Is Discovery College diverse? 

I constantly wondered to myself, is Discovery College diverse? Every year I always have some classes which talk about the environment and different species within the world, but I also question, are there a lot of species within Discovery College? 

Why does all of this matter? 

Understanding the biodiversity in the environment surrounding Discovery College allows us to understand which animals are living around us, and how we could help maintain these animals living near Discovery College. 

Now, what did we find? 

Through the research we have conducted  in the mangroves near discovery College, we have identified 23 different types of animals. 

These animals are: 

• Cane toad

• Japanese Common Chiton

• Silver-biddy

• Dung Beetle

• Mudskipper

• Indian squid

• Baby Eel

• Hooded oyster

• Mangrove leaf-eating crab

• Mangrove snail

• Ark Clam

• Mangrove Clam

• Zebra nerite snail

• Calling crab

• Bowed fiddler crab

• Horse fly

• Goldentailed Spiny Ant

• Little Egret

• Rice paddy eel

• Springtail

• Azalea Lace Nymph

• Spotted Mangrove Snapper

• Flesh fly

Now you might be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of species,” and I thought the same thing too. I never knew Discovery College was this biodiverse within its campus. However, we did see something which could endanger this biodiversity, and that is Garbage. 

The issue is challenging this biodiversity. 

With so many species comes a challenge: maintaining an equal balance of them while still having them active. This is being challenged because of a large portion of garbage and trash within their habitats. Due to lots of students and outsiders throwing their trash within the rocks, it disrupts the overall food web and ecosystem, blocking access to shelter and food supplied, affecting the overall biodiversity. 

Now, what can we do about it? 

For starters, the simplest and most obvious thing to do is NOT to throw your trash into the mangroves. This might seem extremely obvious (which it is), but still, a lot of people do that. The next thing you can do is, rather than buying the single-use plastic from the cafeteria, you can use a container to purchase your food in, rather than contributing to single-use plastic waste. Finally, advocacy is the greatest tool; if you and I keep promoting this issue, we will eventually create enough of a disturbance where rules will have to be implemented, preventing or having more efficient ways of blocking people from dumping their trash. 

What would be a hypothetical for DC to solve this?

Our unique and realistic solution that Discovery College could implement is the Mangrove Guardian Program. This will be a student-led initiative facilitated by hosts to support the overall goal of protecting and conserving the nearby Mangrove ecosystem. At the beginning of each year, students will be chosen through a voluntary application process, providing a platform for students with existing environmental interest, and scope to spark new passion among students. Around 15-20 students would be chosen from multiple year levels to diversify the participants through leadership qualities and strengths while maintaining overall strong commitment. These students would be responsible for helping to protect and understand the natural ecosystem by conducting monthly checkups, clean-up activities, and environmental investigations regarding the surrounding mangrove area.

Throughout these monthly investigations, the assigned guardians would collect observational data about litter accumulation, visible biodiversity changes, water conditions, and environmental features associated with the mangrove. Findings will be documented through reports, images, and tracking logs to be shared with Discovery College for continuous monitoring and presentations during year-level assemblies. During the assemblies, relevant guardians can present findings and encourage others to actively engage in environmental conservation hands-on, instead of seldom learning about theory.

Additionally, members of the program would play a key role in spreading environmental awareness to the community. They would collaborate with local environmental groups to establish campaigns, and appeal to the community visually using posters and infographics in high footfall areas such as the cafeteria, DB North Plaza, bus stops, and the football pitch next to the mangrove. By directly involving students in our conservation endeavors and environmental appeal, the Mangrove Guardian Program would foster responsibility and connections between the community and its environment.

In short, please keep our environment safe. A happy environment is a happy world.

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