10 Singapore youths win recognition at inaugural awards for efforts in conservation, environmental causes

SINGAPORE — Ten Singaporean youths under 35, including a climate advocate who pursues environmental justice for the marginalised and a coral scientist who brought together 900 divers for reef clean-ups, received the inaugural 10 for Zero Awards that recognises the efforts of youth leaders who actively champion environmental causes.

Other award winners include the co-founder of a social media channel involved in education on science and nature, and a first-year Nanyang Technological University undergraduate who works in his spare time as a nature advocate lobbying to tackle climate change.

The awards, given out last Saturday (May 27), were organised by the Singapore arm of environmental non-profit Conservation International and recognise the recipients' efforts in contributing to conservation and sustainable development.

The awards seek to “form a group dedicated to actions for a quicker journey towards a future of zero waste and net zero carbon emissions”, a media release by Conservation International Singapore stated.

The 10 recipients will join an exclusive youth network that offers mentorship and coaching from global conservation experts, allowing participants to form meaningful connections and encourages them to create collaborative efforts for greater impact.

The awardees were all actively involved in championing greater positive environmental outreach, such as Mr Heng Li Seng, who founded the Singapore-based social enterprise Green Nudge, dedicated to promoting sustainability through outreach programmes and consultancy.

The 35-year-old entrepreneur has since engaged more than 200 organisations to partake in coastal cleanups which helped to reduce CO2 emissions.

Another winner is Ms Ng Lee Kiang, 33, who is the co-founder of Young Nautilus, an environmental education organisation that develops and delivers nature-themed programmes to inspire the public's appreciation for the natural world. To date, Young Nautilus has reached over 10,000 audiences through interactive programs such as biodiversity walks and conservation talks.

Headquartered in the United States, Conservation International works to improve the lives of people by protecting oceans, forests and other living ecosystems through partnerships with external organisations and field demonstrations.

Award winners will also be offered opportunities to take part in domestic and international environmental proposals, value-adding workshops, field research, and overseas climate summits.

Apart from Mr Heng and Ms Ng, the recipients were:

• Ms Kong Man Jing, 29, co-founder of Just Keep Thinking, a science and nature channel with more than 450,000 followers across all platforms. Ms Kong was also one of 12 Singaporeans selected to take part in an Antarctic climate expedition designed to raise awareness of the climate situation
• Mr Muhammad Nasry, 24, executive director of Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, which engages in consultations with government stakeholders on land-use planning and wildlife issues as well as building up the young to advocate for systemic change in conserving the nature community here
• Ms Oh Chu Xian, 29, founder of Magorium, a business that transforms contaminated and unsorted plastic waste into a material used to build roads. She also founded M-Impact, which promotes youth environmental literacy programmes. Magorium has since diverted more than 8,000kg of plastic waste from incineration.
• Ms Pamela Low, 27, founder of Tingkats, an initiative which partners with businesses to identify new opportunities and create strategies for sustainable development. Ms Low is also part of a network of entrepreneurial youths from 11 Southeast Asian countries which aims to alleviate poverty and boost economic growth and sustainable development in the Southeast Asia region
• Ms Sam Shu Qin, 34, marine biologist and founder of Our Singapore Reefs. Ms Sam has conducted numerous regional sharing sessions to raise awareness about Singapore's marine biodiversity and conservation efforts and managed to organise marine debris clean-up activities with over 1,200 volunteers participating in them
• Ms Samantha Thian, 28, founder of Seastainable, a social business that supported more than 33 global projects on marine conservation and committed more than S$50,000 to marine conservation. Ms Thian's work such as the #eastcoastbeachplan initiative to tackle coastal pollution and waste management issues at East Coast Park is also recognised by organisations like the National Environment Agency
• Ms Terese Teoh, 22, president of Singapore Youth for Climate Action. An undergraduate majoring in environmental and political science, Ms Teoh has engaged in different forms of community building and education to promote conservationism
• Mr Yasser Amin, 27, who heads Stridy, a non-profit organisation addressing urban waste management issues worldwide. The Stridy mobile application also promotes responsibility and accountability in waste cleanup efforts

The winners were selected from nationwide applications and nominations by a panel of subject experts, and were judged based on the social benefit of their work, environmental impact and community influence towards a future of zero waste, Conservation International Singapore said.

Ms Manohar Shenoy, executive director of the Clean the World Foundation, which supports the awards, said: “We are delighted to support this meaningful initiative, which we foresee will empower youth to make a significant difference.

"Earth is a home to all of us, and it is our responsibility to work hand-in-hand to prevent its destruction."

Clean the World Foundation provides water, sanitation and hygiene programming to benefit global communities with high pre-adolescent death rates due to pneumonia and cholera.

Ms Shenoy added: "We are hopeful, and excited to see what inspiring, innovative solutions these youth will bring.”