Written By: Darren Quek
Edited By: Genevieve Ong
Forest School Singapore (FSS) has been in Singapore since 2016. Many of you would have known about our program, talks and sharings on pedagogy. But do you know that we endure an arduous time handling the authority that FSS campus lies in? It is without embarrassment or fear that we put it out there for others to know. Many other Forest Schools in the world experience similar experiences due to the naturalistic work we do. It is almost counterintuitive to the modern controlling method of urban civilisation, hence the pushback.
2017 – our first hurdle
In 2017, while still in the first year of FSS, we experienced multiple authority letters and correspondence that wished to fault us for our work in the Forest, because of some cowardly public complaint made by people who are disconnected. I (Darren), in particular, had to undergo an extremely stressful period that entailed a 5-hour investigation interview with a legal officer from the authority. It was unpleasant, because it felt like we were being punished for doing a good thing for children, families and the wider Singapore communities. It led to us almost wanting to give up altogether and just do forest school elsewhere around the world, instead of in a compulsively controlling city like Singapore. But tough times make us tougher. The indomitable spirit of our children and founding-year parents spurred us on, as we charted through the troubling wave. At that time, we also had the wise support of Joselin from Indonesia (Medan), that made us feel like we will not be cornered.
All the support from common people like ourselves and some of the folks in higher positions, led us to clear this hurdle.
2018 – the costs of speaking up
2018, got us in the wind, as we dabbled in activism to shine light on the project of development on the Forest that our campus originally dwelled in. We were in the limelight for being outspoken and for standing up for what we believe in. We drew flak from some sections of the public (we all know how it works in social media and news). But similarly through the support of our community, we managed to cross the hurdle in good shape.
Subsequently, we have had yearly engagements with the public and the authorities to build better understanding. All these build up our capacity to handle greater waves of challenges.
Crossing swords with the public
Many times, we have to deal with tough public sentiments about our Forest School ways, due to misunderstandings or hasty judgments. We have had to deal with cowards who would rather complain to the authority, than confront us. We don’t shy away from the confrontations, because all these are great moments to educate and build understanding.
We also cross paths with many fake green movements that are just fund guzzling initiatives that won’t even bother listening to Mother Nature and her nuances. Many of them are politically driven based on the voters’ sentiments and the corporate businesses’ images. But hey we learn, and we understand the challenges. So we stayed on, and tried our best to pass the message of Nature on amidst all the politickings and misunderstandings.
All these led us to many activistic work not just on Education but also for the Environment and the general population. Because we believe that it takes a village to raise a child. We need to bear the responsibility of empowering the village, and supporting the village to connect with Mother Nature so as to pay attention to her and adjust our ways of living.
All this work can sometimes be tough and unrewarding, because we may be seen as anti-establishment, and trying to find trouble. But this is far from the truth. We do what we do, all for our children. For this will be the village that they have to live in. And we want to do our best, to support the balance of this village.
In 2022, we had the “honor” of being picked out, targeted and bullied immensely by a group of people in the authorities. The series of correspondence brought me and the team much anguish, injustice and a sense of frustration. They challenged us to a battle that we never thought we would face as a Forest School community. They pinned us to the corner.
THE BATTLE AGAINST THE ELITE BULLYINGS
{Give us your staff info, or we will charge you to court for not giving your staff’s info.}
Not the exact words, but we were basically cornered by a letter from the group of people from the authority (lets just call them the Elite).
The Elite are not a representation of the authority that we deal with, because most of them are well intentioned and respectful people. Now, we have to say this up front, almost 80-90 percent of people we meet in the authorities or in the public sphere are respectful and reasonable people. And when we get called out by them for genuine mistakes we make and issues that we inappropriately are part of, we admit to our mistake bravely and seek to change and learn from it. The Elites though, do not fall in that category at all.
March 2022
We received tales from a close friend that the Elite were trying to “Trap, and Close down all the Forest School”
We were apprehensive about the info, but decided to investigate. The investigation led us to a well known social media figure in the Nature and Education field. But we were informed that it is just some unfounded rumors. We trusted the response, and left it as such.
April-May 2022
We were covered comprehensively in the news media. Concurrently, we had a few engagements via emails, phone calls and in-person with the Elites. These led to a group meeting with the Elite and a few of the folks from our Nature and Education field, to share about the biodiversity and ecology of our managed areas, as well as some of the sensitivities in terms of impact to our ecosystems and safety.
The meeting was pretty much a one-way sharing about what we cannot do on the land that they manage. However, many of the details and evidence were quite unfounded after we went back to research. But anyway, we listened on, and shared our views and experiences to no avail.
May 2022 – the first letter
The Elite were much more close-minded than the usual folks in the authority. In May 2022, the Elite decided to send us an email with the statement that we infringed some rules of theirs, and they demanded the information of the coaches who allegedly infringed said rules.
