SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT REPORT 2024–2025
CREATING SUSTAINABLE
PRODUCTS AND COMMUNITY
The Live Lighter Collective has been envisioned as
a dynamic, multi-purpose space that embodies our
commitment to sustainability, creativity, and community
engagement. The sustainability team and students on
East wanted to address the growing need for a dedicated
area where we can showcase and sell student-created
products such as soaps, candles, and beeswax wraps from
our Environmental Initiatives (EI). The intention was also to
create a place to display preloved uniforms from the hard
work of the PS Used Uniform Squad (a parent and student
sustainability initiative).
In addition to serving as a wonderful place to display Service
& Sustainable Development (SSD) wares, the Live Lighter
Collective will foster a collaborative environment where
students, parents, and the local community can connect.
Serving as a platform to inspire the broader community
to adopt sustainable practices and explore practical,
environmentally friendly alternatives to ‘Live Lighter’.
The project began with a reimagining of the look and feel
of the space in October–December 2024, followed by a
stocking of the space with sustainable products created by
our students. In March/April 2025, the final touches were put
on the design of the space, and in June 2025, the space was
officially open for business!
Sustainability is a key element of our learning programme and our Mission. We are pleased to share the following
highlights from the 2024/2025 academic year–opportunities and experiences made possible with the support of our
generous UWCSEA donor community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to helping our students develop the skills,
qualities and agency to create a better world.
The Live Lighter Collective has been a
brilliant collaboration among parents,
students and staff.
The space not only helps to showcase
our sustainability efforts and mission to
our entire community, but also offers a
tangible opportunity to demonstrate that
with a bit of creativity and ingenuity,
our students can create marketable
products that are good for the planet.”
— Aloni Cahusac,
Head of Sustainability, East Campus
HANDS-ON CONNECTIONS TO
NATURE FOR OUR YOUNGEST
LEARNERS
With support from our generous UWCSEA community our
Forest School pilot programme on Dover campus was a huge
success! This year, all K1 students (88 in total) participated in
a new six-week immersive learning programme.
Led by experienced Forest School teacher Kathy Corner, the
programme offered a taste of outdoor adventure. Students
had the opportunity to develop a deep connection to
nature, nurture their role as environmental stewards, build
their sensory awareness, and hone their physical and self-
management skills.
At the beginning of the school year, the Primary School team
held a series of engagement mornings with parents to explain
the objectives, as well as to outline the practicalities of the
programme (including how students would dress, the fact
that bug spray should be applied, and the understanding that
kids might come home a little muddy on these days!)
Sasha has absolutely loved the sessions
and I know that her classmates have loved
[them] just as much. She came home each
Thursday absolutely full of beans, telling
us at dinner time about what she did, how
muddy she got (!), what bugs she saw.
She now loves to point out centipedes
and millipedes and tells us the difference
between the two, as well as regaling us
with tales of trees she’s climbed around
campus.” — Laura, UWCSEA Parent
The programme has been so deeply valued by educators
and students alike that we have decided to incorporate the
Forest School as a core part of our curriculum for not just
K1, but also extending to other primary school grades in the
year ahead.
We have received significant feedback from students and
parents indicating they are incredibly happy with the
programme. Here are testimonials from our community:
REIMAGINING WASTE AS A VALUABLE RESOURCE
The sustainability team, along with students and parent volunteers, spent significant time and effort re-opening the Zero Waste
Centre (ZWC) on East Campus to our community for various purposes over the course of the last year.
First we channeled many of our donation drop-offs, sorting, packing, re-homing and re-distributing efforts into this space.
This brought classes and Service groups together to see the entire system of donation drives—and it’s a lot messier than most
people realise!
We also set up the space to host staff workshops during Professional Development days, Student Service Executive weekly
meetings, as well as planning for Service and Sustainable Development (SSD) events and projects. Notably, the parent and
student Primary School initiative, “Used Uniform Squad,” met every Tuesday at lunchtime in the ZWC to discuss and tackle the
massive school system of used uniforms. High School economics and design technology classes also utilised this amazing space
for their circular economy investigations.
While this space still requires a lot of oversight and upkeep, largely on the part of volunteers, there is significant value in the
activities and intentions of the space, and we continue to explore ways to make it more accessible to the entire community.
