From craft and music sessions with your child, to delectable dining treats and new adventures at sea, plenty of exciting new opportunities await HomeTeamNS members. TEXT AND PHOTOS: HOMETEAMNS Here at HomeTeamNS, we aim to foster camaraderie and a sense of community among members and the Home Team NSmen community. Beyond that, it’s also host to great deals that offer opportunities for you and your loved ones to bond and enjoy new experiences. Don’t miss these great deals at HomeTeamNS clubhouses and with our merchant partners. HOMETEAMNS-JOM BALESTIER CLUBHOUSE If you’re looking to bond with your little ones, the clubhouse has some interesting options for family fun. To redeem these promotions, simply just flash your HomeTeamNS Digital Membership Card found in the HomeTeamNS Mobile App. Parent-accompanied junior group class for toddlers at Nozumi Musictopia Introduce your toddler to the joys of music and freedom of movement at this parent-accompanied Junior Group Class for toddlers (aged 12-14 months). The first 10 signups get a free goody bag worth S$50 (terms and conditions apply). All signups enjoy a 15-per-cent discount during the promotion period (May and June 2022). Thereafter, HomeTeamNS members get a 15-per-cent discount and SAFRA members enjoy a 10-per-cent discount. Parent-child Craft Out at SmartArtz Studio If you’re looking to up your craft game, SmartArtz Studio has an introductory offer for first-timers. HomeTeamNS members pay S$32 per child or S$42 per parent and child pair for a Craft Out session. Non-members pay S$35 per child or S$42 per parent and child pair. To redeem, flash this promo and present your HomeTeamNS Digital Membership Card when you sign up via WhatsApp to SmartArtz Studio. Children must be between the ages of three and 12 and the promotion is valid till the end of April. Parent-child Bake Out at Genius R Us What better way to bond than by baking a delectable treat with your loved ones? Genius R Us has an introductory offer for first-timers. HomeTeamNS members pay S$35 per child or S$50 per parent and child pair. Non-members pay S$38 per child or S$53 per parent and child pair.  To redeem, flash this promo and present your HomeTeamNS Digital Membership Card when you sign up via WhatsApp to Genius R Us. Children must be between the ages of three and 12 and the promotion is valid till the end of April. HOMETEAMNS KHATIB CLUBHOUSE Looking for some great dining deals or an enriching learning space for your child at HomeTeamNS Khatib? Simply flash your HomeTeamNS Digital Membership Card available in the HomeTeamNS Mobile App to redeem these offers. Orchid Live Seafood This eatery serves fresh seafood delights including garlic steamed bamboo clams, southern Australian lobsters and braised live South African abalone. HomeTeamNS members enjoy 10-per-cent off their total bill. Fuji Izakaya Bar Tuck into a variety of mouth-watering Japanese treats from this eatery’s extensive menu. Options include seafood, grills, ramen and rice bowls. HomeTeamNS members enjoy 10-per-cent off their total bill. Safari House Pre-school This pre-school offers progressive learning programmes that help and encourage your child to explore the world around them, while their sense of curiosity is nurtured. HomeTeamNS members enjoy 20% discount off enrichment classes for enrolled childcare students.  ISLANDWIDE MEMBERS’ DEALS Still craving for more deals and treats? There’s more in store for you, from sporty apparels to a sailing adventure! Check out the following exclusive membership deals and promo codes on our new and improved HomeTeamNS Mobile App. Foodpanda Known for delivering the food and groceries you love across Singapore, Foodpanda is offering new customers an S$8 discount off S$15 from their first order. This promotion is valid till 30 June 2022. New and existing customers also get to enjoy S$2 off a S$30 purchase in April and get an additional discount if you opt to pick up your own order. This offer is valid till 30 April 2022. Getgo Looking to rent a set of wheels? Carsharing service, Getgo, has over 1,100 locations across Singapore. HomeTeamNS members can enjoy 50-per-cent off their first drive. This offer is capped at S$10 and limited to the first 5,000 redemptions. This promotion is valid till August 2022.  Discover Sailing Asia Get a taste for nautical adventures by paying just S$45 for a two-hour sailing teaser session. Book your slots by 31 May to enjoy sailing until 11 September 2022.  Kydra Need a new set of workout fits for your sporty needs? This activewear brand sells a wide variety of women’s and men’s clothing, and is offering members a 15-per-cent discount off all items listed here. The promotion is valid till 30 April 2022. Download the new and improved HomeTeamNS Mobile App for the latest promotions and membership perks! 

