Intel Involved: Labour Day of Love for the Earth

Celebrating 40 Years of Changing the World
by David Chung 15 May 2008

2008 is the International Year of the Reef (IYOR), celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability. So, as part of Intel’s 40th anniversary celebrations, a group of Intel Singapore employees from CPLG, Finance & IT and their families turned our Labor Day holiday into a labor of love for the Earth. Together, we volunteered in a variety of activities at Chek Jawa – a wetlands nature reserve tucked away on Pulau Ubin, an island off the north-eastern coast of the main concrete jungle of Singapore (details below).

We teamed-up with a group of passionate nature enthusiasts, as well as a community of home-schooled children & their families, forming a contingent of over 100 volunteers. The naturalists that guided us inspired us with their love & respect for our natural environment. The home-schooled kids inspired us with their enthusiasm and abundant curiosity. And in return, Intel inspired them with our grand goal of one million volunteer hours.

Photos by Peggy Khoo
Photos by Ria Tan (WildSingapore)

The Details
So, what did we actually do?

1) We reached out to visitors as Dugong Ambassadors, sharing with them fun facts about this endangered creature (and learning for ourselves along the way). What’s a dugong? What do dugongs have to do with Singapore? (Click on these links to find out more) And thanks to professional artist/nature-guide Andrew Tay, each volunteer received a beautiful badge with a custom logo designed by him for this occasion.

2) We cleared bagsful of trash from the shore, and got a sobering reminder about waste and pollution – styrofoam and plastic bags really do stick around forever; nasty! You’d be amazed at the kinds of unexpected trash that wash up along our shores… just join one of these trash-clearing expeditions during low tide and you’ll see what we mean.

3) We painted a mural at House No. 1 – the visitor center at Chek Jawa. Why a mural? Good public art says something about the community. It says: this is who we are - this is what we think - this is where we came from - this is what we want. Murals show the concerns, hopes, values and memories of the community where the murals are painted. We hope this mural conveys to future visitors our pride and love for our environment and the wonderful biodiversity of the sea and shores around Singapore (video link).

Learn More

Read more about the event at these blogs:
http://flyingfishfriends.blogspot.com/2008/04/chek-jawa-may-day-outreach-unveils-2008.html
http://iyor08singapore.blogspot.com/2008/04/dugong-ambassadors-for-may-day-outreach.html
http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2008/05/shore-extravaganza-dugong-ambassadors.html

This event was also featured in a newspaper report in the May 11th issue of the local Chinese daily《联合早报》
Thanks!

Thanks to the CPLG, Finance & IT leadership teams for funding this event out of our Q2 team building budget, and adopting it as our quarterly team event J

CPLG: Cai Ding Zheng and Mel Davies
· CPLG sponsored the painting materials

Finance: Kristin Lim, Ravi Rao and Jeffrey Phua
· Finance sponsored the transportation to Pulau Ubin and Chek Jawa, and the Dugong ambassador badges

IT: Satish Kumar and Chang Tsann
· IT paid for the snacks and drinks that fed more than 100 people

And a big thanks to Peggy Khoo & the Intel Involved Singapore team for making this possible!

Heartfelt Responses for May Day Outreach

13 May 2008

Below: a chorus of heartfelt responses from all over!
Thank you - one and all! : )


Peggy Khoo (Intel) says:
To many of us who spends more than 10 hours a day in the office, this May Day 2008 outreach event is an excellent opportunity for us to reach back out to nature, to contribute our little effort to make a difference and to reflect on what other things we can do to save the environment. Our employees had so much fun that day in exploring Chek Jawa whilst putting on their volunteer hats in carrying out their task they set out to do. The end results of a beautiful mural wall at House No.1, a cleaner coast at Chek Jawa and more informed visitors who are now aware of the dugongs, are just immeasurable and valueless!

For me, I have personally learnt a great deal from Joseph Lai, while working with him on this project. He has exposed me to a world of nature that I would have never been able to see by myself and has inspired me to want to do more with nature. I now know that there are also many people out there who are so passionate about conserving nature and would contribute selflessly to achieving this goal.

On behalf of Intel involved team, I would like to thank Joseph Lai for pulling everyone together to make this community project a success for us. Also thanks to Robert Teo and his NParks team for the excellent support rendered to us. Big thank you to the artist team lead by Pui San and the volunteer guides for making it such a great experience. Cheers!

Ria Tan (Wildfilms / WildSingapore) says:
It was wonderful to share a day on Chek Jawa with many 'old timer' volunteers who had worked on Chek Jawa before deferment. Even more special was the opportunity to share the love of Chek Jawa with a new generation of young adult volunteers and with the young children of the homeschool families. Pui San and his team of artists also added a fresh element to the conservation effort. With NParks and Intel involvement, it is an excellent example of meaningful 3P engagement and of active citizenry.

