Reader Response Draft 4

In the web page "Sustainability Effort" (n.d.), Gardens by the Bay website reported about the essential function of the Gardens as an ecosystem that can self-sustain in the built environment. This ecosystem works by itself without many maintenance issues to achieve environmental sustainability. This ecosystem is made up of Lake systems, Conservatories and Supertrees. The Lake systems act as a biotope that accommodates the aquatic animals and plants which later help to cleanse the surface run-off as well as the lake itself. Subsequently, the cleaned water is discharged in Marina Reservoir and used for irrigation. In the web page, it further mentioned about the Conservatories equipped with advanced technologies. These Conservatories can regulate the temperature suitable for a particular region to accommodate rare plants in it. The Supertrees also are reported on the web page that the trees are powered by solar panels that harvest electricity during the day. Hence with the solar panels installed, it reduces the amount of electricity used at night. With these examples of Gardens by Bay has given an idea of what sustainable effort can benefit to a built environment. Singapore should implement a similar sustainable project on a more local level as this implementation can bring a real impact to nature as well as the communities in Singapore. 

To initiate the sustainable effort to a more local level, Public Utilities Board (PUB) is one of the first Singapore agencies to launched Active, Beautiful and Clean Water Programme (ABC Water Programme). This programme is to promote the importance of water quality in Singapore as well as to appreciate of water resources. It is essential to maintain the high quality of water entering the canals as these canals are channelling water into the local catchment area. Therefore, the water agencies in Singapore needs to find ways to make the water quality better in the drain, canals and riverbanks before entering the reservoirs or the catchments area. It is mention in PUB webpage (2016) that ABC water programme is to enhance the water and life quality by combining the drain, canal and reservoir with the surrounding environment. With the implementation of sustainability initiatives as possible solutions to the water problems, PUB will reduce the maintenance cost to cleanse the water. Subsequently, this programme creates a whole new ecosystem in a community. Hence, an ecosystem is being transformed into a new system which enables it to be self-sustain. In European countries, such concepts are widely used. It is mentioned in Susdrain (n.d.) web page where a similar concept is being applied to UK drainage systems which transformed the drains into a sustainable drainage. This concept allows rain and surface water run-off to cleanse naturally by allowing water to soak into the ground thus filtering unwanted pollutants. Thus, it reduces the cost of water treatment as well as the cost to construct a concrete canal as mention by Graham Fairhurst (February 2011).

The second reason to implement sustainable efforts is so that this drainage can maintain the water runoff quality but also beautify the environment which is similar to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (2014, Section 10). This park an excellent example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the Bay. It is mentioned on PUB’s webpage (2006), that the programme is to transform all the drains, canals and reservoirs in Singapore into beautiful and clean streams hence bring the community closer to nature. This environmental sustainability effort can be made into smaller scales such as parks near HDB houses as well as condominium, hospital and schools. In this way sustainability efforts can spread widely across Singapore, improving the ecosystem as well as the aesthetic of the environment. It is stated in Water Programme guideline (2014, Section 10) that parks such Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park and public hospital like Khoo Teck Puat Hospital have benefited from environmental sustainability concept.

By implementing sustainability efforts, communities will get to enjoy the recreational spaces and be closer to natural. Also, these efforts would make Singapore a greener city. Because of this reason, Ministry of Environment and Water Resource had initiated the 1st edition of Active, Beautiful and Clean water guideline (ABC water guidelines) in 2009 which encouraged developers in Singapore to adopt ABC Waters design features in their developments. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is an excellent example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay however on a smaller scale. According to Ramboll, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was reconstructed from the standard concrete drainage to the bioengineered riverbank by incorporating the living plants to act as river walls. These plants are there to function as a filtration system as well as the aesthetic of the drainage. Hence, space is transformed into a recreational area where the visitor can be closer to water and nature.

Finally, a sustainable effort can be a solution to a couple of problems in developed countries such as Singapore. Maintenance issues can occur for conventional (concrete) canals or drainage as it requires occasional upgrading works like expanding drain capacity. The reason for expansion is because the amount rain rises yearly especially during monsoon season. The drainage and canals also require cleaning to prevent any clogging and so on. Thus, this will reduce the quality of water flowing to the local catchment. Therefore, it is important to establish the sustainable concept to the built environment so that it can bring more benefit to the community thus reducing the cost.