From minimising the use of one-time plastics to using the air-conditioner less, here are some small steps you – and your children – can take to improve sustainability and help the environment. TEXT: MELODY TAN PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK Sustainability starts at home. After all, even small changes can have a big impact on the environment, sustainability efforts – and as an added bonus, on your utility bills. In response to climate change, the Singapore Green Plan 2030 aims to shift the country towards a more sustainable lifestyle and economy over the next decade. To help preserve our natural resources for the next generation, consider incorporating these green habits into your household’s daily routine. GET THE KIDS TO HELP WITH RECYCLING By now, most Singaporeans are familiar with the blue recycling bins parked next to the green waste bins below their blocks, or outside their homes. While recycling is a core element of sustainability, far fewer are aware of the right way to recycle. Some 40 per cent of items inside recycling bins are either contaminated with food and liquids or cannot be recycled at all due to their materials. To make the most of recycling, ensure that your recyclables are made from materials like glass, paper, plastic and metal. Avoid single-use food packaging, as it cannot be recycled. Assign your kids simple tasks like washing containers or flattening out packaging before bringing it to the recycling bin. Social media savvy teens can rely on Clean and Green Singapore’s Bloobin augmented reality filter to determine whether an object is recyclable. SELL OR SWAP REUSABLES Items like soft toys, books and clothing are considered reusables, not recyclables. Set aside an afternoon for kids to sort through their old belongings and decide what they want to keep, and what they want to get rid of. Toys in good condition can be sold on an online platform like Carousell, while books can be donated to an organisation like Books Beyond Borders or Thryft. The latter allows donors to trade-in books in exchange for store credit – perfect for little bookworms who can burrow through an entire stack of books in a week. Not only does this reduce clutter, children also learn that things don’t have to be new to be valued. They’ll also learn how easy it is to practise sustainability. SHOP PRE-OWNED Similarly, buying pre-loved items can be a great way to lengthen their lifespans, save resources and boost sustainability. While not everything can be bought second-hand, things like home decor, clothing and fashion accessories are in ample supply at thrift stores across Singapore. Besides being good for the environment, second-hand goods can sometimes be of better quality than their modern counterparts. You might even luck out and find a designer knick-knack or shirt at a fraction of its original price. Be patient – you might have to dig through a lot to find some treasure. Doing your research helps. For example, if you’re hoping to score some vintage Pyrex glass dishes, make sure you know how to identify them by the labels or embedded seals. There are plenty of online resources that teach you how to become an eagle-eyed bargain hunter. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD AND COMPOST You can still grow herbs like Thai basil or curry leaves even if you don’t have a garden of your own. Whether you’re placing the plants on your balcony, windowsill or in the corridor, make sure you have good sunlight, adequate water and drainage. Children will enjoy watching the plants grow and tasting the fresh herbs once they’ve matured. The effort involved in caring for their plants will also give them a new appreciation of food and why we shouldn’t waste it. More experienced gardeners can also consider composting, which means recycling organic waste – such as potato peelings and eggshells – into a rich fertiliser for plants. If space in your kitchen is an issue, no need to fret: There are pint-sized tabletop compost bins that can be tucked away into a corner. They also have lids so smells don’t escape. RELY LESS ON THE AIR-CONDITIONER Temperatures in Singapore are on the rise due to climate change. Between 1948 and 2015, temperatures here have risen by 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade. Many families turn on the air-conditioning to beat the heat, but the energy-intensive appliance in households