The Business Times 14 Sep 09;
The SIM Canoeing Club takes the plunge in cleaning up Singapore's waterways. By SARAH NG SHU ZHEN
FOR all canoeists from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), the Marina Reservoir has always been a sacred home away from home, where practice sessions are held twice a week and where the team gears up for its numerous competitions.
But lately, our home has become 'desecrated' with litter. Aside from fallen twigs and leaves that hog the shores of the river, an increasing amount of human-generated trash has compromised the charm of the reservoir, rendering it an eyesore.
Sadly, the beautiful facade along Boat Quay has also not been spared. Like the Marina Reservoir, it too has fallen prey to flagrant acts of littering into the Singapore River - a historic landmark and choice venue for events.
For those of us who frequent these waterways, we are both angered and baffled at the sorry state of affairs. Clearly, the culprits involved chose to ignore the environmental effects of littering and perhaps there is a lack of social pressure to do the right thing.
Something had to be done. The members of the SIM Canoeing Club put their heads together and decided to embark on a clean-up expedition. We started publicising our plans in July, designing flyers to raise awareness for the event. And we also shared our expedition idea with interested parties at SIM Global Education's school-wide co-curricular activity recruitment drive.
Response rates were initially low with less than 10 participants. However, posters on the SIM student portal helped boost awareness and towards the final week of the event, we received 40 signups.
We rallied a lot of corporate support for our initiative. Ngee Ann Canoeing Club and NUS Canoe Club loaned us canoes, paddles and life jackets for the expedition while over 15 organisations - including the Public Utilities Board, the Ministry of Defence and Marina Bay Sands - granted us permits to paddle in areas normally closed to the general public.
The team was also assisted by SIM, which provided funds for the safety boat and public liability insurance. Also, staff from SIM's Student Life and Services provided advice on our expedition. The expedition aimed not only to serve as a platform to make new friends but empowered us to make a small change for a big change!
On Aug 16, we met at Kallang Basin and launched our canoes. Enthusiasm and energy levels were at a contagious high as we told ourselves that this was going to be a canoe expedition like none other.
The team comprised of a fleet of 20 kayaks. We paired up, moving in groups of two, taking care to keep together along the 10 km route (from Kallang Basin to Boat Quay and back). As we paddled along, we kept our eyes peeled for rubbish, chancing on plastic bottles, plastic bags, cans, twigs, straws and cigarette butts.
The gentle pace meant we had time to soak up the breathtaking views of our surroundings as we passed by the Merlion, Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay floating platform and cityscape of Raffles Place. Everything took on such a different perspective when viewed from the water.
Throughout the expedition, our mood remained positive and the energy level high. But towards the end of the day, we became energy-sapped. The heat took its toll and the paddling for hours on end to scavenge for trash was tiring.
But we perked up at the end when we realised that we had scooped up nearly 3 kg of floating rubbish. Small as it may have seemed, it was nonetheless a significant moment for us.
We hope that as an advocate of the 'Saving Gaia' Movement and through the clean up expedition, we have somehow made a tangible difference.
Through this event, the club hopes there will be an increased awareness about the need to keep Singapore clean and green. As a result of the success of executing this event, the SIM Canoe Club now plans to look into other social responsibility events on an annual basis.
Much of our future plans will be focused on keeping the waters of Singapore clean. We are now setting our sights on our next expedition, which could either be at Punggol or Changi beach.
The writer is currently pursuing a SIM-Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Bachelor of Business Management degree. She is also the president of the SIM Canoeing Club.
