Selected as one of the pilot schools for the Eco Stewardship Programme, Commonwealth Secondary School (CWSS) has adopted a dynamic approach that aims to seamlessly weave sustainability into the very fabric of its academic and cultural life. SingTeach talks to three teachers from CWSS who share about the school’s various sustainability initiatives that include the STEM elective as well as the “Farm to Table” programme.

Integrating the 4Cs

Commonwealth Secondary School’s (CWSS) Green Plan plays an integral role in the school’s effort to build and maintain a culture of sustainability.

“The Green Plan outlines CWSS’ vision to make sustainability a core value of the school,” Mr Jacob Tan, a Senior Teacher/Biology and teacher-in-charge of the Eco Club at CWSS, says. “The plan is driven by the 4Cs of Campus, Curriculum, Culture, and Community.”

He highlights the interconnected relationships between the 4Cs. For instance, the school’s various eco habitats, such as the wetland and rainforest, are deeply rooted in what students are learning in geography lessons – an important factor in developing student’s interest in conserving the environment.

“Students have the opportunity to be outdoors and observe the different canopy layers of the rainforest as well as experience collecting water for water quality testing at the wetlands. Not only that, there is also a plant nursery where students can be involved in germinating seeds of endangered forest trees,” he shares.

The school has also seen the introduction of 1744 solar panels around the campus, which meets 50% of the school’s monthly energy demand, as well as six food digesters which recycle food waste. The culture of sustainability embedded in the school has meant the elimination of plastic straws and selling bottled drinking water too.

“Sustainability has become a top principle when designing any programme or activity,” Mr Simon Lew, Subject Head/Citizenship and Character Education at CWSS, adds.

Jacob remarks that CWSS has been consistently striving to improve its efforts in integrating the concept of sustainability across subjects, disciplines, departments and even school culture. The school’s STEM elective and Farm-to-Table programmes are two examples of how the school is adopting a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability education.

The STEM Elective

Serving as one of two non-examinable elective choices for students in Secondary 3 onwards, CWSS’ unique STEM elective allows students to explore modern issues, including biodiversity conservation, food resilience and climate change, beyond traditional textbooks.

“The STEM elective is conceptualized as a hotbed for nurturing future scientists and innovators who are passionate about addressing and solving environmental challenges,” Ms Vinodhini M Selveindran, Subject Head of Science and Research and co-teacher of the STEM elective, explains.

The STEM elective is introduced during the subject option briefing at the beginning of the year for Secondary 3 students and taken in place of the eighth O-level subject. By selecting this elective, students focus on a portfolio-based approach which culminates in a capstone project during Secondary 4.

“The capstone project sees students tackle real-world problems such as those related to the UN sustainability development goals or it could be any environmental issue that that a student is passionate about,” she shares.

She gives an example of how students have worked on a recent project that explored ways of converting urine into energy and have attempted to develop a prototype turbine fixed onto the urinal area. Another student is collaborating with National Junior College on a research project that studies the relationships between light conditions, photosynthesis and nutrient absorption when growing hydroponic green spinach.

The elective, she notes, works in partnerships with other organizations such as the National Environment Agency, Singapore Food Agency and the Mandai Wildlife Group too.

“We have linked up with A*STAR in which a researcher from the organization guides our students in their projects. This is rather unique because the students have the opportunity to be exposed to real-life research work,” she remarks.

Elaborating on the benefits of the programme, she highlights how the elective is able to break down subject silos and cultivate multidisciplinary thinking that fosters critical and informed thinkers.

“The challenge of individual subjects is that we tend to frame whatever we have learnt according to a single lens. The beauty of this STEM elective is that we are not bound by these single lenses. Instead, we see how all the knowledge we have learnt fits together into one bigger picture,” she describes.

Jacob echoes this sentiment. “The STEM elective allows students to gain hands-on experience without overloading them, providing depth that may not be found in other existing subjects. The richness lies in connecting different subjects to address real-world sustainability challenges,” he says.

The “Farm to Table” Programme

CWSS’ “Farm to Table” programme, an initiative under the Eco Stewardship Programme, integrates indoor and outdoor farming experiences into the lower secondary science curriculum. Starting with conventional soil farming in Secondary 1, students progress to high-tech indoor farming in Secondary 2.

“The programme, spanning 6 to 8 weeks, allows students to learn about farming practices,” Simon, who is also the programme coordinator, explains.

“During the course of the programme, students learn about photosynthesis and are exposed to the whole process of growing a plant, including germinating, transplanting and harvesting. Not only that, they also learn about the role technology plays in urban food production,” he shares.

He notes how the programme is closely linked to the science curriculum as well as the UN sustainable development goals. Teachers, for instance, regularly engage students in discussing global issues of hunger and food insecurity, and the importance of supporting local produce, making sustainable food choices, and tackling food waste.

“The harvested produce is not put to waste. Students and teachers find ways to celebrate the harvest together, and the produce is used for activities such as in-class cooking during Food and Consumer Education classes, making salads as well as a food source for canteen stalls,” he adds.

He makes the observation that due to Singapore’s highly urbanized environment, where only 1 percent of land has been allocated to food production, students may have had less opportunities to witness the hard work that goes into planting, cultivating and harvesting crop.

“We want them to think, ‘Where does the food on my plate comes from?’” he states. “We want them to think about the different innovative and sustainable approaches to food production, and how urban farming and urban agriculture can play a role in ensuring food security.”

Charting the Sustainability Path Ahead

What does the future hold for CWSS’ STEM elective and its Green Plan?

For Vinodhini, she hopes the STEM elective can leverage on the school’s partnerships with various organizations.

“We want to leverage our strength in working with our industry partners so that our students can have more opportunities to co-create with researchers in research and development,” she shares. “We also have plans to create a repository where all the student STEM projects can be stored and accessed for future reference.”

Jacob is encouraged to see students adopting sustainability actions on their own without much nudging from teachers.

“We are on the right track,” he affirms. “CWSS’ Green Plan mirrors closely to national sustainable initiatives, such as the OneMillionTrees movement by the National Parks Board, the ‘City in Nature’ vision, which is one of the five pillars under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, and the ‘30 by 30’ goal, which aims to produce 30 percent of local food needs by 2030.”

“This gives our students the opportunity to experience those national goals at a micro level and be ready to participate as active citizens in the near future,” he adds.

Simon too hopes that the values instilled in students will act as guiding principles as they move on to tertiary education and beyond.

“We aim to cultivate individuals who not only lead successful lives but are also mindful of how their actions can impact the environment, and can actively contribute to a sustainable future,” he says.