and buildings emits 19 per cent of Singapore’s carbon emissions – the second highest source after the industrial sector. To cool down without contributing even more to climate change, turn your air-conditioning up to 25 degrees Celsius or higher. You can also use it to cool a room before switching to the fan and make it a household habit not to use the air-conditioning on rainy nights. SAVE WATER Did you know that shower time accounts for 30 per cent of your household’s monthly water consumption? The average five-minute shower in Singapore uses almost 20 litres of water. If you have four people in a household, that’s 80 litres of water in a day at minimum. To save water, here are some habits that the family can pick up overtime. It’s good to remind your family members to turn off the shower while shampooing their hair or soaping themselves. Other than that, try brushing your teeth with just a mug of water, and not to let the tap run unnecessarily. In the kitchen, rinse fruits and vegetables in a container of water instead of under the tap, and re-use the same water to water plants. BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINERS Single-use plastics require energy and resources to produce, are used once, then discarded. When single-use plastics are incinerated, they produce toxic pollutants and carbon dioxide, which worsens climate change. In addition to bringing reusable bags when you go grocery shopping, bring a tiffin carrier when you buy lunch or dinner at the hawker centre. This reduces the use of plastic and saves you money as well (that S$0.20 fee for a plastic box can add up over time).

We look at Singapore’s efforts to make every drop of water count. TEXT: MELODY TAN PHOTOS: HOMETEAMNS, SHUTTERSTOCK World Water Day recognises the importance of water and raises awareness of the challenges those without access to clean water faced. This year’s World Water Day theme is groundwater, which refers to the fresh water found in underground aquifers (geological formations of sand, rock and gravel). Groundwater supplies rivers, lakes and springs, eventually flowing into the ocean. Singapore has made great strides in achieving self-reliance in water, but conservation is still an important part of our approach to this resource. Singapore has set a target of reducing its water consumption from 154 litres per person (measured in 2020) to 130 litres per day by 2030. Here are five interesting facts about water in Singapore and how we are working to ensure water sustainability. GO BLUE FOR SINGAPORE Singapore may have achieved self-reliance in water, but conservation is still a crucial to safeguard this resource. Thanks to its reputation as a Garden City, Singapore is often thought of as a green city – but between 19 to 22 March, it’s turning blue instead to honour World Water Day. Landmarks like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore Flyer and more were bathed in a serene blue glow last year as part of PUB’s City Turns Blue initiative, which returns this year to remind Singaporeans of our need to conserve this precious resource. Water advocacy has always played a major role in Singapore’s efforts to imbue a conservation mindset in both young and old, starting with the very first water conservation campaign in May 1971 during a prolonged dry spell. If you’re out and about downtown during the campaign period, don’t forget to snap a photo and share your photos on social media using the hashtag #GoBlue4SG. You can also wear blue, make blue drinks or food, or decorate your space in blue to show solidarity with Singapore’s national water movement. A SEWAGE SUPERHIGHWAY We’re used to Singapore’s extensive network of roads and expressways, train lines and tunnels. But there’s a hidden superhighway deep underground that very few Singaporeans will ever encounter (which is probably a good thing). The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) conveys used water to three treatment plants that are strategically located along the coastal areas of Singapore, so that it can be treated and purified into NEWater. With its second phase set to be completed in 2025, the DTSS frees up land that would otherwise be occupied by intermediate pumping stations and conventional water reclamation plants. It’s energy-efficient, as well: The water is moved entirely through the force of gravity along the tunnels. THE FISHY BUSINESS OF INNOVATION