References

ABC guidelines. (June 2014). Retrieved from https://www.pub.gov.sg/abcwaters/Documents/ABC_DG_2014.pdf

Othman, L. (n.d.). 20 more ABC Waters projects to be completed in next 5 years. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/20-more-abc-waters/2619600.html

Comparative costing for Surface Water Sewers and SuDS. (2011, February). Retrieved from http://www.susdrain.org/resources/evidence.html

Ramboll Group (2015) Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Retrieved from: http://www.ramboll.com/projects/singapore/bishan-park

Sustainability Effort(n.d.) Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved from: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html

Critical Reflection

Last two weeks, my group had to give an oral presentation on our ideas that would possibly help to solve the engineering problem. It is about reducing overcrowding in our public buses. My group decided to brainstorm the above engineering problem as we can relate it closely to us. My group mates and I are a victim of the few passengers that are unable to board the bus occasionally as we are public bus commuters. This is due to overcrowding at the entrance door leaving the rear part of the bus empty.

The presentation was held at a small tutorial class where there were about 18 students. Most of them are my classmates. Before the start of the presentation, the other groups were assigned to act as the authority attending our presentation.  Example since my group is proposing to Land Transport Authority as well as public bus companies, expected audience will be from Land Transport Authority, Singapore Bus service, SMRT and Tower transit. Our group decided to prepare the PowerPoint slide. Each one of us contributed one part of the whole presentation. I choose to present on the benefits of the solution as well as the conclusion of our possible solutions. Therefore, I was the third and last speaker for our group to present. Without knowing the second speaker had already finished explaining his final points, it was my turn. Feeling nervous, I went up in front of the audience and began my presentation. My mind suddenly went blank and started panicking. I realise that I forgot all the points that needed to be presented. I felt that my presentation was not smooth as I did stop for few seconds trying to recall my points on the slides. As I looked through the slide, I started to remember some of the points, but the ideas did not flow in sequence as what I have planned. My voice became less confident, and I realise that I came to the end of the slide. There were two questions asked by the audience related to conclusion and recommendation. Through the questions posed by the audience, I realise that my presentation was not clear and most of the audience did not understand my conclusion.

However, I felt pleased as I was able to deliver all the necessary points during my presentation even though I felt anxious. On the other hand, I was quite disappointed with my overall performance as I think I did not explain the points clearly and in detail to the audiences. Because of this, questions asked by the audience during Q&A sessions are mostly related to our group's conclusion. The reason was probably that the audience was slightly confused by the disorganise flow of points mention on the presentation slides. The sentence structure was another factor that could contribute to the uncertain speech delivery. As a result, I felt very unconfident with my presentation.

I think that I should consider making an improvement to my vocabulary space and plan out the points in sequences. Nevertheless, I will probably always be a little nervous during the presentation. Because of this, I would encourage myself to participate public speaking to strengthen my confidence. I also need to make sure that I will have enough practice with my group so that all this minor error can be rectified before the actual presentation.

Analytical Reflection

This essay is a reflection on "Reducing Overcrowding on public buses" presentation. It will be analysing on my performance and planning during the presentation. I think it is important to identify the mistakes made by myself so that I can examine and find alternative ways to improve it.

Anxious was the feeling I experienced before the presentation as my group were the first few groups to present our ideas. I tried to calm myself by running through the points in mind. However, I was unable to control my nervousness that causes me to panic. My mind went blank and I did pause for few seconds during the presentation before I continue as I tried to recall the important points to bring up. Filer words were used unconsciously every time I made a pause to remember my points. Feeling panicked and overwhelming of nervousness causing me to pay less attention maintaining eye contact with the audience. I realise body posture was another factor that I was indigent. As I was concentrating on remembering the points, I tend to neglect the proper standing position such as standing facing the audience and fidgeting. Overall, I think I did quite poorly for the presentation as compared to my group mates. However, I was glad that I manage to put the idea across the audience.

In the future, I need to plan the sequences of flow for the points to be presented. By designing the sequences of flow, it can help me remember better, and presentation points will flow in more logical manner. Subsequently, I will need to practice my presentation in front of a small group of friends. By doing this mini presentation, I can get an instant feedback from them so that I can improve on the weak points before the actual presentation. Furthermore, I think I will see a significant improvement if I start participating in a public speaking regularly to gain confidence. On top of this, presentation skill is an essential skill in the workforce as it enable us to present our idea across clearly.  I will try another alternative way to improve my presentation skill if the above ideas do not work.

Problem and purpose statement

Problem statement
The main issue in public buses is overcrowding and that also leads to long waiting times. Despite the campaigns and increased bus frequency, many commuters are still unable to board during peak hours and bus bunching still occurs.

