APU Celebrates International Earth Day in a Series of Fun-Filled Events
The rise of climate change calls for environmental intervention. Learn how APU spreads awareness through creative activities for Earth Day.
Published 07 Jun 2022
Asia Pacific University (APU)’s Integrated Sustainability & Urban Creativity Centre (ISUC) Student Chapter went all out to support Earth Day by hosting an array of fun-filled and environmentally friendly events to highlight the importance of caring for Mother Earth.
Prior to the event day, the club organised a ‘Chrysalis Workshop’ that centres around the importance of how butterflies and moths help not only for pollination but also as ecosystem barometers. According to ISUC Student Chapter Project Manager, Leindall Cheng Lin-Shi, their presence or absence speaks volumes about the local environment.
As temperature changes, butterflies’ migration patterns and timings can be affected severely. This calls for ecologists to study butterflies' behaviour, population numbers and migration patterns to help determine the impact of these environmental issues.
“Apart from different species of butterflies and moths, APU students also learned about how different host plants could affect the growth of the caterpillars and their survivability,” said Leindall who is currently pursuing a Diploma in Software Engineering at APU.This led to the planting of 2 different types of host plants that were placed on the rooftop garden to observe how ecology systems work.
On the night of the event when all the lights on campus were switched off, the club organised a treasure hunt — The Twilight Hunt: In the Dark — intended to create awareness on the impact of reducing carbon footprint.
The hunt saw 32 teams of 152 students participating, with Abbhirami Sivarajan, the Advisor of the ISUC Student Chapter, overseeing the event.
“The game began at 8.00 p.m. with all the lighting systems on campus unplugged. Students could only use their mobile phone flashlights as their only light source for the entire two hours after the treasure hunt started. During these dark hours, participants had to complete a total of seven puzzles,” Ms Abbhirami said.
“By turning off all the lights on campus, we had not only helped save electricity but allowed nocturnal creatures and insects to go about their nocturnal activities uninterrupted,” added Leindall.
Moving forward, the ISUC hopes to create a small ecosystem on campus where they can build a ‘sustainable garden’ in the future. This is to prove that APU ethos isn’t just about technological innovation but also about being sustainable and environmentally friendly.
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Nina Fazil
A work in progress — has been for the past 24 years.
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