It was uncalled-for behavior from them, as most issues usually go to us as an organization (or at the most the leadership), as it usually should. It was the first time the individuals in the team were targeted. This didn’t bode well for us, as we were now put in a tough position.
If we chose not to comply, I as a leader would be prosecuted in court, and may still have to divulge the info dishonorably.
If we chose to comply with their letter, we would be throwing our teammates under the bus, and behave dishonorably as a leader. Who would want to work with such a leader?
The Elite had apparently thought through how they wanted to target us. If they were unable to whack the organization from outside (because of their strength and experience with external engagement), then they would target the internal individuals to drive fear and cause internal strife and disintegration.
The Elite knows very well we have not committed any crime. And any form of pursuit at the organization and leadership will only result in unreasonable and unfounded offenses. So they decided to play dirty.
On top of that, they sent us the letter after meeting with us in person in mid-2022. Which is a low blow. Why did they not send the letter earlier, and seek to resolve it in person over the meeting? Do they know that they have no basis and grounds for the issue they raise? If so, they are obviously using the dirty technique of fear and bullying rather than truly making a case.
With all these in consideration, we took on the challenge, and investigated deeply into the letter and the attack. It took me, close to 40 hours of research, investigation and consolidation, to find out the full details. It was almost like being Sherlock Holmes. The Forest School Singapore Team, united in the face of adversity as well.
We also sought the counsel of many friends and contacts. From people who used to be in the authorities to legal fellowships, from experienced entrepreneurs to wise elders, who advised us on a few key points.
With all the resources and contacts, myself and the FSS team put together an email response to their letter to further clarify their weak evidence and unfounded reasonings on the issue they raised.
June 2022
The Elite replied the following month with an even more ridiculous request. They went onto our social media and randomly extracted pictures of our team. They had the audacity to put a picture of a member of the public with no ties to us, and demand for us to provide that individual’s info.
Of course we responded, seeking clarification on their perplexing requests.
July 2022
The following month, they sent another letter, and modified their info further. But it was no better. This time, they got the name of our organization wrong, calling us “Forest Singapore School”. This was becoming a joke. We once more clarified with them, and even pointed out their mistakes.
This time, we also made a firm stand to them, stating our request that the Elites get their information right before trying to “attack” any further. Because it was honestly feeling like harassment using public resources.
August 2022
Finally, on the 4th corresponding email, they closed the case and backed away. All the effort, time, blood, sweat and tears finally paid off. We stayed honorable and managed to stand our ground against the Elites bullying.
Now what?
Though we have managed to win this battle against the Elite, we are very sure that as long as people like the Elites are in power, this kind of situation will happen again. And because we, the community at Forest School Singapore, are outspoken and stand strong against bullying, we know we will be a sore thumb to more people like the Elites. But we will not give up. Because we know we need to fight for the rights of our children, our families, our forest, our special needs individuals, our environment and our community. We will not give up.
Our team grew stronger from this episode, and will be even more ready for future “attacks”, with the experiences, contacts and resources that we gather.
So to all our fellow folks who truly support the Forest School movement, our doors are always welcome, for disagreements and discourses. We will take it head on even if it is expressed with verbal aggression. We will respect your authenticity and bravery in the confrontation.
We do Forest School to help bring people to a space between the earth and the stars. We do Forest School to connect with ourselves and our Nature. We do Forest School for the betterment of our children, parents and coaches. We do Forest School for the wellness of the animals, plants and all creatures on earth.
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But living in the real modern world that we are in, doing this is not all that simple. Over the years, we have learnt that once in a while, we need to stand strong and show clear boundaries:
There will be people who try to bully us cowardly and behave dishonorably behind our backs. We will need to defend our community, bravely and with maturity.
I will put my life on the line, as a Father monkey would for his troop. And if the situation calls for it, I will not hesitate to take action to fight back aggressively to make the stand.
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We share the above story, to allow our community and others to understand the hard work, sacrifices and pain that we have to go through to continue the magic of Forest School in urban Singapore. But we also want everyone to understand this, Forest School will continue regardless of the existence of Forest School Singapore, because our dream is,
For forest school to become a way of learning and living.
For forest school to represent a symbol of sincerity and awakening
For forest school to represent an avenue of authenticity and integrity
For forest school to be the voice for Nature, children and their families.
For forest school to be living in our life.
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*** Updates as of 17 March 2023:
After taking the initiative to email NParks to seek redress, we have gotten into engagement with a new and more positive voice of the leadership…. (to be continued)
PS: Keep up to date through our articles. For those curious about our on-goings with NParks, you are welcome to email forestschoolsingapore@gmail.com to inquire about more details.
*Darren Quek is the Founder & Principal of Forest School Singapore.
*Genevieve Ong is a Master Coach at Forest School Singapore.
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