawberry day sale: Celebrated this day with strawberry cheesecake and a lucky draw with prizes like strawberry origamis.
Founders day special: With butterfly pea fizzy and mango cheesecake on the menu to commemorate our school colours, blue and yellow respectively.
Teachers’ day special: Show your appreciation to your teachers and buy some cookies for them.

Advocate for environmental causes and fight for our planet!

Nanyang Nature Society’s Advocacy focus group is dedicated to educating the school and local community on environmental issues.

In 2021, we launched a campaign called Fashionably Late, where we held discussions with the school and student leaders which led to the school making the commitment to reduce the number of school-based T-shirts students are made to purchase.

Another campaign would be Sharkee. Using the iconic IKEA shark as a mascot, we hoped to spread awareness about the impact of environmental degradation on sharks through the use of Instagram posts, which included a sharkee comic in every installment.

Be part of school-wide upcycling efforts!

Our Upcycling focus group is dedicated to reducing waste in our school by holding and participating in many activities!

Upcycling efforts:

CNY containers collection: This year, we collected 184 used CNY containers which we then delivered to Sembcorp for recycling.
Save That Pen: Our yearly initiative in which we collect used pens from the school, refill them and send them to people in need of them.
Interclass recycling competition: This competition is done in part of the Recycling Heroes inter-school recycling programme, which aims to encourage students to recycle plastics. A total of 263.5kg of plastic has been recycled by the school in a span of 1 month.
Coaster making: Upcycling fabrics by making them into coasters, which we then sold at our cafe
Thrift sale: In collaboration with thriftstoreiam, we raised money through the sale to buy pen refills for our Save The Pen initiative.
Collaboration with RGS’s Project Orbis: We conducted a beeswax cloth making session together. We will be continuing on with this collaboration in the form of our interschool fashion seminar!

Year-long Recyclable Collections

The Upcycling Team has set up multiple collection points around the school to collect plastic bottles, aluminium cans and unwanted clothing. During CCA sessions, the items are sorted and cleaned for donation and recycling.

NTUC FairPrice Share-A-Textbook project (40th Edition)

NYNS participated in the NTUC FairPrice Share-A-Textbook project to collect used textbooks from the school population. Over the years, this initiative by NTUC has helped over 240,000 needy students save on textbook expenses, through the collection and re-distribution of over 4.3 million textbooks. It was an honor for our advocacy focus group to be part of this project in 2021-2022.

Participate in competitions!

In NYNS, we encourage and recognise each and every one’s efforts and achievements in CCA.

To promote holistic learning, NYNS participates in numerous competitions each year, allowing members to gain exposure and valuable experience that can be applied to their various focus groups in CCA.

Here are some of our achievements in 2023 – 2024:

viaRT 2024 – First runner up for ViaRT 2024 Upcycled Art Competition (The Most Creative Award)
National Youth Environment Council 2024 (NYEC) – Best Position Paper and Best Delegate
Bronze Award – National Youth Upcycling Movement (NYUM) 2024 and 2023
Project E.C.O 2024 – Certificate of Participation
ISDC (International Science Drama Competition) – First in the Short Films Category, First in the Popularity Award in the Short Films Category, Merit award under International category 2023
Raffles Business Symposium – Certificate of participation
Recycling Heroes – Certificate of recognition

Here are some of our achievements in 2021-2022:

ISDC (International Science Drama Competition 2021) – Open Category 1st Prize, Open Category Popularity Award
Roots and Shoots Award by Jane Goodall Institute – Silver award under the Project Awards category for 2021
President’s Award for the Environment (Education Institution Category) in 2021
Roots and Shoots Award by Jane Goodall Institute – Group Endeavour Award for 2022
SUTDXSIA Upcycling Challenge 2022 by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) – 1st Prize – Project Leathair Bag
Every Singaporean a Naturalist (ESN) Programme 2022 – First runner up for Monitoring Achievements
Finalist for The Most Creative Award ViaRT 2022

Get busy rolling out environmental initiatives!

NYNS has rolled out, as well as participated in, various environmental initiatives. Through these projects, NYNS members and the rest of the student body are given a platform to push for a more sustainable school.

2023:

Sharing with Hwa Chong International led by NYNS EXCO team

Students from both schools shared their green initiatives in school and our future plans for the CCA.

