Tanglin recently won the Outstanding Environmental Project Award at the School Green Awards 2022. The award was based on Tanglin’s Eco Week, where each day was focused on one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Through the hard work of students, employees and members of the Tanglin community, Tanglin raised nearly S$5,000, which was donated to Conservation International.

We sat down with Year 13 student, Isabel D, who championed the most recent Eco Week, to find out more about what drives her and how we can be inspired to do our part to protect Mother Earth.

Q: When and how did you start having an interest in sustainability?

Isabel: Being engaged in global affairs, increasingly as I grew older, I began to realise the threat humanity faces due to climate change. The more I understand the solutions, the more passionate I became about the topic. I see the people, especially youths, as a driver of change. Youths are the perfect advocates as they, their children, and their children’s children will inherit planet earth. Having the opportunity to influence and educate students at Tanglin has been a priceless experience for me.

Q: How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?

Isabel: As someone who lives in Singapore, I have tried to find innovative ways to keep my negative influence on the environment as limited as possible. I eat little to no red meat to keep my carbon footprint from food low. I do not own an electric car, but my family car shares with other families in our condominium. We use a smaller engine powered car which makes a huge difference in terms of the fuel it consumes, as well as the amount of emissions it produces.

Q: Tell us more about Tanglin’s Eco-Week.

Isabel: Tanglin’s Eco Week was focused on educating students about current issues on climate change and sustainability. It also gave them the opportunities to apply their newfound knowledge in different activities. Each day of the week was dedicated to different SDGs, and activities would occur daily to further enhance students’ understanding on those issues. A fundraiser was held and S$5,000 was raised and donated to Conservation International. A public speaking competition was also held to focus on the themes of the SDGs we had covered that week. Activities in sustainable finance as well as upcycling and environment debate were also held in our Model United Nations debate that week. 

Q: What are your hopes and dreams in terms of sustainability?

Isabel: I hope to see an increase in engagement and curiosity in the areas of sustainability. Youths hold most of the power in determining our future and therefore, engagement whether through reading up on the topic and spreading awareness to friends and family, choosing subjects related to sustainability to study or even a career in this field are many ways Tanglin students can make a difference.

***