The EcoHouse Design & Can Collection Contest is a competition organised by the Anglo-Chinese Junior College Science and Mathematics Council, in collaboration with Sembwaste Pte Ltd. The competition embraces two themes: Energy Conservation and Recycling. The former gave the participants the opportunity to design their own eco-friendly house while the latter required them to manage a can collection project for several weeks before the actual competition. They had to write a proposal for their design, as well as a write-up for their can collection project. The event culminates with the participants' showcasing of their ecohouse design to the judges and ACJC students, marking the end of a long process and the start of, perhaps, something greater.

Rationales
In light of pressing environmental issues such as global warming and the increasing scarcity of resources, as well as in conjunction with Earth Day, this timely event aimed to equip children and young adults with the essential awareness and spirit of environmental conservation. The competition also aimed to help them develop their critical thinking and creativity, as well as their organisational and interpersonal skills, which they had to harness in order to bring their Green Projects to life.

Target Audience
The competition targeted Primary, secondary and pre-university students. We chose this target audience because we believe they have the right level of maturity: not too young, so that they can appreciate the spirit of the competition; but also not too old, so that they are more receptive to change in perspectives and to create awareness in daily and extended family. We wanted to instil in them the spirit of environmentalism from young, which they will need later in their lives.

The Process
The J1 and J2 core members, as well as the teachers-in-charge, of ACJC Science and Mathematics Council, were actively involved in the planning and preparing for the competition. The actual event was mostly carried out by J1s, with a few J2 advisors.

In 2010, the event was conceptualized by the Science and Math Council's subsidiary Green Club. After gaining approval, the project went into intensive research stage. The product of this stage was the Green Building Criteria package, compiled by the club's members. The package is meant for future usage by next generations of Green club's members. After building a strong knowledge foundation, the event was ready to reach out to external educational institutions.

The club first identified various Primary Schools as target participants and gave out invites to them. After the invite was sent out to various Primary schools, we had a few weeks to prepare for the competition. The Organizing Committee worked really hard to bring the event to fruition. Although divided into many small Committees such as Ushering Committee and Logistics Committee, we still worked with that one common goal. From buying environmental friendly materials and prizes (recycled notebooks, plants, seedlings, etc.) to creating marking rubrics that ensured maximum fairness, a lot of passion and work were put in to ensure the participants would have an enriching time.

All of this culminated on the actual event day, 20th of April. Registration started early at 1:30pm, at which various teams of primary students congregated in the ACJC concourse. They then proceeded to submit the cans and write-up for their can collection project, as well as the ecohouse design proposal, and set up the booths for their Eco-House Design Contest. After a short briefing, each team had to showcase their design to a panel of 3 academicians from the School of Design and Environmental, NUS and 3 student judges from ACJC. The Ushering, Marking and Exhibition Committees, as well as the two J1 overall I/Cs, coordinated fluidly to ensure a smooth showcasing process. For the EcoHouse Design Contest, the results were determined by the teams' presentation marks, as well as the marks for their design proposal. For the Can Collection Contest, the total tally of cans and the write-up of each team determined their prizes. Through the event, not only were the participants enriched, the Organizing Committee also learnt a many useful tips and are applying the knowledge in our daily activities. The whole process is definitely a watershed event in the lives of the people involved.

The Impact

The competition has surely raised greater awareness of environmentalism among the participants, as well as the organisers. It was a pleasant surprise for many when we saw designs that truly showed thorough research and great care and passion for conserving the environment. One judge from NUS commented that he was greatly impressed by the quality of work and the environmental awareness of such young children, clearly evident in their design and their answers to the questions he posed. The event may have long ended, but the impact it has made on them (and us) will surely live on.

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