Purpose statement
This proposal aims to make public buses more accessible to commuters. The proposed solution focus on allowing buses to fully utilise it capacity, as well as reducing the boarding and alighting time take at each bus stop

Reader Response Draft 3: Sustainability Effort

In the webpage "Sustainability Effort" (n.d.) taken from Gardens by the Bay website reported about the key function of the Gardens as an ecosystem that is able to self-sustain in the built environment. The ecosystem work by itself without many maintenance issues to achieve environmental sustainability. This system is made up of Lake systems, Conservatories and Supertrees. The Lake systems acts as a biotope that accommodates the aquatic animals and plants which later help to cleanse the surface run-off as well as the lake itself. Subsequently, the cleansed water is discharged in Marina Reservoir and used for irrigation purposes. Besides the Lake systems, the webpage also mentioned about the Conservatories. The two biomes are equipped with advanced technology allowing it to simulate the climate temperature suitable to certain region to accommodate rare plants in Singapore. It is also mentioned on the webpage further about Supertrees. These Supertrees are equipped with solar planes that allow to harvest electricity in the day. Hence, it reduces the amount of electricity used at night. Singapore should restore efforts in sustainability on built environment as it can bring a good impact to the nature as well as the communities. Eventually, sustainable effort is an alternative solution for problems in developed countries.

In 2006, Public Utilities Board (PUB) had launched Active, Beautiful and Clean Water Programme (ABC Water Programme) to promote the importance of water quality in Singapore as well as to appreciate of water resources. It is important to sustain the good quality of water entering the canals that are channeling the water into the local catchment. Thus, this will reduce the cost to treat portable water. Therefore, the water agency in Singapore need to find ways to make the water quality better in the drain, canals and riverbanks before entering the reservoirs. Sustainability is the main idea of PUB as it require less maintenance thus it create a whole new ecosystem in a community. It is mention in PUB webpage (2016) that ABC water programme is to enhance the water and life quality by combining the drain, canal and reservoir with the surrounding environment. Hence, the garden is transformed into an ecosystem which enable it to self-sustain. This concept is widely used in European countries. It is mention in Susdrain (n.d.) webpage, a similar concept is being applied to UK drainage systems which transformed it into a sustainable drainage. This concept allows rain and surface water run-off to cleanse naturally by allowing water to soak in the ground thus filtering unwanted pollutants. Thus, it reduces the cost of water treatment as well as the construction a concrete canal as mention by Graham Fairhurst (February 2011).

Secondly, this initiative is not only cleansing the water runoff quality but also Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (2014, Section 10) is a great example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay. It is mention on PUB’s webpage (2006), that the programme is to transform all the drains, canals and reservoirs in Singapore into beautiful and clean streams hence bring the community closer to the nature. This environmental sustainability effort can be made into smaller scales such as parks near HDB houses as well as condomium, hospital and schools. In this way sustainability efforts can spread widely across Singapore, improving the ecosystem as well as the aesthetic of the environment. It is stated in Water Programme guideline (2014, Section 10) that parks such Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park and public hospital like Khoo Teck Puat hospital have benefited from environmental sustainability concept.

Moreover, communities get to enjoy the recreational spaces and they are more conscious about the nature. In addition, these efforts would make Singapore a greener city. Because of this reason, Ministry of Environment and Water Resource had initiated the 1st edition of Active, Beautiful and Clean water guideline (ABC water guidelines) in 2009 which encourages developers in Singapore to adopt ABC Waters design features in their developments. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a great example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay however in smaller scale. According to Ramboll, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was reconstructed from the conventional concrete drainage to bioengineered riverbank by incorporating the living plants to act as river walls. These plants are there to function as a filtration system as well as aesthetic of the drainage. Hence, the space is transformed into recreational area where visitor can be closer to water and nature.

Finally, I feel that sustainable effort can be a solution to couple of problems in developed countries such as Singapore. Maintenance issues can occur for conventional (concrete) canals or drainage as it requires occasional upgrading works like expanding drain capacity. This is because the amount rain rises yearly especially during monsoon season. The drainage and canals also requires cleaning to prevent any clogging and so on. Thus, this will reduce the quality of water flowing to the local catchment. Therefore, it is important to establish the sustainable concept to the built environment so that it can bring more benefit to the community thus reducing the cost.

