Dear Friends,
This week, during one of our CSR Programs on Saturday morning, our foot Waterways Cleanup came across a very very disturbing sight. Under the bushes surrounding the Power Station at Kallang Riverside Park, we found lots of used syringes; and at another corner a stack of dirty plastic bags hidden from view, which contained stagnant water and full of ants. Opposite to the Power Station, half a bag of new syringes was found behind the electrical box(see photos). We reported to Gardens by the Bay and PUB. This sighting appears to be a resurgence of drug abuse in the Kallang area. What’s more, at the footpath next to the Power Station, one container full of stagnant water was found inside the cluster of plants (see photos).
Besides this, we had 6 programs for the week, 1 virtual Assembly Talk for Woodgrove Primary School (420 pax); 1 virtual Corporate Lunch Talk for DocuSign Inc. (20pax); and 4 CSR Waterway Cleanup Programs for BOC Aviation Ltd.(13pax on the boat), Salesforce Singapore (16pax on the bike) and AstraZeneca Singapore (40 pax).
One of the most important programs we had was the Cheque Presentation Ceremony with Astrazaneta on Saturday followed by a Foot and Kayak Cleanup for members of AstraZeneca, the staff of Singapore Cancer Society, and post Cancer patients. A representative from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and senior members from the participating organizations were present and Waterways Watch Society is deeply appreciative of this sponsorship cum donation. It was a great morning event and all the participants had a meaningful time collecting a total of 49kg from Foot and 46kg from kayaking. Well done to everyone and we look forward to Astrazaneta’s future programs in the first quarter of 2021. In sum, a total of 192.5kg of litter was collected during the programs.
On Wednesday, 4 members did general housekeeping at the Punggol office. On Saturday, members’ patrol at Kallang was still conducted with 14 members in total; 2 new members came for bike orientation and 3 new members came for boat orientation, plus 9 members did 2 bike patrols and 1 boat patrol (see photos). Besides, we have 4 members who came to do gardening. The bike patrol groups picked up litter at the benches next to Dragon Boat Beach, at the steps in front of the Indoor Stadium, under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, and at the embankment in front of the Flyer (see photos). The bike patrol group picked up about 3kg of litter. The water was generally clean in the Marina Reservoir, the boat patrol picked up few litter in the Kallang Basin and the Singapore River.
In the afternoon, a total of 8 members turned up at Punggol, however, Punggol patrol was canceled due to the heavy rain. A lot of litter was discarded at the top of the shelter next to the wall fountain (see photo).
On Sunday morning, 10 members did 2 boat patrols and 5 members plus 1 new member did 1 bike patrol (see photos). There were also 4 members who came for gardening. Around the vicinity of Kallang Basin, a fair amount of plastic bags and plastic bottles were picked up. Plastic bottles and debris were floating along the shoreline, especially around the Dragon Boat Beach area (see photos). In total, the two boats picked up 50kg of litter from the water. On the other hand, the bike patrol group headed towards the Singapore Flyer and were glad to find the entire stretch in front of the Flyer was free for litter. They picked up trashes along the route, a total of 8kg, but more importantly, they picked up 19 masks (see photos). One child’s bike was found abandoned at lamp post-A3-69 and one shared bike was left at the dustbin near WWS biodiversity pond for a week (see photos). In addition, picnickers in the Kallang Park Connector near the Kallang River, opposite the public toilet are more than 5 people in a group (see photo). During Sunday we didn’t notice the ambassador checking around the park.
In the afternoon, 14 members came to Jurong Lakeside Garden for patrol, 2 bike patrol groups, and 1 boat patrol group. The bike patrol group cycled out for a short distance before the heavy rain started, then had to suspend the activity and returned to the office when the rain lightened. Even for a short distance, they still picked up some trash (tissue paper, plastic bag) along the way. The boat patrol was canceled.
