To many of us, April is the month to decorate Easter eggs, seek out those hidden eggs or, to get ready for a new term/semester in school. Yet, do you know that April is Earth Month too? I bet many of you are clueless about that!
What is Aveda Walk for Water 2015?
On the morning of 12 April 2015, more than 200 participants – be it families, friends or fitness enthusiasts, gathered at MacRitchie Reservoir to do their parts for our Mother Earth by completing a 4.8km scenic walk around the reservoir itself. I was lucky to be one of them. After all, what could be a better way to start off your Sunday morning with a refreshing walk around one of Singapore’s favourite parks whilst doing your part for the environment?
The 4.8km walk – Aveda Walk for Water 2015, is organised by Aveda, who has a global network of beauty professionals and corporate employees in more than 30 countries. Not only do they passionately pursue the goal of preserving and protecting clean water for everyone and everywhere, they also wish to engage more to be aware of the precious resources we have around us. So, you might ask, why the distance of 4.8km? Well, 4.8km is actually symbolic of the distance that women in developing countries walk daily to collect water for their families. By completing the 4.8km walk, not only can we experience the hardwork and effort that these women have gone through daily just to get clean and fresh water for their families, the walk will also raise our awareness towards taking environmental responsibility to treasure water. In addition, with the picturesque scenery that the walk provides, it will reminds us of the beauty and benefits of nature that only green and sustainable environment can offer.
The Start of Our 4.8km Walk
Upon arriving at MacRitchie Reservoir, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the registration booth was overwhelmingly crowded. Many of us would have thought that the majority of Singaporeans would have preferred to sleep in or to have an early brunch on a Sunday morning. Yet, this does not seem to be the case. I was happy to know that many of them were willing to wake up early on a Sunday morning to sign up for the walk to not only to contribute in saving our Mother Earth, but also, to educate their kids in taking environmental responsibility in treasuring water. In fact, many of them took this opportunity to spend some quality family bonding time too! Educating your kids about our Mother Earth, immersing yourself in the breathtaking scenery that MacRitchie Reservoir can offer, working out a great sweat—Well, we certainly cannot deny that this is one of the best ways to spend some great family time together!
The event started off with a wellness exercise. A workout can never start off before some warm-up exercises, can it? Head rotation, calf stretches, ankle rotation—you name it, we did it. Everyone was so excited for the walk that not only was everyone beaming with wide smiles, the kids were also jumping and hopping about. To avoid clogging up the routes, we were dispatched batch by batch (of about 15 per batch) and each group of us was led by at least 2 road marshals. It was considerate of the road marshals, together with some of the race participants, to moderate the walking pace a little so as to ensure that everyone in the group has caught up and were not lost. After all, with the lush greenery and blooming fauna enveloping us, we cannot deny that it is easy to get ourselves lost in such beauty, can we?
Reflecting During Our 4.8km Walk
Despite the warm and humid weather on that day itself, we were lucky that the shade provided by the lush greenery helped in relieving the heat a little. In fact, most of us were too busy admiring, exploring and discovering the various types of flora and fauna such that the heat did not bother us that much at all. Not to forget, we were also taking awesome pictures of what we would want to preserve and sharing them on various social media channels with the hashtag #AvedaWalkforWaterSg.
With each step, we were in awe of the beauty that only a sustainable environment can offer. With each step, we realised that we have taken advantage of the things that nature has given us at its finest. With each step, we realised that we need to take up more responsibility in treasuring our environment.
As we delved further into Lornie Trail of MacRitchie Reservoir, I cannot help but wished that each and every inch of this beauty can stay forever.
Time for Fringe Activities
After an hour or so, we were welcomed into the tents where educational activities were conducted by the friendly volunteers to raise our awareness towards taking environmental responsibility to treasure water. The first activity was for us to identify the sound of water through 3 recycled pipes. In these 3 different pipes, there will be 3 different background sounds of nature itself. So, what is the purpose of this? It was to educate us that water nourishes almost everything and anything—flora, fauna and ourselves.
Moving on, the next activity was to identify the number of water-droplet shaped objects hidden in 3 campaign posters. This reveals to us the number of kids dying daily from water-borne illnesses in developing nations. Well, the third activity were for participants with a quick reflex and sharp eye. We had to find the correct answers in a tub gilled with countless tiny sponge balls under a specific amount of time. Through this activity, we would realised the need to reuse.
It was heartwarming to witness kids having tonnes of fun whilst learning great knowledge about environment conservation through such activities. It was even more pleasing to see the adults and kids were bonding through such activities.
Event Overview
It was a great pleasure to spend my Sunday in such an enriching and refreshing manner. Not only did I learn more about the dangers that our Mother Earth is facing, I have also learnt to appreciate nature more. The entire month of April is Earth Month, yet, like what the people from Aveda believes, every month is Earth Month. We should do our part for our environment daily because Earth is our only home.
- Good: The chosen route for the walk was generally shady and cooling hence, we were not really affected much by the humid and warm weather. Moreover, many of us were given a bottle of Newwater each and were well- prepared with towels too. Not to forget, many of us were wearing apparels with breathable and light materials.
- Good: The fringe activities were not only educational, but also, a great way to bond families together. It was nice to witness parents helping their kids to complete the activities and the kids learning something from them. The atmosphere of excitement and joy was so overwhelming that it was hard to just walked pass these activities without participating in them.
- Bad: The road marshals did not know their way well. Yet, many of the participants knew MacRitchie Reservoir well enough to guide us along.