Reference:

ABC guidelines (June 2014, Section 10)

Retrieve from https://www.pub.gov.sg/abcwaters/Documents/ABC_DG_2014.pdf

Channel News Asia (March, 2016) 20 more ABC Waters projects to be completed in next 5 years. Retrieve from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/20-more-abc-waters/2619600.html

Graham Fairhurst (February 2011) Comparative costing for Surface Water Sewers and SuDS

Retrieve from: http://www.susdrain.org/resources/evidence.html

Ramboll Group (2015) Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

Retrieve from: http://www.ramboll.com/projects/singapore/bishan-park

Sustainability Effort(n.d.) Gardens by the Bay

Retrieve from: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html 

Read Response Draft 2: Sustainability Effort

In the webpage "Sustainability Effort" (n.d.) taken from Gardens by the Bay website reported about the key function of the Gardens as an ecosystem that able to self-sustain in a environment. The ecosystem works by themselves without much maintenance issues to achieve environmental sustainability. These systems comprises the Lake system, the Conservatories and Supertrees. The Lake systems acts as a biotope that accommodates the aquatic animals and plants which later on helps to cleanse the surface run-off as well as the lake itself. Subsequently, the cleansed water is then discharge in Marina Reservoir and also used for irrigation purposes. Besides the Lake systems, the webpage also mentioned about the Conservatories. The two biomes are equipped with advanced technology allowing it to simulate the climate temperature suitable to certain region to accommodate rare plants in Singapore. It also mentioned in webpage further about Supertrees which are equipped with solar planes. These allows the trees to harvest electricity in the day hence reducing the amount of electricity used at night. These environmental efforts can make huge improvements such as reducing the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Therefore, I agree that this initiative effort should be supported in Singapore.

In 2006, Public Utilities Board (PUB) has launched Active, Beautiful and Clean water programe (ABC water programe) to promote the improtance of water quality and appreciate water resources. As most of the water supply in Singapore are from the local catchment, water quality flowing into the reservoir need to be control to prevent unwanted pollutants. Therefore the water agency in Singapore need to find ways to make the water quality better in the drain, canals and riverbanks before entering the reservoirs. Sustainability is the main idea of PUB as it require less maintenance thus it create a whole new ecosystem in a community. This is mention in PUB webpage (2016) that ABC water programme is introduce to enhance water and life quality by combining the drain, canal and reservoir with the surrounding environment. Hence it transform the garden into an ecosystem that able to self sustain. According to Susdrain (n.d.), UK drainage systems are transformed into a sustainable drainage that allows rain and surface water run-off to cleanse naturally by allowing water to soak in the ground thus filtering unwanted pollutants.

Secondly, this initiative is not only cleansing the water runoff quality but also  Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park( (2014, Section 10)) is a great example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay. This idea was echoed in PUB’s webpage (2006), this programme is to transform all the drains, canals and reservoirs in Singapore into beautiful and clean streams hence bring the community closer to the nature. This environmental sustainability effort can be made into smaller scales such as parks near HDB houses as well as condomium, hospital and also schools. These way sustainability efforts can spread widely across Singapore hence improving the ecosystem as well as the aesthetic of the environment. In the ABC water guideline book (2014, Section 10) suggests that parks such Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park and public hospital like Khoo Teck Puat hospital have benefited from environmental sustainability concept.

Moreover, communities get to enjoy the recreational spaces and conscious about the nature. In additional, these efforts would make Singapore a greener city. Because of this reason, Ministry of Environment and Water Resource has initiated the 1st edition of Active, Beautiful and Clean water guideline (ABC water guidelines) in 2009 which basically to encourage developers in Singapore to adopt ABC Waters design features in their developments. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a great example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay however in smaller scale. According to Ramboll, it stated that Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was reconstructed from the conventional concrete drainage to bioengineered riverbank by incorporating the living plants to act as river walls. These plants are there to function as a filtration system as well as aesthetic of the drainage. Hence, transforming the space to be closer to water and nature.

Apart from Singapore, other countries such as United Kingdom are also implementing a similar concept of sustainable development in their country. According to Susdrain (n.d.), UK drainage systems are transformed into a sustainable drainage that allows rain and surface water run-off to cleanse naturally by allowing water to soak in the ground thus filtering unwanted pollutants. This is similar to the concept that PUB adopted. However, UK project are much larger in scale than Singapore. Thus, the impacts in the ecosystem are obviously noticeable. Examples of problems solved are the reducing the amount of energy and cost to treat rainwater.

In conclusion, these sustainability efforts can bring a good impact to the nature as well as the communities. It is encourage to implement many ideas to improve the ecosystem by making the system self-sustaining. Thus, reducing the problems such as flooding, pollutants and maintaining issues on the environment.

Reference:

ABC guidelines (June 2014, Sction 10) Retrieve from https://www.pub.gov.sg/abcwaters/Documents/ABC_DG_2014.pdf

Channel News Asia (March, 2016) 20 more ABC Waters projects to be completed in next 5 years. Retrieve from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/20-more-abc-waters/2619600.html

Ramboll Group (2015) Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Retrieve from: http://www.ramboll.com/projects/singapore/bishan-park

Sustainability Effort (n.d.) Retrieve from: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html 

Improve on my language

There are three things that I need to improve on my writing. There are my verb tense, conjunctive and last but not least my sentence structure.

