Riverside Secondary School Students Back At GardenAsia =D

With the GCE N Levels FINALLY over... our teens from Riverside Secondary School are back in business again =)

So, what will they be doing?

As part of GardenAsia's social enterprise efforts, we are constantly finding ways to engage the local cottage industry into our business, and the upcoming PATH Market @ VivoCity is an opportunity for us to do just that.

For the upcoming PATH Market @ VivoCity, which takes place on October 27 and 28, we are working with the Simei Care Centre, home-based mothers, as well as students and teachers of Riverside Secondary School. By engaging the local cottage industry, we are able to provide employment opportunities for the ex-mental patients at the Simei Care Centre and the mothers of low income families. We are also able to contribute to the Pupil Needy Fund of Riverside Secondary School.
Today, 8 students from Riverside Secondary School came down to GardenAsia for a PATH Market @ VivoCity meeting.

To start off the meeting, Catherine and Didier did an introduction on what the cottage industry is and does, and showed the teens pictures of the kinds of products the cottage industry is capable of producing.

Once both ladies were done sharing with the teens, Kenny gave a short explanation on how GardenAsia will be working with the cottage industry. With all the new information that has been given to them, Kenny then got the teens to brainstorm ideas for products that could be sold at the PATH Market next weekend. He also tasked the students to generate ideas on how to package GardenasiaKids' mascot stuffed toy, Morchoo + Titoy =D

What makes this programme so beneficial is that, besides doing a part to help their school's Pupil Needy Fund, these students are able to learn skills that aren't taught in secondary school. For instance, being enterprising, observing market trends, marketing and promotions, pricing strategies, as well as to think of creative ways to solve a problem (e.g. When you have an idea, but have limited funds to turn the idea into a real product. What do you do? Think of ways that cost less but yet still be able to yield similar results.).

After a short introduction by Catherine, Didier and Kenny, the teens were brought outside for some fresh air...

Where were they headed to?

Let's follow them to find out... =)

AH HUH!! Where else could they have gone but to Kranji Loft? =P

Kenny told them that CYX 2007 just took place at GardenAsia 2 weeks back. He also gave them a short synopsis of what the Creative Youth Xchange was about... and decided that instead of explaining it to them, that they should go out and have a look at the works of the youths to better understand what they have accomplished.

So, for the first time since the Creative Youth Xchange ended, the 12 chairs are seen by the public once again =)

(... one of the teens tested out Calvin's Mummy Chair. He was quite apprehensive about sitting on it at first because he saw the "Please Do Not Touch. Please Do Not Seat." sign. Kenny had to "force" him to test the chair out, and he did in the end =P

Kenny "doubled up" and became the 12 designers... explaining to these teens the story behind EACH and EVERY chair on the behalf of their designers =)

At the end of the tour, the teens were DEFINITELY impressed by what they saw... and they were even more fascinated at the fact that all those chairs were made from scrap materials.

Back at the Country Rose function room, it was time for the youths to get busy. I mean, you didn't think these students would come all the way from Woodlands to Kranji to hear people talk, did you? =P

Didier did the brief and explained to the teens what they were supposed to do. The instructions were for them to make flowers out of recycled materials, similar to the Green Challenge #4: Flower Making with Recycled Materials during CYX, except instead of having to search for their own materials, they were provided with all the required materials. (GAGA, yup... you guys had it tough =P)

Materials provided for the teens:

Everyone gathered around a table and got started on their flowers...

LOOK! Yve is joining in the fun too =D



Qn: When you get bored of making flowers... what do you do?

Ans:

... that's what I saw one of the boys doing, LOL!

Soon, the morning ended, and it was time for the teens to head back to their school in Woodlands.

Just before leaving, the teens each wrote a message on a paper leaf, which was later added onto the "Green Secrets" tree. The question to them was, "what does green secrets mean to you?"

"... using useful recycled items to make into a meaningful thing for us." - Nur Aiin

"... secrets of the greenery environment." - Roshni

"... leaves and plants." - Renuka

"... reusing junk. create it. display it. support it." - Hamka

"... the environment has a lot of secrets, both good and bad." - Estar

"... telling others more about the environment and plants." - Amelia

"... environment." - Fathimah

"... taking care of the environment so that we will have a better world to live in." - Ms Lee Ai Hoon

"... leaves and plants that are hidden. We can't see it until it is shown." - Reena

We even got Catherine and Didier to write down what Green Secrets means to them... and this is what they wrote:

"... being kind to nature in our very own way." - Catherine

"Green = Nature/Eco. Love nature, "dig" its secrets." - Didier

With that, our meeting with Catherine, Didier, and the teenagers from Riverside Secondary School ended.

WAIT!! DON'T GOOO!! This post is not ending yet...

DON'T FORGET TO COME DOWN TO VIVOCITY ON OCTOBER 27 AND 28 (NEXT SAT & SUN) FOR THE PATH MARKET. THIS FAIR WILL BE LOCATED OUTSIDE FOOD REPUBLIC.

SO, COME ON BY AND SUPPORT PATH, SIMEI CARE CENTRE, OUR HOME-BASED MOTHERS, RIVERSIDE SECONDARY SCHOOL... and last but not least... US! =D

LIMITED EDITION MORCHOO + TITOY IN COSTUMES (Designed by Didier) WILL ALSO BE LAUNCHED AND SOLD AT THE PATH MARKET!

DON'T MISS IT!

... OK, now this post is ending =)