NYNS collaboration with Project Make A Difference (MAD)

NYNS collaborated with Project MAD on a zero-waste week challenge in honour of Earth Day.
For the whole the week leading up to Earth Day 2023 (17-22 April), CCA members could either

1. Post a photo/vid of them completing the day’s challenge on their instagram story and tag @nybackyard and @proj.mad, and #madearthdaychallenge

2. Upload their day’s challenge in words/drawings/photos.

Talk by Global Village Of Hope

Global Village of Hope (GVH) was one of the organisations we donated our refilled pens from the Save That Pen initiative 2022 to. The founder, Mr Linus Lin, came to share his experiences in working and leading in a non-profit organisation. GVH reaches out to children in need, for example those without access to resources and jobs in third-world countries.

4 Degrees Workshop (4DW)

4DW is an environmental outreach to Primary Schools hosted by us, through showcasing our CCA’s activities, under the theme of waste reduction. This workshop is aimed at allowing participants to gain new insights on how reducing waste can be achieved through every stage in its life cycle, ranging from sustainable sourcing to repurposing waste.

NParks 1 Million Trees movement

NYNS frequently participates in NParks 1 Million Trees movement, with many of our planting spots found in Pulau Ubin. During the session, not only do we plant trees, we also learn more about the surrounding nature habitat and animals.

NYUM Symposium @ Crescent Girls’ High

In this Symposium, we created our own planting pots by upcycling plastic bottles. This Symposium was conducted to prepare us for the upcoming NYUM upcycling project we would be doing in teams as a form of advocacy.

Biodiversity Race by Nature Society Singapore (ESN)

Racing against each other and the clock, teams had to spot, photograph, and upload research-grade observations of as many species as possible onto the ‘NSS ESN Inaugural Biodiversity Race 2023’ iNaturalist project in a span of three hours. These fauna observations were of the five taxonomic groups monitored as part of the programme, namely birds, butterflies and moths, mammals, amphibians and reptiles.
After the race in the morning, each team presented their reflection of the race experience. They also had the opportunity to join in for a fun and meaningful Nature Reflection Activity where they were introduced to Nature Journaling as a tool to appreciate and reflect on nature.

NPark Pulau Ubin engagement poster presentation

Our Sec 1 & 2 Students represented our CCA at the Ubin engagement poster presentation on 24 June 2023 where they got the chance to share their findings with the Minister of National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee, and the members of the public.

ESN Symposium and Presentation

The team came up with the idea of illustrating a picture book to engage young children with educational facts of both local and migrant bird species. Together with William the Whimbrel, readers learn about the importance to step up for themselves or others when experienced to be a victim of bullying.

Empowering Youth Through Interschool Sustainability Platforms

NYNS has actively spearheaded large-scale interschool sustainability initiatives, beginning with the organisation of its first independent environmental webinar, the 4 Degrees Summit (4DS), during the June holidays in 2021 and 2022 amidst the ongoing pandemic. The summit provided students across the nation with insights into Singapore’s biodiversity and environmental issues, while empowering them to take action as responsible citizens and community members through interactive sharing sessions with like-minded budding environmentalists.

Building on the success of 4DS, the Nanyang Nature Society continued to expand its interschool outreach through ICFS 2024 and ICES 2025. ICFS 2024, jointly organised with RGS Team Orbis, aimed to deepen students’ understanding of fashion sustainability and provided a platform for networking among students with shared interests, reaching over 100 students from 13 schools and featuring industry insights from esteemed guest speakers Ms. Tay Wee Leng and Ms. Tan Yin Ling on circular fashion commitment. Continuing this momentum, ICES 2025 brought together a similarly diverse interschool audience to foster future collaborations and learn from experts in waste-to-resource enterprises, with Ms. Yen-Lyng from A1-Environment and Nathaniel from Ento Industries sharing their expertise in economic sustainability.

2024:

Sharing and booth showcase at the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore) Roots & Shoots Youth Summit

This inspiring event brought together passionate young changemakers to celebrate conservation and humanitarian efforts. NYNS was honoured to present alongside like-minded youths, sharing ideas and projects aimed at driving sustainable change.
The summit featured the legendary Dr Jane Goodall, who captivated the audience with her profound insights and unwavering passion for environmental conservation. Her words left everyone inspired to take proactive steps toward a better future. The event was also graced by Minister Desmond Lee, who emphasized the importance of community-driven environmental stewardship and social cohesion.