I hope this event can be an annual event. It is a powerful celebration of what Chek Jawa means to ordinary Singaporeans.

Puisan (Master Artist) says:
The idea of getting kids to have a field day at CJ to learn about the environment was well conceived. Not only were we well rewarded, it resulted in some very lasting and profound learning experiences for the kids and parents alike.

They got to know the environment better and their participation in the activities enriching enough to imbue a sense of belonging to this treasure spot in our beloved Chek Jawa. As Dugong Ambassadors they certainly did their part to help raise concern and awareness of living things around us, marine creatures included. Participation in the beach cleanup made them understand how trash could pollute our beaches and its effects on the environment.

Sharing their ideals of a healthy marine environment through artworks on the wall mural was very popular with many of the kids. Unfortunately we were not able to accommodate all the kids’ enthusiasm for more to be painted, due to the pressure of time and available space.

Comments from Homeschool Parents

Eileen Nathan says:
Since the blogging workshop organized by Mr Joe Lai in conjunction with the IYOR 08, I have never been so aware about animal conservation. Yes, we occasionally watch National Geographic and visit Underwater World, but it's just information. However, when the kids started blogging (another promise they made to Uncle Joe after the workshop) about the sea animals that they have learned, our family began a journey of discovery and learning.

Now when we go to the beach - we look at the sea and the creatures along the beach with a different lens...one that is filled with more compassion about the sorry plight of Mother Nature because of human invasion. I remembered my son crying after watching an internet presentation about a terrible decision of human housing development which will cause a certain kind of sawfish to be extinct!

Our involvement on 1 May is a natural follow-up. We certainly want to do our best to be a voice to the helpless creatures sent by God to help us...but mankind has foolishly plundered Mother Nature. We want the next generation to see the animals that still exist today.

When the purpose of something is not understood or ignored, ABUSE is inevitable!

Jacqueline Thng says:
My family spends most of our free time in the Nature, and i hope we could do our parts to take care of Mother Nature, so that our future generations would continue to enjoy the beauty of nature. ... May Day Outreach is one rare opportunity that allows my children to start their baby steps in taking care of the environment and be more aware of the environment calling.

And I would like to share a quote from Daisaku Ikeda, "Life is a chain. All things are related. When any link is harmed, the other links are affected. We should think of the environment as our mother -- Mother Soil, Mother Sea, Mother Earth. There is no crime worse than harming one's mother. ". so let do our parts... taking action.. & ... also educating the young ones.

Po Ting says:
I am glad that my family gets close to the nature once again. We appreciate and would like to preserve it in our little way.

Wei Lin says:
I think the May Day Outreach will be a wonderful experience to teach our children, the next generation about preserving the sea creatures for a good cause.

Pui Yee says:
Our Precious Gem: I always thought that we have to travel very far to see 'live' underwater creatures in Tioman or somewhere in Malaysia or in other further shores. I remember when we paid our first visit to Chek Jewa few years back, we were so thrilled to see that we have these little beautiful creatures moving around in Singapore shore. A long, hot day passed in our exploration like breeze. How much more we love to see our future generation in Singapore will be able to explore this for themselves in our own shore! I hope this May Day Outreach will bring more awareness and public interest in protecting this very precious gem!

Kay Hoon says:
It's a privilege to be part of this unique project that will bring art into the public sphere. We're proud to be making a statement about the nature around us!

Jin Hua says:
As a parent, I could not wish for a better project for my child to undertake. He learns more about environment and social responsibility, science and art, community and humanity, from people who are passionate about them.

Jean Law says:
Our children are city children; they live in the concrete jungle. I appreciate all these activities and outings, which bring them closer to the Mother Nature and appreciate its wonders. We learn together to love our earth more and become more environmental friendly.

Littly says:
This is a chance for our children to stand up and be counted as caretakers of our planet.

This is a chance for our children to crystallize the reasons they enjoy, and should be respectful of, our natural world.

This is a chance for our children to feel the responsibility of imparting a love of nature to others.

Mei Sie says:
It is a great opportunity for my boys to be involved - to understand and care for their environment and not to take it for granted. I think it will be quite exciting to work together in this project involving a diverse group - homeschooling kids, naturalists and Intel staff.

Queenie says:
I count it a privilege for my son to be able to participate in the May Day activities at Chek Jawa, thanks to Joe Lai. I hope that in getting our children involved in nature activities, they will learn to respect and care for the animals and plants that we share this earth with.

