It only takes a spark (or an idea)

Previously, I spoke about opportunities for environmental initiatives. Today, I will elaborate a little bit more!
One story from Idea Jam stood out to me: this.

A volunteer from WWS picking up litter from Marina Reservoir
Photo credits to asiaone 

This story is about Waterways Watch Society (WWS), where its volunteers pick up flotsam from the waterways in Singapore every weekend. WWS wants to educate the public so that they are aware of pollution of the waterways and also to identify the sources of pollution and suggest ways to end it.

I feel that this initiative is a really good idea, but it should be given more media attention so that Singaporeans will be more aware of this. I am quite glad to learn that there are already 370 volunteers! I believe that when a person is involved in picking up litter and trash like this, he or she will be more conscious of the importance of not littering, because he or she will see the impacts first hand.
There are many other opportunities for Singaporeans to volunteer. For example, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has a Values in Action (VIA) program take part in different projects to learn about how they contribute to the community. Many of such projects are based on helping the environment, such as helping to pluck the weed Clidemia hirta, aka hairy clidemia, which is an invasive plant species that compete with native plant species. (That's what I did when I was in secondary school!)

If there is a good combination of voluntarism, and more initiatives to save the environment by recycling, I believe that Singaporeans will be able to develop as a nation to increase recycling efforts and reduce our waste production!