Gene Kwok

In a previous post about the “Litter Munchers Design-A-Bin Contest”, I mentioned that Edmund Chen and I would be doing something special together on the 5th of December at Bukit Panjang Plaza. Yes indeed! It was a day to remember, because we did an anti-littering skit in front of a live crowd at the “North West Clean & Green Singapore Carnival 2011”! 

I was asked by NEA to come up with a skit a few weeks ago, so I got Ninette to help write the script, and gathered a group of MADERs to act in it too. Basically it was a skit to educate the public about littering and about “Litter-Free Ambassadors”.

I don’t have many photos with me, so I’ll just post a few. 

(Timothy, Priya and her little brother with Edmund)

(Yanhui with Edmund)

and finally… Group photo! 

 

I’m sure it was just another day for Edmund, I mean he’s one of Mediacorp’s finest actors. He didn’t even need to look at the script much, it’s all inpromptu. No sweat for him. But I was quite a bag of nerves!

The thing is, I’ve never done a skit before! Not even in a school play or something. I’ve given speeches, I’ve hosted quite a few public events, I’ve performed, but nope, I’ve never done a skit! So it was something really new to me and an interesting experience.

Nonetheless, it was fun, and we pulled it off. Edmund told me about a few upcoming projects he has that he’d like to collaborate on. Something to look forward to! =D

Anyway, have you seen those TV commercials, where the litter bugs get blown away by the fat lady? Well, I have that skill now. I’m now a Litter-Free Ambassador too! Don’t let me catch you littering! =p

 

Last Sunday, I attended NEA’s Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) 2011 Carnival at Sengkang Square where the seven winning designs for the “Design-A-Bin” contest were unveiled! Basically, the Design-A-Bin contest was a contest launched by NEA that invited youths to take ownership of the environment and coming up with their own unique Litter Muncher bin designs.

If you’ve not visited the Litter Munchers website yet, you can do here:
http://www.littermunchers.com.sg

(My favorite is the brown monster muncher! Hehehe. =p)

So anyway, back to the contest. I was told more than 2500 entries were received! 

And these are the seven winners with their masterpieces!

Edmund Chen being NEA’s Celebrity Cleanliness Ambassador was also present to unveil his special design with the winners!  

This is Edmund with his design! Edmund says that it represents a clean and green city in its untarnished and unpolluted form. He believes that every person can play a part in building a clean garden city by binning trash responsibly. I like his design, it is very positive!

I had a little conversation with him. He’s really down-to-earth and friendly. I think he’s a wonderful role model. And not to mention a great actor too! 

This is the winner of the Gold Award, Tess Moh, who is a final year student majoring in English Language at the NUS.

Tess says the inspiration behind her design is this:
“An empty bin is as dull and mundane as black and white and it finds its usefulness only when filled with rubbish. Black also represents the death of nature if the issue of littering is left unresolved. On the other hand, if everyone plays their part in protecting the environment, there can be fluidity and harmony as the elements of nature come together as a unified body.”

This is her winning creation! =D 

This is silver award winner, Benjamin Chia, with his design (below). His design is based on the inspiration that every piece of trash has the potential to be turned into gold through recycling efforts. I found his design very thoughtful and inspiring!

This next one was designed by 17-year-old Yang Wenting, and won the “most creative design” prize. It is also my personal favorite! =D

 

It’s a doggy bin! Isn’t it superrrrr adorable? =D
Ahhh. I almost felt like bringing it home! 

If you’ve missed the chance to meet Edmund Chen at this CGS event, fear not! There’ll be another opportunity on the 5 of December, 2-5pm, at Bukit Panjang Plaza. I’ll be there too, and we’ll be doing something special together! ;D Come and see for yourself!

Do also visit the Litter Munchers’ official facebook page!  

Look where I went yesterday!