So Mei says:
From the sea;
I find my peace,
The sea has so much to offer;
I will want to conserve with all the others.

8-year-old Shanil says:
... I was very sad about the pollution.

Read Shanil's account of his experience in Shanil-The-Great Blog and Auntie Jenny's absolutely beautiful encouragement for him, his writing and his fabulous artwork (in the Comment).

10-year-old Luke Tay says:
Dugongs are cute lovable things and they should be saved.

9-year-old Vere Nathan says:
It's fun! It's good for the environment and should be done more often.

Guest (Prof) Yap Von Bing says:
Good Activity... good for environment and family bonding.

See other postings / photos of May Day Outreach below:
Pulau Ubin Stories Blog
Wildfilms Blog
FlyingFishFriends Blog
Naked Hermit Crabs Blog
Art in Wetlands Blog
TeamSeagrass Blog
Lazy Lizard's Tales Blog
Photo Galleries at:
Wildfilms' Flickr.com and Peggy Khoo's Flickr.com

Chek Jawa: May Day Outreach Unveils 2008 Logo

We are proud to present our 2008 logo for the first May Day Outreach at Chek Jawa by homeschool kids. Yeh!

Its creator is none other than professional artist-cum-nature-guide Andrew Tay! Every participant will get to wear a button badge printed with this logo. [Please note: The above is a raw template from which the circular logo will be cut.] The button badges will be manufactured by Grace Tan.

Come this May Day, 32 homeschool kids (and their families) will be:

1) painting a Mural at House No. 1 of Chek Jawa
The mural will be depicting our fabulous sea creatures.
2) reaching out to visitors as Dugong Ambassadors
Turned educators, the kids will be sharing facts about dugongs.
3) removing rubbish from the shores
Kids learn about waste and pollution through beach cleanup.

May Day Outreach has been made possible by the following collaborators.

1) Sponsor Intel Singapore
Not only is Intel financing the whole event, up to 40 Intel staff (and their families) will be joining and helping the kids with their various activities on May Day. Special thanks must go to Peggy Khoo for inspiring her esteemed colleagues toward a common effort for the environment.
2) Master Artist Tham Pui San and fellow artists - Deborah Tay, Evelyn Mah, Joyce Lim, Evonne Tay, Hermie Van Laar, Adelene Yuen and Amy Sammy
They will be teaching the kids how to paint mural and will be guiding the kids on the actual painting of the wall.
3) Naturalists & Volunteers Ria Tan of WildSingapore, Angie Ng, Andrew Tay, Dr. Chua Ee Kiam, November Tan, Andy Dinesh, Ivan Kwan, Marcus Ng, the Naked Hermit Crabs and Siti Maryam and the Team Seagrass will be helping as co-facilitators on May Day.
4) Marina Country Club & MCC Resort for the gracious loan of their three beautiful fibreglass dugong-models to be exhibited at the lawn of House no. 1 (Chek Jawa) on May Day.
5) Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for providing its facility for our art-training 26 April.
6) Last but not least, our May Day Outreach would not have been possible without the endorsement and help from the Pulau Ubin Management team (Nparks) headed by Mr Robert Teo.

Words of Appreciation:

Truly, I find no words adequate in expressing my deepest appreciation to all you wonderful people listed above for volunteering your time and energy and money to make May Day Outreach a reality.

I would also like to thank all the parents of the homeschool kids for believing in the cause to which we all strive for - that in the International Year of the Reefs 2008, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our kids in speaking up for Nature (sealife) through art and action. As Intel Singapore puts it sweetly- May Day Outreach will be a Labour of Love for the Earth!

Powerful and Extraordinary Words from the Heart of Intel Singapore:

Intel has indeed a grand goal: One Million volunteer hours worldwide! And Intel Singapore is showing the way for corporate responsibility to the local community and the environment. Recent words of empowerment for her staff about the mural painting show just how well she understood her role in community and environment work. This is what she said:

"What is a mural? A mural is a painting done directly on the wall. It comes from the Latin word murus, which means wall. Murals often show the concerns, hopes, values and memories of the community where the murals are painted. Murals are not like other paintings. They have a different purpose, a different kind of effect on the lives of those who see them. They are public art in the best sense, because they are actually created in public, with the community looking on. Good public art says something about the community. It says: this is who we are - this is what we think - this is where we came from - this is what we want. And it says these things in a way that everybody can understand and enjoy." [Source: Taken from a presentation by Peggy Khoo. The event is co-organised by CPLG, Finance and IT, represented by Kristin Lim, Cai Ding Zheng & Satish Kumar.]

