Singapore Environment Council-Youth Expedition Project 2004
Biodiversity Park, Bangalore University, Bangalore, India

The Singapore Environment Council is organizing a 18 day trip to the Biodiversity Park in Bangalore University, India in June 2004 to work together with local university students to identify, label plants in the park and to produce a brochure/simple guide for visitors and exhibition panels. The end product will include an online guide to the park to be linked up with the Singapore Environment Council's website and the Bangalore University website. Video documentation of the park's flora and fauna will also be carried out simultaneously.

The project will last for 18 days with time for work, cultural exchange and recreational activities such as visits to wildlife reserves and Mysore city. The Council is looking for students from Junior Colleges, NUS, NTU and polytechnicsbetween the ages of 17-25 years. Participants will need to be interested in nature conservation and environmental issues and be flexible in their outlook and be willing to interact and work well as a team with both the local host community in Bangalore and fellow team mates from Singapore.

The programme is carried out with 70% of trip funding (only applicable to Singaporeans and PRs) from the Singapore International Foundation and 30%, which amounts to approx $400-$500 to be funded by participants. The Council will be able to help in fund raising efforts with the sale of Council materials and we will work together to come up with other methods to cover costs. Students can also choose to self-fund the trip if they wish. Students will also need to get injections for tetanus, typhoid and a medical checkup at their own expense. The group size will be about 22 pax. We will be joined by 10 Indian students who are carrying out community work as part of school requirements. They will stay with us and work with us for the entire duration of our stay.

A typical day will include, cooking meals/ plant identification/ poster making/ website design/ lectures on biodiversity/ discussions/ cultural exchange/and a general daily briefing and debriefing session. Participants will be assigned into groups to carry out project work, do grocery shopping, cook and clean and the duties will be rotated.

Once applications are in, the Council will conduct interviews at our office. Preference will be given to those who have I.T. (web design/PageMaker) skills, cooking skills (besides making fried rice!), strong interest in environmental issues, able to play musical instruments, good at drama or dance (for cultural exchange segments).

Participants will need to meet up frequently to plan cultural exchange activities such as drama, songs, dance to be presented to local hosts in India and to bond as a team, make travel plans and raise funds. The Council will also conduct lectures on Biodiversity etc before we leave. Participants will have to conduct research on suggested topics related to the environment and also on other subjects such as history, culture etc of host country. Please also note that the food will have to be mostly prepared by participants (Singaporeans and local hosts) and will be 99% vegetarian so we will need to brush up on cooking skills. There will be the option of purchasing and cooking meat ourselves. Once we return from the trip, participants will also need to submit a report in the form of a journal and join the Council's Green Volunteers Network and participate in our events when possible.

Photographs are attached below to indicate park area, sleeping quarters, cooking facilities, washing areas, discussion hall, Bangalore city etc.

Aim: Identify and label plants. Produce and print visitors guide. Produce online guide. Exhibition panels. Video documentation of flora and fauna of park. Simple survey of vegetation. Cultural exchange

For more information on the Singapore Environment Council please see our website at www.sec.org.sg and for information on the Singapore International Foundation's Youth Expedition Project (YEP), please see www.sif.org.sg

Trip date: 2nd June 2004- 19th June 2004

Application deadline: 15th Feb 2004

Location: Biodiversity Park, Bangalore University. Bangalore, India

Cost: Approx $500 excluding medical, injections, personal gear such as sleeping bags etc.

Organiser:
Singapore Environment Council,
52A Duxton Rd. S089516
Tel: 63376062

Project Leader: Ms Uma Sachidhanandam

Project Facilitator: Ms Esther Tan