In response to the continuous degradation of the local marine environment due to pollution and urban development, 10 undergraduates from the National University of Singapore have raised the “Code Blue” alarm for marine conservation.

Code Blue is a campaign aimed at advocating local marine conservation efforts among NUS students. The campaign is part of Roots & Shoots Youth United, an NUS chapter of the international Roots & Shoots organization that spearheads youth-driven community and environmental projects.

“The term ‘Code Blue’ is commonly used to signify immediate, life-threatening emergencies.

“We want to apply this in the context of marine conservation and urge people to take action while there is still time,” said Jeremy Sor, assistant project director of Code Blue.

The activities of Code Blue were timed to coincide with the International Year of the Reef 2008, a worldwide marine conservation campaign.

The campaign concluded with a two-day special event held at the NUS Central Forum from March 31 to Apr. 1 featuring a special environmental display, a marine photo exhibition and recruitment for volunteers.

The special environmental display was the main highlight of the event. Instead of fish, the display featured various types of marine litter floating in decorated fish tanks.

“Its main purpose is to evoke a deep sense of irony, a startling reminder of what could happen in the future if we don’t protect our local marine life now,” Sor said.

One notable item was the beer bottle covered with barnacles.

Nur Liyana Roslie, a first-year computing major, said, “We didn’t even know it can become that gross.”

By featuring rubbish that originated from households in the environmental display and the photo exhibition, the team hopes to instill a sense of consumer responsibility in marine conservation.

NUS staff members and students who have seen the exhibition were generally shocked at the amount of rubbish found on local shores.

“The main key is education. You can organize like, loads of trips to clean up but the next day, it’ll just be full again,” said Quentin Lee, a first-year psychology major.

Kenneth Lee, project director of Code Blue, agreed.

“Practically none of the 300 students we surveyed knew how many species of coral reefs we have in the local waters or what percentage has been destroyed so far.

“We aim to first educate NUS students on the need for marine conservation in Singapore before translating the knowledge that they have gained into active involvement in conservation activities,” Lee said.

Lee added that the greatest challenge is getting the NUS students to be interested in marine conservation.

“We have partnered with various marine conservation groups and hence are able to offer a variety of interesting marine conservation activities, such as inter-tidal reef walks and coastal cleanups,” Lee said. “Hopefully, we can interest the students in signing up for these conservation activities.”

However, not everyone was inspired by the campaign.

Kei Yamada, a third-year communications and new media major, said the exhibits do not “portray the real situation clearly enough.”

Nevertheless, the team’s efforts were not put to waste. According to Lee, the campaign was a success.

“A total of more than 600 pledge cards were signed by NUS staff and students, which was more than what we aimed for,” he said. “The turnout was also much better than we expected.”

Daryl Wong, a first-year psychology major and a pledge-taker at the event, said he was inspired by the message conveyed through the exhibits.

“It’s making our own commitments in saving the earth (and) playing our parts,” he said.

Sor said the campaign was only “one baby step” in local marine conservation efforts.

“At the end of the day, what is important to know is that there is only one Earth, and we’re responsible for it right now,” he said.

For more information about Code Blue and its activities, log on to www.rsyu.org/codeblue.