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Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme


What Our Subject is About



 

The Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme is an experiential platform for students to gain insights into the often unnoticed ecological community around them, allowing them to recognise the rich biodiversity and the intrinsic beauty of the natural environment, as well as to appreciate how the environmental sphere is inextricably linked to the economic and social spheres in the greater scheme of things.

Students are engaged via a hands-on, place-based learning approach that encourages them to head outdoors to explore, question, and think critically, thereby instilling in them an innate sense of curiosity and wonder. It is hoped that students will emerge from this programme as more reflective and introspective learners who are capable of making informed decisions for a sustainable future.

An extension of the programme has the students authoring and illustrating their own children’s storybooks. All titles can be found here: rli.ri.edu.sg/ecolitbooks.

 

 


What We Do To Develop Students' Interest/Abilities



Our Philosophy
Our approach to leadership development is guided by the following principles:
Leadership is a critical educational outcome that has to be purposefully and intentionally developed.
All students have the potential to be developed into leaders.
Students have to be active practitioners of leadership and not just passive learners.
Learning to be leaders is a long-term, developmental process.

The overarching purpose of leadership development is to equip students to contribute effectively and responsibly to society.

 

Our Pedagogical Approach
The RLI engages learners through real-world experiential learning. Through both direct and indirect experience of authentic situations, staff and students engage with the community and the environment to create meaningful learning opportunities.

We seek to build an environment of mutual respect that fosters personal relationships conducive to growth and leadership development, with staff and students alternating between the roles of those teaching and the taught.

 

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“Look Closer, Look Longer, Look Harder” – This is something that we teach to participants
through the various field trips conducted over the course of the programme.
Very often you will find the participants huddled around a tree, a bush or even a rock, all in
the search of a new discovery or a fresh “ah hah”!

 

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The intertidal zone is a place which has been often overlooked by most. However, it is a place teeming with rich biodiversity and great discoveries. Weather permitting, intertidal walks are conducted for the participants of the programme, leveraging on the numerous merits and takeaways of intentional, place-based education. 

 

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Only when a garden is tended to, will it grow and flourish. Another component of the programme will see participants getting their hands dirty through taking care of a small edible garden on the school’s compound. This allows participants to actually reap (and eat) what they sow.

 

 


What Our Students Say



“Ecolit showed me that true leadership begins by simply looking inside ourselves, looking outside at the world and knowing that there are stories all around to be discovered!”
– Natalie Quah, 2018 batch

 

“Exploring nature with Ecolit has made me more eco-friendly and nature-oriented, but the close friends I made with such similar interests and love for the small things around us is what has truly made Ecolit the highlight of my JC life.”
– Timothy Ong, 2019 batch

 

“Not only has my ecolit journey allowed me to explore places around Singapore with a new level of understanding, it has also given me an opportunity to share my love for nature to the community.”
– Sravani Somisetty, 2019 batch

 

“Ecolit gave me the opportunity to discover more about the natural world around us. Journeying along with experienced mentors, Ecolit allowed me to share my own knowledge and provided opportunities, to discuss in greater detail what I have learnt with like-minded peers."
– Ernest Koh, 2020 batch

 


“Ecolit has not only opened up opportunities to engage my non-academic interests in the natural world and connect with other like-minded students, but also imparted to us more lines of thinking to gain fresh perspectives on issues and the world around us. It has certainly provided an avenue to observe concepts taught in Biology and Geography in play around us on a daily basis.”
– Samuel Loh, 2020 batch