Greenwave Project - PCF Sparkletots @ Cashew Blk 183 CC

PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Cashew Blk 183 CC had their Start Small Dream Big project event on Friday, 20 May 2016. The MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC (Cashew Division), Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, was their Guest-of-Honour.

The centre's SSDB project covers various aspects, such as care for the environment, kindness to the elderly, and recycling. Partner agencies such as the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) supported the centre's efforts. NEA provided a booth at the event, encouraging awareness of anti-littering. SKM also provided resources which the centre used as decoration for the event. Some of these decorations included the use of recycled cardboards as bases for the children's drawings and paintings.

A Traders' Booth was set up and manned by the K2 children at the multi-purpose hall where the event was held. Other children brought dried goods to exchange for the fresh fruits and vegetables available at the booth. All the dried goods collected will be distributed to the Pioneer Generation living around the Cashew division as part of their SSDB project.

Other booths provided the children with some fun activities. One booth introduced children to 'old-school' games such as chapteh and hopscotch; another showed how to make homemade ice-lollies with Ribena and Milo.

The preschool then invited Dr Balakrishnan to plant the centre's existing mulberry plant at a new plot in the Sensory Garden. He also marked the launch of their SSDB project by placing the SSDB signage at the mini garden. In their 'Garden of Love', the children will grow vegetables such as kangkong, eggplant, bak choi, sweet potato leaves, lady fingers and chilli peppers. The young ones will be in charge of the project, from purchasing, to planting the seedlings, as well as making and placing name labels in the garden. The classes involved will be given a schedule to water, fertilise and loosen the soil on a daily basis. They will also be working with the parent support group to draw up a roster for watering the plants on weekends. The children will be tasked to harvest the vegetables, and distribute them to the nearby nursing home and needy residents in the neighbourhood.

It was heartening to see many parents at the event. The strong centre-parent partnership was evident in the many ways that the parents and teachers showed their support their support for the children in their endeavours. For example, one of the student's parents fully sponsored the vegetables at the Traders' Booth, while the teachers sponsored the fresh fruits!

As Dr Balakrishnan said, "We have a clean and green environment in Singapore because successive generations of Singaporeans worked hard to make it happen. Happy that these values are being passed on to the next generation and to see the passion that our young kids have for the environment!"