Read Response Draft 1: Sustainability Effort

In the webpage "Sustainability Effort" (n.d.) taken from Gardens by the Bay reported that long hours of brainstorming is needed to make Gardens by the Bay a successful model of environmental sustainability. This is to ensure that the systems in the gardens are able to function and sustain by themselves without much maintenance issues. These system compromises the Lake system, the Conservatories and supertrees are inter-dependent to one another hence to self-sustain and achieve environmental friendly principles. The Lake systems acts as a biotope that accommodates the aquatic animals and plants which later on helps to cleanse the surface run-off as well as the lake itself. Subsequently, it is mentioned that the filtered water is then discharge in Marina Reservoir and also used for the irrigation purposes. Moreover, the Conservatories are equipped with advanced technology allowing the two biomes to simulate the climate temperature suitable to certain region to accommodate rare plants in Singapore. In addition, the solar planes installed on Supertrees are also highlighted in the webpage to enable the trees to harvest electricity. These efforts should be supported, as I believe it can make a difference to the current environment. 

It is also to help improve the ecosystem as well as the aesthetic of Singapore. It is an additional effort to make Singapore a greener city. In June 2009, Ministry of Environment and Water Resource has initiated the 1st edition of Active, Beautiful and Clean water guideline (ABC). This initiative is basically to encourage developers in Singapore to adopt ABC Waters design features in their developments. According to Channel news asia (March 2015), there are about 32 ABC water projects that have already been completed in Singapore and these similar projects are expected to increase exponentially. In ABC water guidelines ebook, PUB mentions that rain garden or biorentation swale such as Gardens by the bay will not only improve the quality of water but it is also to beautify the space with greenery. In addition, these spaces can set a creational area where the community can get closer to nature. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a great example of PUB ABC water project which uses a similar concept to Gardens by the bay however in smaller scale. According to Ramboll, it stated that Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was reconstructed from the conventional concrete drainage to bioengineered riverbank by incorporating the living plants to act as river walls. These plants are there to function as a filtration system as well as aesthetic of the drainage. Hence, transforming the space to be closer to water and nature.

Apart from Singapore, other countries such as United Kingdom are also implementing a similar concept of sustainable development in their country. According to Susdrain (n.d.), UK drainage systems are transformed into a sustainable drainage that allows rain and surface water run-off to cleanse naturally by allowing water to soak in the ground thus filtering unwanted pollutants. This is similar to the concept that PUB adopted. Moreover, water that comes into the gardens is controlled allowing sediments to settle down. This way it will reduce the amount of energy and cost to treat rainwater thus sustaining the drainage system by itself.

Reference:

Ramboll Group (2015) Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Retrieve from: http://www.ramboll.com/projects/singapore/bishan-park

Soil bioengineering (2012) Advance in Environmental Science and Engineering. Retrieve: http://www.scientific.net/AMR.518-523.1795

ABC guidelines (2014) Retrieve from https://www.pub.gov.sg/abcwaters/Documents/ABC_DG_2014.pdf

Sustainability Effort (n.d.) Retrieve from: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html 

Summary and Thesis: Sustainability Effort

In the article "Sustainability Effort" (n.d.) reported that long hours of brainstorming is needed to make Gardens by the Bay a successful model of environmental sustainability. This is to ensure that the systems in the gardens are able to function and sustain by themselves without much maintenance issues. These system compromises the Lake system, the Conservatories and supertrees are inter-dependent to one another hence to self-sustain and achieve environmental friendly principles. The Lake systems acts as a biotope that accommodates the aquatic animals and plants which later on helps to cleanse the surface run-off as well as the lake itself. Subsequently, it is mentioned that the filtered water is then discharge in Marina Reservoir and also used for the irrigation purposes. Moreover, the Conservatories are equipped with advanced technology allowing the two biomes to simulate the climate temperature suitable to certain region to accommodate in-house rare plants in Singapore. In addition, the solar planes installed on Supertrees are also highlighted in the article to enable the trees to harvest electricity. 

I would support these efforts, as I believe it can make a different to the current environment. It is also to helps improve the ecosystem as well as the aesthetic of Singapore. It is an additional effort to make Singapore a greener city. In June 2009, Ministry of Environment and Water Resource has initiated the 1st edition of Active, Beautiful and Clean water guideline (ABC). This initiative is basically to encourage developers in Singapore to adopt ABC Waters design features in their developments.

Reference:

Sustainability Efforts. (n.d.) Retrieved from URL: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html

PUB, (2014) Singapore's National Water Agency (Edition 3)