Well said, Intel Singapore! Truly well said!! : )

Intel Involved: Pulau Ubin Beach Cleanup

Story by Peggy Khoo, Singapore Intel Involved coordinator [captions by Joseph Lai]

[photo above: Tim Bailey planting a tree of hope for the environment.]

On the afternoon of 27 March, 43 Intel employees spent a very meaningful afternoon on Pulau Ubin, an island off Singapore. They represented two teams who volunteered their time to clean the beach at Chek Jawa and Sungei Jelutong, by “converting” their traditional team building activity into one that is primarily focused on community service. Not only did they learnt about how rubbish like plastic bags, straws, foams and batteries can pollute the sea, prematurely killing the sea creature and indirectly affecting the human’s well being through the food chain, they also realized that no matter how small the effort they may contribute, it does make a difference to the environment.

[photo above: a sea-change from corporate executives to rubbish collectors and caregivers of the environment!]

Tim Bailey led his PPMG team to plant a nutmeg tree at House No 1, Chek Jawa, symbolizing their love and care for the environment, then subsequently picked and collected rubbish along Chek Jawa. They finally closed their day activity by identifying the winning team for their interesting “rubbish” game. The other team was led by Lee Buan Seng and Satish Kumar. This team cleaned up Sungei Jelutong under the supervision of our N-Park ranger and they learnt that not all rubbish are actually rubbish. For example anything “organic’ should be left behind as it will naturally biodegrade into the environment. Finally, after spending their time under the rain, sprawling the beach, they proudly presented almost 8 large bags of rubbish they collected for the day. The team then spent the remaining evening having a team dinner at the Season’s seafood restaurant on Ubin, before they headed back to Singapore.

[photo above: bagging a first prize for 'talking rubbish' - telling a most interesting tall tale about how an aircon panel ended up on ubin's shore!]

Singapore Intel Involved team would to commend Tim Bailey, Lee Buan Seng and Satish Kumar for their leadership and role-modeling, in leading their teams to think and act for the community!!

More photos are found in our flicker.com album

A Special Poem by Verasha: 4 My Sky

Through her simple yet poignant words, a child speaks to the world...

Verasha (a homeschooler in Singapore):

'I wrote this poem thinking about the pollution of our environment....We should take care of this planet, because it's the only one we got!'

4 My Sky [original post]

The mood of the sky depends on you,
Whether you care and love it too,
Purple, red, blue and grey;
Are the colours of the sky.
And I just can't say
Why there's no more red,
And why there's no more blue
Who knows it might lose its colour really soon.

It now looks sad and hurt
Just because
All Sam, Dick and toothless Curt,
Have dirtied the world so clean.
So go green
And it may help
Our world to become bright and clean.

Message from Uncle Joe to Verasha and all homeschool children:

I understand your feelings, Verasha. Sometimes, I feel like that too. You know, I was at Pulau Ubin yesterday with friends from Intel corporation. There were 48 of us and we spent some quality time cleaning up the beaches at Chek Jawa and Sungei Jelutong. We were an assorted bunch of nationalities actually - from Japan, India, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, United States, New Zealand, etc. (Photo below)


[More photos at Intel Involved's flicker.com album]

Though the sky opened up for a while and the rain unleashed itself upon us with thunderous abandonment, we were wet yet undampened in spirit. We were quite glad to do our bit - no matter how small it seemed - to clean up the polluting mass of rubbish at the shores. And as if to reward our 'international' effort, the sky turned a glorious spectrum of colours on our return journey across the waters to Singapore mainland (first photo above). It was then that - on the bumboat - I suddenly recalled your poem.

I remembered the simple words you use and the plain matter-of-fact way you say it. It was very clear in my mind. I actually felt sad reading it at first, I must confess. But sitting there in the bumboat and recalling your poem and admiring the beautiful sky... I felt my heart brimming over with hope... hope that we can turn things around. We CAN resolve the issue of waste and prevent and reduce pollution at all levels. Yes, we can! It only have to start with ourselves (the ME & I!) and also with people around us - at home, in school, our community, etc. That was exactly how I felt after cleaning up the beaches with my friends, and at the sametime, reminding ourselves not to create waste in the first place.

Thank you, Verasha, for your rich poetry. Your poem, 4 My Sky, is a timely reminder for all of us to act for the environment. Most of all, I want you to have hope - lots of it - just like my friends and I have. We all must have hope... for a better tomorrow! : )

Keep writing and keep smiling! There is hope!

Uncle Joe

BBC Audio & Video : to learn more about plastic and the harm it does to the environment and to animal life too.
[Footnote: Special thanks to Robert Teo of the National Parks Board and volunteer Angie Ng for making our outing so memorable, and Peggy Khoo for galvanizing the enthusiastic response from her Intel team.]