What do mangrove plants and fish have to do with cutting-edge water technology? Current desalination technology uses reverse osmosis, which involves deploying membranes to filter salts and minerals from seawater – a highly energy-intensive method, in Singapore’s four desalination plants. Singapore is welcoming its fifth desalination plant in 2023, intended for testing new technologies. These technologies include more energy-efficient ways of desalinating seawater, such as electro-deionisation – using an electric field to pull dissolved salts from water – and biomimicry, which copies the way mangrove plants and fish extract freshwater from seawater. While still in their infancy, these exciting technologies could revolutionise freshwater production in Singapore. POWERING THE TECH SECTOR Most of us would wince at the thought of dropping our smartphones in a swimming pool, or spilling coffee over our laptops. After all, water and tech devices just don’t mix, right? In fact, water is essential for the tech sector. It takes up to 30 litres of water to manufacture a single microchip for a smartphone, tablet or laptop. In Singapore, water is a key part of our journey to becoming a global tech hub with a growing number of semiconductor firms and data centres. Data centres in particular require huge amounts of water to cool their servers. To balance Singapore’s tech goals with our need to conserve water and energy, the government has announced that any new data centres must meet an array of environmental sustainability standards before receiving construction approval. IN CELEBRATION OF WATER PUB mascots Water Wally and Water Sally visited HomeTeamNS Khatib on 12 and 13 March. Although Singapore has a circular water economy – which means that we are able to endlessly recycle our water by collecting, treating and reusing it – this doesn’t mean that we can let it go to waste. To help spread the importance of water conservation, popular mascots Water Wally and Water Sally are scheduled to appear at HomeTeamNS-JOM Balestier on 26 March from 12pm to 2pm. To redeem a small gift, just follow these few steps: Wear blue to any HomeTeamNS clubhouse, snap a photo with the mascots, and post it in the comments section of the World Water Day post on the clubhouse’s Facebook page. Show your post to the HomeTeamNS staff to receive your gift. If you’re staying home, you can still participate in World Water Day. Simply log on to HomeTeamNS-JOM’s Facebook page between 9 to 30 March to show off your trivia knowledge and win prizes by taking part in a series of online water-centric quizzes. On World Water Day, let’s remember how precious this essential resource is – and make an effort to ensure every drop counts in Singapore.

Schedule a staycation, sign up for fun classes or simply feast with the family – with these great HomeTeamNS deals. TEXT: MELODY TAN Whether it was tasting a new cuisine, learning a new sport or trying a different hobby, when was the last time you did something to break out of your routine? With many of us still working from home or balancing hybrid work arrangements, it’s important to open ourselves to new experiences. Doing so can benefit your mental health and help stimulate creativity, among other benefits. From fitness courses to cooking classes and staycations, these HomeTeamNS deals, activities and offers are a good starting point to help you break out of the humdrum. FROM AIKIDO TO ZUMBA, FITNESS FOR THE SOUL St Teresa Taekwondo Studio teaches the finer points of this martial art to young kids and teens. Photo: St Teresa Taekwondo Studio Keen to start a new fitness routine? Enjoy 20 per cent off the second course sign-up at the HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok clubhouse for the following courses: Aikido, Taekwondo, Karate, Yoga, Zumba, Piloxing and Wing Chun. Simply drop an email to courses@hometeamns.sg for the promo code. St Teresa Taekwondo Studio at the HomeTeamNS-JOM Balestier clubhouse teaches the finer points of this martial art to young children and teens. Quote “HTNSHOLIDAYDEALS” or show the promo image when you sign up to receive a free Kicking Pad worth S$35. HomeTeamNS members will also receive an additional free pouch. The free gifts are redeemable upon payment of the registration fee and three or six months’ fees. The promotion runs from 1-31 March, 2022. ART, MUSIC, BAKING – AND EATING Genius R Us