At UWCSEA, we’re reimagining waste as a valuable resource, not just a problem to be solved. Our
ZWC is at the heart of that transformation. This dynamic learning space is more than a “recycling
centre”—it’s a living lab of the circular economy, rooted in systems thinking and the three pillars of
sustainability: environmental integrity, social equity, and economic viability.”
— Aloni Cahusac, Head of Environmental Sustainability, East Campus
GARDENS BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR THE PLANET
I’m really grateful for this opportunity to continue my passion for planting within the UWCSEA
community. My boys also get to experience nature firsthand, learning to appreciate and respect it
through my little plot (Plot 4). We’ve all been enjoying the 100% organic and fresh vegetables, adding
them to noodles, burgers, salads, and even hot pots and stir-fried dishes!”
— Danye, UWCSEA Parent
I have enjoyed gardening with my
colleagues. It’s nice to take time away from
our desks to do something relaxing during
our busy work days together. I have also
gained a better appreciation for vegetables
when growing them myself—the peas, basil
and spring onion are so fresh, and growing
them inspires me to incorporate more fresh
veggies into my diet.”
— Farhana, UWCSEA staff member
My allotment has provided a lot of joy and
community-building in the short months
that I’ve participated. I found it low-barrier
to get started, and within weeks my plot
was producing despite minimal attention
and basically no watering.”
— Anna, UWCSEA Parent
The new Community Allotment Garden is off to a great start this year! The programme was designed and activated in the first
instance by our students from the Incredible Edible student service group. The objectives of the programme included a desire to
expand edible garden spaces, increase biodiversity and grow more local plants, while also offering more learning and gardening
spaces in nature that are accessible to all.
The first 5 gardening beds were installed in the Green Heart earlier in the year, with plans already underway to double the
number of gardening beds in the year ahead. Excitingly, the plots are being cultivated by a diverse group of community
gardeners, including UWCSEA students, parents and staff. This has cultivated meaningful engagement and community spirit
across the group of participants,
Whether a seasoned gardener or just starting out, members of our community have come together to grow their own selection
of plants, share their skills and knowledge, build community connections, and experience the restorative power of gardening.
Here are some other testimonials:
FUND-2425
Thank you for making a difference in 2024/2025
For more information about UWCSEA’s Environmental Sustainability Programme, or to renew your support today,
please contact: UWCSEA Foundation | +65 6419 9353 | foundation@uwcsea.edu.sg | www.uwcesa.edu.sg/supportus
SUSTAINABILITY ACTION AND
IMPACT CONTINUING TO GROW
In addition to these impactful and important initiatives, we
advanced a host of other sustainability initiatives across
Dover and East campuses to support hands-on, real world
learning that foster student agency to take action for
the planet.
We continued to advance our Rainforest Restoration
Programme in partnership with NParks, expanded our
composting efforts to include new wormeries which has
helped our students learn about the vital role of earthworms
in ecosystems.
On Dover Campus, our new weather station installed in the
Dover Green Heart enables students to collect real time data,
compare with local weather trends and use the data in maths,
humanities and science lessons. The gardening groups can
also use the data to know when our delicate seedlings and
young rainforest trees might need an extra watering.
On East, the campus food forest has become a widely used
and appreciated outdoor learning space. Students across
all the schools, Primary, Middle and High have been very
active in this space. From planting new species, to mapping
biodiversity on campus, to just simply watching the birds and
interacting with insects. Younger students have been able
to actively plan and plant new species to attract more living
organisms to campus. The Food Forest has a lot of potential,
and we are looking forward to expanding its footprint and
impact in the school year ahead.
At the community level, we also brought in speakers such
as Prof Cheong Koon Heon, Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew
Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of
Technology and Design and Chairman of the Centre for
Liveable Cities Advisory Panel under the Ministry of National
Development. Prof Cheong was one of our guest speakers
through our Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series (KMSS). In
her presentation, she shared valuable perspectives on the
forces shaping the environment, the enablers and drivers that
transformed the city-state into a “City in Nature” and about
Tengah, the new exciting and futuristic site for Dover Campus.
These are just a few of the many examples of sustainability education in action at UWCSEA! Thank you for your
continued generosity and support to help us go above and beyond for our students and our mission.