This event was spearheaded by Mr Lee Siew Fei, a father in GESS PTA. Despite it being held in the middle of the mid-year exams, we were pleasantly surprised that all 37 places were taken up within 24 hours of opening for registration. The use of the Parent Gateway to disseminate the information was very effective and using Google forms and Paylah/PayNow cut down administration.

Participants have to pay $25 for a father-child pair but it was all worthwhile visiting the first-ever man-made landfill in the world. More than 40 world leaders including US ex-President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Semakau.

We assembled at Marina South Pier at 9 am for a safety & guide briefing. It was wet weather and we spotted two water spouts amidst the heavy rains. Before long we were off on the ferry to Semakau Island. We learnt many interesting facts. The island was about the size of Clementi estate and with the amount of waste we create, the landfill will run out of space by 2035 if not earlier. Singapore does not have enough land to create another landfill so we all must do our part to consciously reduce waste.