lets your kids rock their inner master chef and learn to make a variety of treats. Photo: Genius R Us Over at the HomeTeamNS-JOM Balestier clubhouse, a cornucopia of deals awaits. If your child prefers to rock their inner master chef instead, head to Genius R Us where they can learn to make cookies, cakes and other goodies. First-timers enjoy a special Bake Out promotional rate from March to April 2022. HomeTeamNS members pay S$35 per child or S$50 for one parent and one child, while non-members pay S$38 per child or S$53 for one parent and one child. To qualify for the promotion, children must be aged between three to 12 years old and parents should quote “HTNSHOLIDAYDEALS” or show the promo image when they sign up via WhatsApp. Looking to tap into your inner artist? SmartArtz Studio has a first-timers’ promotion that could help on your journey. Photo: SmartArtz Studio If you’re the artistic type, SmartArtz Studio has a Craft Out promotion for first-timers running from March to April 2022. HomeTeamNS members pay S$32 per child (aged between three to 12 years old) or S$42 for one parent and one child, while non-members pay S$35 per child or S$45 for one parent and one child. To redeem the promotion, quote “HTNSHOLIDAYDEALS” or show the promo image when you sign up via Whatsapp. Musically inclined little ones should visit Nozumi Musictopia, which has an opening promotion for its parent-accompanied Junior Group Class intended for toddlers aged between 12 to 14 months. Kiddies will be introduced to music, movement and instruments, and gain a solid foundation for progressing onwards to the one-on-one ABRSM class syllabus. Quote “HTNSHOLIDAYDEALS” or show the promo image when you sign up or enquire at 9654 3386 to enjoy a 15 per cent discount on the Junior Group Class between May to June 2022. HomeTeamNS members still enjoy a 15 per cent discount on sign-ups after the promotion period. Still, you shouldn’t delay – the first 10 sign-ups will receive a goodie bag worth S$50. GET OUT AND ABOUT One-for-one movie ticket offers on weekends and weekdays make it easy for HomeTeamNS members to catch up with the latest releases. Photo: Shutterstock Singapore may be small, but it has plenty of places to explore as a family. Movie buffs will want to take advantage of the one-for-one movie ticket offer at any Cathay Cineplexes theatre, on both weekends and weekdays. Simply flash your HomeTeamNS digital membership card when you make your purchase at the counter. The offer is limited to one pair of tickets per member per day, and only 30 pairs of tickets can be redeemed in total each day. Dinosaur devotees will want to drop by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, which is offering 10 per cent off admission fees until 31 December 2023 to HomeTeamNS members who present their digital membership card over the counter. Tickets are limited to a maximum of five per cardholder per day. Crossing over to Sentosa just became easier thanks to discounts on round-trip cable car sky passes on Mount Faber. Photo: Shutterstock Head into the clouds with 35 per cent discount on round-trip cable car sky passes on Mount Faber, valid until 31 March 2022. To get the promo code, download and open the new HomeTeamNS Mobile App. STAYCATION NATION With dedicated indoor and outdoor facilities made for the family, embrace the escape to a lush sanctuary at Shangri-La Singapore. Photo: Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts If your kids love the beach, treat them to a staycation they won’t forget. Till 26 May 2022, the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Singapore is offering HomeTeamNS members 15 per cent off online room rates for its Deluxe Seaview Room, Panoramic Seaview Room and Deluxe Poolview Room. For those who prefer a more central location for easy access to shopping and eateries, the Shangri-La Singapore has special rates applicable for HomeTeamNS member bookings until 26 May 2022, depending on the day you choose to stay. From Monday to Thursday, enjoy the following rates: Garden Wing Deluxe City View: S$298++ Garden Wing Deluxe Pool View: S$318++ Valley Wing Deluxe: S$488++ Tower Wing Family Deluxe: S$358++ From Friday to Sunday (Weekends): Garden Wing Deluxe City View : S$438++ Garden Wing Deluxe Pool View : S$458++ Valley Wing Deluxe : S$558++ Tower Wing Family Deluxe : S$478++ Enjoy a beach getaway with the family at Shangri-La