New walking trail to cover Singapore's water locations

The ABC Waters Project Walk begins on Jun 28 and it will see participants exploring Singapore's water locations.
Sara Grosse, Channel NewsAsia 17 May 15;

SINGAPORE: Residents of Hong Kang North can look forward to a new trail next month which explores Singapore's water locations.

The ABC (Active Beautiful Clean) Waters Project Walk was launched on Sunday (May 17) by Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor after the completion of a park connector walk programme which encouraged residents to adopt brisk walking.

The "GO!GO!GO! Park Connector Walk" was first launched by the Hong Kah North Active Aging Committee in 2013 to encourage residents to adopt brisk walking as a regular exercise by bringing them to the rustic parts of Singapore.

64-year-old Monsiah Mansor has been participating in the park connector walk programme since 2013.

Every month, she and her friends walk to different parts of Singapore to re-discover the island's heritage sites. It also improves her overall health.

Residents participated in a total of 18 sessions and covered areas such as Woodlands, Sengkang, Bedok Reservoir and East Coast Park. Nearly 4,000 people have taken part in the initiative.

Each participant walked at least 6,250 steps per session and accumulated over 112,500 steps through the whole park connector walk programme. They walked more than 100km over the course of two years, and collectively have burned over one million calories.

But as the GO!GO!GO! Park Connector Walk by the Hong Kah North Active Ageing Committee comes to a close, a new trail is on the horizon.

The ABC Waters Project Walk will see residents exploring 14 water locations in Singapore on the fourth Sunday of each month. The walk begins at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park on Jun 28 and will take participants to places such as Yishun Pond, Sungei Whampoa and the Rochor River. It will end at Jurong Lake in March 2017.

Dr Amy Khor, who is also Hong Kah North's Grassroots Advisor, said: "Programmes like this help to motivate them, create some interest, because it is not just about exercising ... but also about going to some fun places."

Dr Khor hopes the initiative can be extended to other constituencies to promote the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.

- CNA/xq/al

ABC Waters walks launched
Melissa Lin The Straits Times AsiaOne 19 May 15;

A series of walks that will take participants around 14 ABC Waters locations throughout Singapore over the next two years was launched yesterday.

Organised by the Hong Kah North Active Ageing Committee, the first walk will take place at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park on June 28. Other locations include the Lorong Halus Wetland, Jurong Lake and the Geylang River.

The walks will take place on the fourth Sunday of each month.

ABC Waters stands for the national water agency PUB's Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme, which converts waterways into recreational areas.

Hong Kah North MP Amy Khor, an adviser to its grassroots organisations, said the programme aims to encourage residents to exercise while taking them to places they may not have visited before.

Dr Khor, who is also Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower, said the walks are open to all, even those not residing in Hong Kah North.

She was speaking at Bukit Batok Nature Park, where the last of another series of walks took place yesterday morning.

Around 400 people walked 5km from the park to Hong Kah North Community Club (CC), the closing stretch of a programme that took participants to Singapore's park connectors.

An average of 200 people joined the monthly walks, which started two years ago.

Housewife Monsiah Mansor, 64, who took part in all 18 walks, said she joined the programme alone but soon made friends along the way.

"I feel that my health has improved, I don't feel so weak any more," she said, adding that she is keen to take part in the new series of walks.

Those interested in signing up for the ABC Waters walks can do so at Hong Kah North CC or Gek Poh Ville CC.

There is a $2 fee for the shuttle bus service which takes participants from the CCs to each walk's location.