Preschool Pitch In To 'Make Every Drop Count'

Water Wally, the cheery mascot shaped like a water droplet, greeted a sea of excited pre-schoolers at Bedok Reservoir on Saturday, 26 March 2016. The children, donning the bright orange "Start Small Dream Big" bucket hats, were there to participate in the Singapore World Water Day Community Carnival. The event was organised by AECES (Association for Early Childhood Educators, Singapore) and Preschool Market, in collaboration with PUB, the National Water Agency.

Some 600 children and families from more than 30 kindergartens and child care centres across the island came together to convey water conservation messages at the Carnival. These pre-school centres are also involved in the Early Childhood Development Agency's (ECDA) "Start Small Dream Big" President's Challenge.

The pre-schoolers showed how they care and appreciate water through creative art murals using recycled materials, mainly bottle caps. These colourful creations were showcased at the Carnival.

Six of Kinderland pre-school centres worked together to create a giant Rainbow Fish sculpture made up of used bottle caps, coloured paper, bubble wrap and plastic containers -- all of which were collected from the children's families. The sculpture took the children and teachers one month of planning and coordination. The result was a beautiful art piece that captured everyone's imagination. The guests were invited to make a water pledge to 'Make Every Drop Count' and paste them on the sculpture.

Ms Pauline Mo (Director, Partnerships & Programmes, ECDA) was Guest of Honour at the event Mr Ridzuan Bin Ismail (Director of Catchment & Waterways Department, PUB) and Ms De Mello Linda Dorothy (Deputy Director, 3PN, Community Relations, PUB) were the hosts. Winners of the Creative Art Bottle Caps Showcase were presented with prizes.

Children were treated to fun games and activities related to valuing and conserving water, and a Greet-and-Meet session with Water Wally. ECDA was happy to support this meaningful community event, organised by its partners, AECES and Preschool Market. This Singapore World Water Day project is in line with ECDA's "Start Small Dream Big" initiative, which was launched in April last year. The aim of the initiative is to encourage pre-schools to create opportunities for their children to contribute to the community, and in the process, learn values of responsibility, empathy and compassion. Look out for the launch of "Start Small Dream Big" this year, on 29 April 2016 (Friday) at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park!