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about visits to the Zoo, it is that you have to be really early to make the most out of the trip and to see all the animals! The last time I went to the Zoo was about half a year ago (thanks to tickets from NEA). I didn’t get to see so much that time because I went in the late afternoon and most of the animals were already sleeping! I’m serious!

So this time, having a bit more experience, we went earlier! =D

In fact, I got up at 7am in the morning. My mom woke up and asked me where I was going. When I told her enthusiastically, “I’m going to the zoo!”. She thought I was trying to be funny!

These are our tickets. They even come with F&B discount vouchers. 

Our happy little group for the day. (excluding Jamie who was taking the photo)

Here she is in a photo with me. =)

Credit for all the photos in this post goes to Jamie, Joei, Rini and Mich. Basically everyone aside from myself la! =x Lots and lots of photos of the animals we saw. But I’m just going to show you my favourites. I don’t like reptiles, and I don’t like fish! Ughhh!

I like warm and furry mammals.
Moooo! Wait, that isn’t a cow is it? It’s a ram!

Such a pretty animal, the zebra! It’s easy to see why the Zebra has inspired so many works of art and fashion.

Donkey! Ahhhh! Very cute right?

This is one of my favourite animals, the Kangaroo. Kangaroos are usually quite shy. They’re also warm and fuzzy, and they don’t really bite. (Kangaroos are strictly herbivores) You can even feed them at the zoo (for five dollars) during specific feeding times! Be prepared to get your hands full of Kangaroo drool though. Kangaroos drool a lot, like a dog would, as it helps them keep their bodies cool under the hot sun. If you look closely, you’ll notice this kangaroo drooling as well. =p

Did you know…
 

The white tigers were probably one of the biggest animal attractions at the zoo. There were lots of visitors crowding around them and snapping photos. (Including Mich and Jamie!) We were stuck there for some time and I was getting impatient! I don’t really like tigers, and did I mention? I don’t like reptiles, and I don’t like fish! 

This tiger wasn’t very happy with me. =x

This emu made Jamie laugh like a mad woman. Hahaha! It does look pretty funny, doesn’t it?

Don’t forget these little guys… the penguins! We went to see the “Splash Safari” show. It was spectacular! I especially love the sea lion segment. But be prepared to get yourself wet, they don’t call it the “Splash Safari” for nothing! :p

I’d like to introduce you to my new pet crocodile. It doesn’t bite, promise!

And finally, king of the beasts, the Lion! This is my favorite animal of all. Or perhaps it shares that title with the kangaroo and the rabbit. The lion is a symbol of strength, courage and pride. I feel associated to it in so many ways. For one, it’s the national animal of Singapore, my country. I was born on national day, I’m also a Leo. Roar!

This is the oldest animal in the zoo, a giant tortoise measuring more than 1 metre across! They say it’s about 70 years old. It moves really, really slowly! We asked it to pose for us, this is the result:

Fortunately, we found this statue of a giant tortoise. Doesn’t it look like it’s in excruciating pain? I bet a lot of people have tried to climb on it!

Ahhhh. My back! It hurts!

And then we came to what looked like a kampong house in the middle of nowhere. Inside, we found this very realistic looking wax figure of a woman doing her laundry. There were also a few other wax figures, but they were too creepy. This lady seems nice, so I took a photo with her.

Found this on one of the walls inside.
I had no idea cockroaches used to be this big…

Little toys can make a lot of fun if you’re with the right people.

Another adorable creature! =D



I had lots of fun at the zoo!

Isn’t it amazing, how nature can create and support such diverse life? It’s hard to imagine, but we are the greatest threat to these animals. It is estimated that because of human activities, more than half of the world’s species will be extinct in 100 years. It’s a sad fact.

But we can do our part to help save these wonderful creatures by being more environmentally conscious. Reducing our carbon footprint is one way. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Keep an eye on overconsumption, use energy saving appliances. You can look at this website for 100 ways to help do your part in saving the earth. 

Believe it! We can make a difference!