Two local schools in Singapore were recognised at a ceremony yesterday for their water conservation efforts and received the highest award for the cause here.
Qifa Primary School and Chung Cheng High School (Main) were given the Watermark Award, which recognises efforts in raising awareness on water conservation and introducing initiatives for efficient use of water. The award was first introduced by the national water agency PUB in 2007.
At Qifa Primary, handmade bookmarks bearing water conservation messages were given to its cohort of over 1,300 students. This was aimed at making students informal ambassadors of the cause by sharing the messages with families and neighbours.
Last year, its Primary 5 pupils took part in a "Water is Precious" project. One of the tasks involved the tracking of household water bills for three months.
The task proved challenging as most of the students’ parents were not tracking their water bills due to automatic payments made through Giro, said the school’s principal May Tan.
"We found a lack of awareness. A lot of the parents don't check the bills, and when you don't keep track, then you won't know how much water you're using," Tan said.
However, the students pressed on and helped raise awareness on water conservation at home. Tan added that the students "really subscribed to the message".
"That's the thing with children. When they believe in it, then they will be more enthusiastic about it," she said.
The award-giving ceremony is part of a month-long of activities following Singapore World Water Day on 3 March, reported The Straits Times.
About 95 schools across the country held water-rationing exercises this month. During the exercise, the water supply to the school taps are cut off and students use water collected in pails to wash their hands.
The number of schools taking part this year is twice that of last year’s with a total of 43,000 students involved.