Project E.C.O organised by the National Environment Agency

An initiative focused on environmental protection, which includes educational efforts in waste management and recycling among students. As part of the project, NYNS students have participated in various recycling drives, successfully collecting recyclables like paper and plastic bottles to promote sustainability.

Interschool Circular Fashion Seminar (ICFS) 2024

ICFS was a collaborative effort between Nanyang Nature Society and RGS Team Orbis, with the aim of imparting knowledge to students about the scene of fashion sustainability and providing a platform for students with similar passions and interests in the field of sustainability to network.
NYNS invited guest speakers, Ms. Tay Wee Leng and Ms. Tan Yin Ling, who generously shared their expertise and experiences in circular fashion commitment with over 100 students from 13 diverse schools.

Have fun with your CCA mates during team bonding sessions & outings!

Citysprouts @ Henderson Learning Journey and Vermicomposting Workshop
The CCA had an eye-opening experience during the Signature Farm Tour at City Sprouts, where they witnessed how crops can be grown efficiently through vertical and container farming methods. They also learned about the concept of companion planting. This experience taught us that with innovation and creativity,the limited land in Singapore can flourish with agricultural potential.

Guided Nature Walk at Dairy Farm (Wallace Trail)

Learning Journey to Crest Secondary School

The objectives of the learning journey where we learnt:
- The importance of community gardens and basic farming of vegetables
- To create and maintain a school garden
- The concept of farm to table
- Explore Crest’s sensory garden and the benefits of it

Bountiful Farmex Learning Journey

We learned about urban farming in Singapore and there were hands-on activities like harvesting, seeding and salad making.
Urban farming in Singapore has gained significant traction due to the city-state’s limited land availability and a push towards food security and sustainability. Singapore’s government and various organisations have been actively promoting and supporting urban farming initiatives through innovative approaches.

FINAL nyns cca video.mp4

Training Frequency

Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Venue: Backyard Cafe, Garden & CCA Classroom C1-03

HEAR FROM OUR CCA MEMBERS

"When I first heard of nature society, I thought that it would be uninteresting – after all what else is there but planting flowers and recycling? But after I joined, I realised that there was so much more to nature society than that: of course, there was still the aspect of growing a garden and recycling, but there was also a myriad of activities like planning and running seminars and workshops, managing a cafe, participating in different environmental competitions such as science drama competitions, biodiversity spotting competitions and so much more. Nature society has helped me develop many relevant skills like how to manage a business, how to plan and publicise a large scale event, and how to effectively communicate with one another. I am thankful for all my seniors and juniors that have taught me so much along the way, as well as the bonds I’ve forged with them."

- Nanyang Nature Society B24 (2024 Sec 4)

"When I first joined Nature Society, everything seemed so intriguing. There were so many new things exposed to me. A whole new system of a student-run cafe, different backyard skills or even the different insects I spot during CCA. I learnt so much from the two years I’ve been in Nature Society – life skills that will be still relevant throughout my life long journey. I feel so grateful to be here and be a part of Nature Society."

- Nanyang Nature Society B25 (2024 Sec 3)

"When we first joined NYNS, we were quite uneasy and terrified around the seniors whom we first just met in a new school and what the CCA would hold for us. Thankfully, the whole CCA welcomed us as family and with the seniors’ guidance and kindness, we picked up many useful skills, such as gardening, managing customers, dealing with upcycled materials and much more. Over the years, the CCA has grown into us and we make a strongly bonded group that strives to play a part to protect and appreciate Earth and its environment and biodiversity."

- Nanyang Nature Society B25 (2024 Sec 3)

"When we first joined NYNS, we were all a bit unsure and nervous about what to expect. Luckily, the seniors welcomed us warmly. Along with our cca teachers, they made us feel part of NYNS, and were always there to help us and answer our questions. There was always time and opportunities to bond together as a cca, and we felt like a family. We also learnt new skills and values. Within a few months of joining NYNS, we learned the basics on how to work in the cafe. Soon enough, we got to experience being a cashier, making coffee and serving customers. It definitely helped us grow as individuals by learning to work together and experiencing something many of us have not done before. We also learned how to compost in the backyard and make new items out of old ones in upcycling. Overall the time in NYNS is an enriching one. It is also very fun."

- Nanyang Nature Society B26 (2024 Sec 2)

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