Q: Who went with me?
A: Due to space constraints, only a handful of lower sec students were chosen to go for this trip. Lucky! 🍀
Q: What left the strongest impression?
A: I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are still dolphins in Singapore waters!
Q: Why did SST arrange for a trip to St. John Island?
A: To allow students to learn more about the marine life at St John Island. So that we are more conscious about our environment.
Q: How did you feel (after this visit)? Any lessons learnt?
A: Plastics are very harmful to the environment. Even though they are convenient to use and easy to dispose, it adds a lot to the plastic pollution. Thus, we should still try to recycle, reduce, reuse and refuse.
Q: Where can we find more information about St John island?
A: Google. There are many online resources that give additional information about Singapore's less known southern island.
Reference:
St John's Island on Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294265-d2344433-Reviews-St_John_s_Island-Singapore.html
St John's island on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John%27s_Island
St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML) http://sjinml.nus.edu.sg/
"Marine Plastic Pollution Workshop by Dr Ana Catarino." At first glance the email title seemed like any other normal activities that I signed up for. Little did I know, that this would be my most enriching experience since joining SST! Such a pity that only a few of us were selected for this excursion.
Earlier today, my friends and I joined a school excursion to study more about marine life at St John's island. From the moment we arrived, we were kept busy by the many activities that were already lined up for us.
The activities were mostly hands-on and researched-based. Some tasks required us to separate the plastics from the sand and categorized them according to their different materials and colors. Other times we observed the larvae of the sea urchin and the nano-plastics under the microscope. There were lectures about the marine life and the environment, that were so engaging that we did not feel the least bit tired.
During those activities, some questions would be asked to test our knowledge, or to recap certain things that we have learnt. I am proud to say that I was able to answer most of them, and even earned praises by the teachers there!
I have shared many positive things about the trip so far, but there are also some downsides to it. First of all, there was no Wifi available on the island. Everyone complained bitterly about it. Still, I looked at the bright side and did not let myself get distracted from the many activities.
The day ended off before I knew it. Everyone boarded the ferry reluctantly as we did not want to leave. As I stood at the stern of the ferry looking back at the island, I quietly thanked it for showing me so many things today. I definitely hope to be back again in the foreseeable future.
Chia Howie
S1-08, SST
11 Mar 2019
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